Russia remands anti-war blogger and bars pro-peace politician Nadezhdin from September vote

Russian authorities have continued a crackdown on dissent against the war by detaining a well-known blogger and moving to prevent a local politician from running for parliament, the BBC reports [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0n3y6ewn4o]. Blogger Ilya Remeslo, a former staunch supporter of Vladimir Putin who dramatically broke with the president in March, was remanded in custody for two months on suspicion of spreading false information against the military.

Separately, Boris Nadezhdin, 63, was convicted of "displaying extremist symbols" in a ruling that bars him from collecting signatures for September's parliamentary elections, according to the BBC [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0n3y6ewn4o]. Nadezhdin came to prominence two years ago when he tried to stand for president on an anti-war platform but was barred after electoral authorities ruled his submitted signatures were flawed; few genuine opposition politicians remain in Russia.

Nadezhdin was declared a "foreign agent" last week before being detained on Monday over a 2023 video he reposted that briefly showed an image of the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny, the BBC reports [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0n3y6ewn4o]. He was fined 1,000 roubles (about $13) and can still appeal the ruling, but the conviction closes a legal loophole that had allowed him to gather candidate signatures; he has also been barred from leaving Russia.

Remeslo said he was accused over a March 2026 blog post titled "Five reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin," in which he criticised damage to Russia's economy and restrictions on internet and media freedom before being sent to a psychiatric hospital for a month, according to the BBC [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0n3y6ewn4o]. His lawyer said he was taken to Moscow after being detained hours earlier in his home city of St Petersburg.

Two Russian opinion polls suggest President Putin's popularity has fallen this month, the BBC reports [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0n3y6ewn4o]. The independent Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) put his approval at 66%, down five points in the week to 12 July, while state-owned pollster VTsIOM recorded 65.1% — its lowest reading since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.