Other Russia activists consider the arrests in Krasnodar unlawful.

The "Limonov Readings" were held indoors in Krasnodar. Party activists pointed out that the "Other Russia" symbols are not prohibited by law. A lawyer called the arrests an arbitrary application of the law and recommended appealing them. The women who served their sentences reported cold in their cells and long periods of detention without food or water.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," security forces harshly detained eight participants of the "Limonov Readings" in Krasnodar. The court sentenced them to between two and 10 days under administrative charges for displaying extremist symbols and organizing an unauthorized event. Ruslan Khubaev and Alexei Leonenko received the longest sentences, 10 days. Three of those arrested - Yana Auzeva, Alexandra Papsheva and Kirill Dultsev - have already been released. Two of the activists required ambulance assistance. Human rights activists have launched a fundraising campaign to appeal the arrests.

Released activists shared details of their arrests.

Five of those arrested—Ruslan Khubaev, Alexey Leonenko, Mikhail Matyazh, Anatoly Belyshev, and Ilya Pakhalenkov—are still in custody.

"Arrested for up to 10 days for allegedly demonstrating" symbols of a banned organization. Meanwhile, the symbols of the party "The Other Russia of Eduard Limonov" are not prohibited and are not on the list of extremist materials," a representative of the party "The Other Russia of Eduard Limonov" told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Yana Auzeva and Alexandra Papsheva, who have been released, said that security forces exerted pressure on the detainees and used force.

"I was at the Limonov Readings, on the second floor. About 30 minutes after it started, I heard some commotion on the first floor. I immediately wanted to see what was going on there. I saw a SOBR officer walking towards a meeting, and they cordoned us off. Then they started taking out people who did not have any symbols of the "Other Russia" with them. They put us in a "loaf" - 8 people - and took us to the station, where there were officers from the "E" Center. They told us that our "The ideology is banned, that we are banned, but we knew that wasn't true. After that, they drew up all the reports and assigned us to cells. It was very cold in the cells. That is, the temperature was below zero. At the police station itself, they didn't give us food or water; they were only able to barely pass water to our comrade in the courthouse," Alexandra Papsheva told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to her, force was used against the detainee, Anatoly Belyshev.

"During the arrest, right in the building itself, he was kicked in the back. He felt ill in the cell, an ambulance arrived, they gave him painkillers. Somewhere around 3 or 4 o'clock, we heard some sounds of a struggle, screams. It was our comrade Ilya Pakhalenkov. In addition, threats were made against him that they would break his legs and bones." and so on. Then they took us to the Oktyabrsky Court. We waited a very long time for the judge, somewhere around three hours. A lawyer came to see us, and we talked about what had happened to us. When they brought me directly to the judge, I got the impression that the judge had already spoken in prepared sentences. That is, it was very quickly, reluctantly. He delivered the verdict: two days. Actually, that was it, after we were all sentenced, we were put in a special convoy and taken directly to the temporary detention center,” she said.

Yana Auzeva told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent that she has a chronic ulcer, which was aggravated by the subzero temperature in the cell.

“In the duty station, I saw my file on the table. I wanted to look at it, but was rudely refused. Then they took us one by one to a separate room. They completely undressed us, we "We took off all our underwear and did squats. We had no water, no food, we were very cold, and due to the stress, my ulcer became inflamed, and my stomach hurt really badly. I asked them to call an ambulance. After a while, the ambulance arrived. They gave me painkiller injections," she said.

"Limonov Readings" include entertainment and political components

Supporters of "The Other Russia" explained what the "Limonov Readings" are.

"For us, this is a cultural and political event dedicated to the memory of Russian politician and writer Eduard Limonov. Typically, these are literary evenings with readings of Limonov's works, discussions about his work and political views, discussions about the future of Russia, and so on," explained Sergey, one of the Krasnodar activists.

According to him, Celebrities who shared the politician's views often attend the Limonov Readings.

"These could be established artists, rappers, bands, or up-and-coming artists. They provide the musical portion of the closed event. This way, not only party members can attend the evenings; it's a way to attract new supporters, show them our ideology, and find allies among them," he described.

The idea for the Limonov Readings arose after the politician's death.

"They've been around for about five years, held in various Russian cities; there are definitely more than 10 of them. You could say they're closed-door cultural and political events. And they don't require approval from the authorities because they're not political events," said another party ally, Alexei from St. Petersburg.

He recalls that security forces already detained participants in 2023. Readings.

"Security forces stormed the club where the event was taking place, kicked everyone out, and detained about 10 people, but released them the next day. "Krasnodar arrests for 10 days are something new," he noted.

A former ally of "The Other Russia" said that after a visit by security forces to a St. Petersburg club, she stopped going to the "Limonov Readings."

"At first it was very interesting, but then the events became more entertaining than political. People with openly Nazi views showed up and, for some reason, introduced us to their work. Not only I, but also many of my friends didn't like many of the guests at these events," Anastasia told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

She wasn't detained that evening, but she no longer wanted to be associated with people of "incomprehensible ideologies."

"Then they detained those who were standing with posters or party paraphernalia. But the situation was such that they could have detained me. That was the last thing I wanted in that situation. However, after that, I no longer attended their readings, although I always liked Limonov as a politician,” she noted.

Lawyer called the arrests of the readings participants “an arbitrary application of the law”

Arrests based on the “similarity” of the symbols of “The Other Russia” with the symbols of the banned NBP (the party was recognized as extremist, its activities were banned in Russia, and liquidated by a court decision - ed. “Kakazsky Uzel”) have no legal basis and are an arbitrary application of the law, lawyer Patimat Abdullayeva is sure.

“Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation “Propaganda or public display of Nazi paraphernalia or symbols, or paraphernalia or symbols of extremist organizations” requires that the symbols displayed precisely match those included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials. The symbols of the "Other Russia" party of E.V. Limonova's "readings" are legally different from the NBP symbols - they are different graphic images, and only the NBP symbols are included in the list of prohibited ones. "Similarity" is not a legal criterion - either the symbols are prohibited and on the list, or they are not. Such arrests can and should be appealed to a higher court, citing the absence of an offense in the actions - the display of legal symbols cannot be grounds for prosecution," she told the "Caucasian Knot."

As for the classification of the event as an unauthorized action, there are certain questions here too.

"According to the law, indoor readings are not a public event requiring approval from the authorities. An indoor event is a private gathering that does not require notification of the authorities. Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation applies only to public events outdoors or in publicly accessible places. If the readings took place in a rented space with limited access, this is not falls under the law on public events," she pointed out.