Tuesday, March 24, 2026

What freedom of thought looks like in Putin's Russia

Pro-Kremlin blogger turns on Putin, sent to psychiatric care

Juri Rescheto in Riga

March 23, 2026

After seemingly switching sides, a pro-government blogger in Russia who criticized President Vladimir Putin has been admitted to psychiatric care in St. Petersburg. Did he go rogue?


On March 17, Ilya Remeslo, a blogger, lawyer and former member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, posted a sensational "manifesto" entitled "Five reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin" on his Telegram channel. He said the war against Ukraine was "failing" and also criticized online censorship and the lack of freedom of speech.

Remeslo went on to argue that the Russian president had been in power for too long and was apparently planning to "remain on the throne for at least 150 years." He also described Putin's press conferences as a "circus" and concluded by saying that he was not a legitimate president: "Putin must resign and be brought to justice as a war criminal and a thief."

The next day, Remeslo posted some videos online to prove that he was still living in Russia. He also said he was prepared to go to jail now so that he could live as a hero later, after Putin's downfall.

The manifesto and videos caused quite a stir and have apparently landed Remeslo in St. Petersburg's Psychiatric Hospital No. 3. It is unclear how this came to be, but all contact with him seems to have been lost and people are wondering what happened.

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