Mar 19, 2026, 4:11 p.mMar 19, 2026, 4:11 p.m
According to media reports, a long-time Kremlin propagandist has been admitted to a psychiatric clinic after a surprising political about-face.
The blogger Ilya Remeslo was admitted to psychiatric hospital number 3 in St. Petersburg, reported the Internet portal “Fontanka”. Remeslo, who was previously known as an informer of the Russian opposition, had previously caused a stir in Russia with a sharp criticism of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and the war he ordered in Ukraine.
He wrote on his Telegram channel that Putin was illegitimate as president and should be court-martialed. With the Ukraine war, Putin led the country into a political and economic dead end and stifled media freedom and was now in the process of shutting down the Internet, Remeslo complained.
Instruction could be a warning
The statements led to numerous speculations, as the 42-year-old lawyer had previously appeared as a prosecution witness in the trials against Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and had publicly cheered the annexation of Crimea.
The authorities’ reaction to Remeslo’s change of heart should also be seen as a warning. Even during Soviet times, mental hospitals were used as an instrument to suppress dissidents. The forced placement of numerous dissidents there served to discredit them and break their will. (sda/dpa)