Drug and Psychoactive Substance Propaganda: St. Petersburg Court Fines Blogger Arsen Markaryan

The Nevsky District Court of St. Petersburg has imposed an administrative fine of 15,000 rubles on blogger Arsen Markaryan for propaganda of drugs and psychoactive substances. According to RIA Novosti, the court's press service announced that on May 2, Markaryan published a video on social media presenting the "positive" effects of a certain psychoactive substance, describing it as a stimulant for mental and physical activity.

In the video, situations were shown where the use of this substance was portrayed as the "only right choice." The video was viewed by more than 113,000 users, and over 4,000 people liked the post. Linguistic and psychological examinations confirmed that the content indeed contained propaganda elements, after which the court imposed the fine.

At the same time, Markaryan remains in custody in connection with another criminal case. In November, the Taganka District Court in Moscow extended his detention for another two months. He is accused under part 4 of Article 354.1 of the Russian Criminal Code for "desecration of the memory of defenders of the Fatherland." According to the Investigative Committee, he posted that content online no later than February 25.

Despite not admitting guilt during questioning, after his detention, a lengthy post was published on his Telegram channel, apologizing to those he may have offended with his posts. He also revealed that he had been suffering from long-term depression.