Overview
- On Friday, July 3, a military court convicted twelve people and sentenced leader Mikhail Balashov to 20 years in prison with four years in pre‑colony detention, an 800,000‑ruble fine and a two‑year restriction of freedom.
- Prosecutors say Balashov founded the clandestine 'Pure Blood' neo‑Nazi cell in August 2022 and that he and co‑defendant Yegor Savelyev ran multiple Telegram channels to spread National Socialist propaganda and recruit followers.
- Investigators attributed six violent assaults on migrants and LGBTQ people to members of the cell and said videos of those attacks were circulated online to encourage extremist activity.
- Authorities reported that two members were offered $50,000 to kill RT editor‑in‑chief Margarita Simonyan but were detained by the FSB before any attack, and the closed trial left the precise roles of individual defendants unclear.
- The closed military proceedings, convictions on terrorism and violent‑crime charges, and reports of minors among the accused underline how Russian security services and courts are handling domestic extremist networks and online recruitment.