Businessman, former State Duma deputy, and the head of the rock group Pilgrim, Andrei Kovalev, faced a travel ban after a court hearing with blogger Dmitry Portnyagin. The development was reported by the Telegram channel Baza, which has frequently covered political and legal clashes involving public figures and online personalities in Russia. The incident underscores how legal disputes can translate into travel restrictions for high-profile individuals, complicating both personal movements and business obligations.
The sequence began in 2022 when Kovalev posted a video on his channel in which he called Portnyagin a scammer multiple times. This accusation drew a response from Portnyagin’s legal team, led by attorney Mikhail Mushailov, who decided to pursue a defamation case against Kovalev. The lawsuit highlighted the tension between online rhetoric and the potential consequences of public statements, especially when those statements are framed as definitive judgments about another person’s integrity.
Portnyagin’s representatives demanded that Kovalev remove the video and issue a new video that would refute the earlier claims. They requested that Kovalev personally present the court’s decision and keep a public record of the litigation in his channel’s feed for three years. The legal aim was to ensure that the record would be accessible and monitored by viewers, thereby preventing any continued spread of the allegedly defamatory content.
The court endorsed the plaintiff’s requests, ordering Kovalev to fulfill the stipulated conditions within five days of the decision’s publication. Kovalev declined to issue any apology, which prompted Portnyagin’s side to initiate another legal step. This second action resulted in a formal ban on Kovalev leaving Russia, a move designed to place limits on his ability to travel and potentially affect ongoing business and personal arrangements tied to international engagements.
Separately, Ekaterina Belotserkovskaya, the widow of Boris Grachevsky, the longtime head of the Yeralash kids’ film project, publicly denied offering comments on the status of the production center after his passing. This denial added another layer of public interest to the broader narrative of who controls or represents iconic cultural franchises in Russia and how those roles interact with ongoing legal cases and public statements.
In a related vein, the entertainment industry has recently seen parallel moments when major organizations and figures respond to lawsuits that touch on freedom of expression and contractual responsibilities. For instance, Disney responded to a lawsuit involving Gina Carano, the former star of The Mandalorian, highlighting how international media companies navigate legal disputes and talent-related disagreements across different jurisdictions. The cross-border implications of defamation and employment claims continue to shape discussions about accountability, reputation management, and the practical consequences of online discourse for public figures in Russia and beyond, illustrating a broader trend where legal actions intersect with culture, business, and media narratives. (Attribution: Baza)