Pro-Kremlin Russian blogger who turned on Putin sent to psychiatric unit
A Russian influencer with 90k followers was hospitalized after posting a viral anti-Putin manifesto.
Ilya Remeslo, a Russian blogger who built a career denouncing critics of President Vladimir Putin, has been placed in a psychiatric hospital following an abrupt and viral public turn against the Kremlin. Remeslo posted a manifesto to his 90,000 followers on Telegram titled 'Five reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin,' in which he labeled the Russian leader a 'war criminal' and called for his resignation and trial, citing the 'failing war' in Ukraine and its economic toll.
Russian media outlet Fontanka reported on Thursday that Remeslo had been hospitalized at St. Petersburg's Psychiatric Hospital No. 3. The hospital's information desk confirmed a patient with his name was present and available to receive packages. This action follows a long-standing pattern in Russia where political dissidents and critics have been subjected to forced psychiatric treatment, a tactic reminiscent of Soviet-era practices used to discredit and silence opposition.
- Ilya Remeslo, a pro-Kremlin blogger with 90,000 Telegram followers, publicly denounced Putin as a 'war criminal'.
- He was subsequently hospitalized at St. Petersburg's Psychiatric Hospital No. 3, as confirmed by local media.
- The case highlights the continued use of punitive psychiatry against political dissent in Russia.
Why It Matters
This incident demonstrates the severe risks and retaliatory tactics faced by critics of the Russian government, even those with former loyalist credentials.