Activist Vitaly Votanovsky left Russia after receiving threatening phone calls and an offer to buy a place in a cemetery for him. He was keeping the registry of the buried military from the Wagner PMC in Krasnodar. The security forces have allegedly initiated criminal cases against him for repeatedly discrediting the army and collaborating with the so-called “undesirable” organizations. This was reported by the Protocol publication on April 5.
Activist Vitaliy Votanovsky has announced that he has left the country after receiving threats and being targeted by the authorities. Votanovskiy had been keeping a registry of buried military personnel from the Wagner PMC in Krasnodar. He had received anonymous phone calls with threats to kill him and even suggestions to buy a place in a cemetery for him.
The situation escalated further when the security forces opened criminal cases against him for repeatedly discrediting the army and collaborating with the so-called “undesirable” organizations. These charges were mentioned on his Titushki in Krasnodar Telegram channel. Votanovsky had previously been fined for similar offenses, with the court imposing a fine of 30 thousand rubles ($375) on him for discrediting the army in April 2022 and 5 thousand rubles ($62) for reposting material from an “undesirable” organization in October.
Votanovsky had been helping families of deceased soldiers from various regions to do the paperwork for the reburial of bodies from the Wagner cemetery in Krasnodar. According to the activist, the families had not been informed as to why their loved ones were buried away from home without their knowledge. A family from Transbaikalia told the 7x7 media that they planned to sue the Wagner Group and obtain the reburial of their relative's body.
In February, Votanovsky was summoned for interrogation by the FSB after being photographed wearing T-shirts with the inscriptions "Russia without Putin", "No to Putin", and "Putin, go away".
