The Defense Ministry's "talking head"—the deputy head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, also the commander of one of the "Akhmat" formations—has been promoting the idea of a global, joint confrontation between Russian Muslims and Christians against "Satanism" since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war. He regularly finds himself in various scrapes: with the Zetniks, with nationalists, and with Orthodox priests. And the more he tries to "cross a snake and a hedgehog" with his obvious desire to be "one of the guys," the more harshly he is criticized from all sides.
MMA fighter Zaur Ismailov, a native of Dagestan, who trained near a monument to veterans of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Moscow, has been remanded in custody. He previously published a video showing him using the sculpture near the Slavyansky Bulvar metro station for training.
In court, Zaur Ismailov's lawyer requested that he not be remanded in custody, citing his diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. The defense also cited Ismailov's donation to a charity and his brother's awards for participating in counter-terrorism operations.
The Investigative Committee reported that the criminal case was opened under Article 243.4 of the Russian Criminal Code for desecration of monuments and memorials dedicated to those who died defending the Fatherland.