Artemy Ostanin* pleaded not guilty in court.

According to the prosecution, stand-up comedian Artemy Ostanin* from Yeysk "created an organized criminal group for the development and production of humiliating short performances." Unidentified individuals helped him write, film, and edit his performances.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," at the end of December, the prosecutor's office approved the indictment in the case of stand-up comedian Artemy Ostanin* from Yeysk, who joked about a legless invalid. A charge of insulting religious feelings, elements of which were found in another of the comedian's performances, was added to the article on inciting hatred or enmity. On January 12, the court extended Ostanin's* pretrial detention for six months. In January, the stand-up comedian's bank accounts were frozen.

According to investigators, on March 7, 2025, at an entertainment venue on Sadovaya-Chernogryazskaya Street, the comedian performed a comedy show containing statements offensive to religious believers. Furthermore, on March 15, Ostanin* publicly humiliated people who had been injured or disabled, threatening violence. Videos of both performances were published online, RIA Novosti reported today.

Ostanin* is accused of public actions expressing obvious disrespect for society and committed with the intent of insulting the religious feelings of believers 1 and inciting hatred or hostility, as well as humiliating human dignity 2 .

During the hearing in Meshchansky, the prosecutor read out the charges against the comedian. According to the prosecution, Ostanin "created an organized criminal group for the development and production of humiliating short performances." Unidentified individuals assisted him in writing, filming, and editing his performances. Ostanin denied his guilt, the Telegram channel "Ostorozhno, Novosti" reported.

Victims testified at the trial of comedian Ostanin. Almost all of them saw his performance on Orthodox activist channels.

One of the victims (there are four of them) said she saw one of Ostanin's jokes* on the Telegram channel "Sorok Sorokov" (Forty Forties) and another on "Sons of the Monarchy." It called for a denunciation of the comedian, which she did. "This man received his injuries defending his country, and here they're mocking him. This is morally deformed," the victim stated.

Another victim said she "felt sick" after watching the video. "We collect money for drones at work. I have friends who fought in the war and were blown up by mines. It's unacceptable to allow this to happen during the Second World War." She added that Ostanin* says "vile things" and that his jokes "offend Muslims, too, since Isa is their prophet."

Another victim said in court that jokes about faith are unacceptable and that it is necessary to defend one's religion, as Muslims: "We see how they [those who insulted Islam] are sent there, what happens to them. We also need to defend our faith."

The "Caucasian Knot" also reported that in June 2025, human rights activists recognized Artemy Ostanin* as a political prisoner. Ostanin* is charged with publicly inciting hatred or enmity "with the use of violence or the threat of its use," although his monologue about the legless beggar in the metro did not mention violence or threats. Without violence or threats of violence, Ostanin’s* actions should be classified as an administrative offense with a maximum penalty of 15 days in jail, human rights activists noted, calling for an investigation into the comedian’s allegations of torture and humiliation after his arrest.

* Added to Rosfinmonitoring's list of terrorists and extremists.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.