The Ministry of Internal Affairs has chosen not to initiate a criminal case against bloggers Yegor Creed, Hussein Gasanov and Yuri Khovansky for promoting illegal online casinos. Reports indicate the decision was made because the bloggers were not in Russia at the time. Meanwhile, Hussein Hasanov posted a video from Moscow on the previous day, drawing attention to the ongoing discussion around online promotions and their regulatory status.
In February, it was noted that Creed, along with Ilya Maddison, Yuri Khovansky, Andrey Burim, and eleven other bloggers, were under consideration for punitive action due to advertisements for online casinos, as well as other illegal products and services. The compilation of violators was reportedly prepared by the Safe Internet League, an advocacy group led by Ekaterina Mizulina, which has repeatedly called for stricter enforcement against questionable online content.
Public activists organized a roundtable to address the issue of illegal advertising online. Participants urged responses and concrete measures from federal agencies including the Federal Antimonopoly Service, the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The discussion underscored growing concern about how online promotions intersect with consumer protection and national security concerns.
On August 14, a separate case highlighted the enforcement landscape. A beauty blogger named Andrey Petrov was fined for promoting LGBT content and for discrediting military forces. Court records show fines totaling two hundred thousand rubles and fifty thousand rubles, with investigations pointing to posts that referenced gender transition and same sex relationships, alongside material deemed to have discredited the Russian Armed Forces. The incident illustrates ongoing tensions around online discourse, public morals, and state messaging in digital spaces.
In a related development, news previously reported that a lawsuit had been filed against Garik Kharlamov, indicating that legal actions tied to online content and influencer activities continue to surface across the media landscape. The pattern of cases suggests a broader push to regulate online advertising and the behavior of public personalities in virtual environments, as authorities seek to balance freedom of expression with regulatory compliance and consumer protection.