On March 17, Ilya Remeslo — a blogger, lawyer and former member of Russia’s Public Chamber — published a manifesto on his Telegram channel titled “Five reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin.” In the post he said the war in Ukraine was “failing,” denounced online censorship and restrictions on free speech, and criticized Putin’s long hold on power, accusing him of treating the presidency like a lifelong throne. He described presidential press conferences as a “circus” and called Putin illegitimate, saying: “Putin must resign and be brought to justice as a war criminal and a thief.”
The following day Remeslo uploaded videos apparently intended to show he remained in Russia and declared he was prepared to go to prison now so that, after Putin’s fall, he might be viewed as a hero. The posts provoked a strong reaction online and appear to have been followed by his admission to St. Petersburg’s Psychiatric Hospital No. 3. How exactly he was placed in the facility is unclear; contacts with him were lost and many questions remain unanswered.
Remeslo had been one of the more prominent “Z‑bloggers,” patriotic influencers who supported the Kremlin’s war policy and attacked dissent. He gained visibility campaigning against the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, including testifying in court cases across Russia. Navalny died in prison in early 2024 while serving a lengthy sentence on charges that included extremism.
In an interview conducted before his hospitalization, Remeslo said his change of heart was voluntary, the result of a personal evolution and a new “mission.” He told the interviewer his views shifted after the 2023 uprising led by mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and its aftermath. Aware of the risks, he said he would not flee abroad and expressed hope for political change within a year.
Responses from his former allies and pro‑Kremlin commentators were rapid and mostly skeptical. Chechen special forces commander Apti Alaudinov, who had worked with Remeslo, said he was “deeply shocked” and suggested Remeslo might have been coerced into making the statements. TV host Vladimir Solovyov speculated the blogger might have suffered a “nervous breakdown” caused by the war. Pro‑government websites variously dismissed Remeslo’s criticism as an attempt to destabilize Russia or as a calculated ploy serving other interests.
Analysts reacted with caution or condemnation. Ivan Filippov, a researcher of Russian propaganda, described Remeslo as an “accomplice in the murder of Alexei Navalny” and warned that calling Putin a “war criminal” and “thief” was unprecedented for a former pro‑Kremlin influencer and could expose him to arrest. Political scientist Abbas Gallyamov interpreted Remeslo’s turn as part of a broader shift in sections of Russian media and society driven by war fatigue, economic pressure and declining trust in government.
Some observers also suggested the authorities may have played a role in Remeslo’s fate. Dmitry Oreshkin argued that the blogger had likely been forced into psychiatric care, saying the state had an interest in preventing him from becoming a public martyr and instead seeking to humiliate or break him. Oreshkin cited the grim reputation of St. Petersburg’s Psychiatric Clinic No. 3, which has been associated since the Soviet era with forensic psychiatric measures. He added that the wide spectrum of reactions — from hysteria to despair and hostility — reflected a politically inert society in which social‑media eruptions are treated as major events.
Remeslo’s sudden break with the Kremlin line and his subsequent detention in a psychiatric facility have intensified debate inside Russia and among observers abroad about dissent, coercion and the limits of tolerated criticism. Many questions about the circumstances of his hospitalization and his current status remain unresolved.
This article was originally written in German.