Law enforcement officers conducted a search in the apartments of Vladimir Zhilkin, a human rights activist and member of the "Golos" movement for fair elections in Tambov. On March 7, Zhilkin reported about the search on his Telegram channel saying that it was possibly connected with the "Ivanovo case."
Vladimir Zhilkin explained that the search was carried out due to a post made by activist Mikhail Gusev on his Telegram channel. During the search, three laptops, phones, and flash drives were confiscated from Zhilkin's two apartments in Tambov. However, Zhilkin claims that he has never met Gusev.
Earlier, criminal proceedings were initiated against Gusev who might be accused of repeatedly discrediting the army. In his post, he declared that he didn’t want to serve in the Russian army.
In October 2022, searches were conducted in the homes of "Golos" activists in five regions, followed by searches in Karelia and the Chelyabinsk region in November. "Golos" stated that Gusev had no connection with their organization and called the incidents an act of pressure on public observers ahead of the 2024 presidential campaign.
