Pyotr Verzilov, a longtime member of the protest art collective Pussy Riot, has been repeatedly targeted by Russian authorities through the foreign agent act. According to official court documents, he was convicted in absentia of disseminating deliberately false information about the Russian military. The government framed his actions as part of a broader campaign to influence international audiences and to bolster support for leaders and high-ranking officials of what Moscow designates as unfriendly states. The documents present Verzilov as an active participant in online and informal networks that sought to challenge the state’s security narrative, a portrayal that has helped shape subsequent legal actions against him.
Investigators relied on a search protocol that included seizing Verzilov’s personal mobile phone from his mother’s residence. On that device, prosecutors reportedly found photos, videos, and text messages that allegedly documented his communications and expressed support for leaders and senior figures in countries considered hostile by Russia. The material was presented as evidence of a deliberate information campaign that sought to spread disinformation and to mobilize foreign publics against Moscow’s official account of events in the military domain.
November 2023 saw the Moscow Basmanny Court issue a conviction in absentia, sentencing Verzilov to eight and a half years in a general regime penal colony for discrediting the Russian army. As part of the punishment, he was also barred from managing internet resources for four years. The ruling exemplified a hard line in the criminalization of speech and online activity deemed detrimental to the state and its armed forces.
However, in March 2024 the Moscow City Court canceled the in absentia verdict against Mediazona’s publisher, who is recognized as a foreign agent in Russia. The case was remanded to the Moscow Basmanny Court for a new hearing. The decision paused the earlier punishment and reopened the possibility for fresh examination of evidence, testimony, and legal arguments in a climate of ongoing political contention and information control.
In April 2024 Verzilov faced a renewed case involving the dissemination of false information about the Russian army. He was sentenced again, this time to eight years and four months in a general regime colony. The retrial reflected the persistent legal strategy to pursue figures linked to international media projects and activist networks for alleged disinformation.
Authorities also charged Verzilov with concealing his Canadian citizenship. He is publicly known to hold multiple citizenships, and Russian authorities argue that failing to disclose this status constitutes a breach of the relevant laws. The ongoing procedures illustrate how nationality questions intersect with foreign influence concerns and the broad scope of statutes governing information and loyalty in the current Russian legal environment.
A note explains that Verzilov was placed on the foreign agents register in an earlier step, with authorities detailing the rationale behind that designation. Analysts observe that the foreign agents framework has become a tool to regulate activists, journalists, and publishers tied to international funding or cross-border information campaigns. This context helps illuminate the legal and political backdrop of Verzilov’s cases and the international attention they have drawn.