Russian court declares far-right hate group ‘Male State’ an extremist organization

The Nizhny Novgorod Regional Court satisfied a claim filed by prosecutors and declared the far-right hate group “Male State” an extremist organization.

During the hearing, the prosecution argued that Male State (Muzhskoe Gosudarstvo in Russian) is an informal organization that operates on social networks, including Telegram, and “persecutes citizens on the basis of nationality.” 

According to Mediazona, the judge reviewing the case, Anna Belova, rendered her decision in the space of a few minutes.

Lawyer Dzambolat Gabarev, who represented the interests of Male State founder Vladislav Pozdnyakov in the trial, said that the defense plans to appeal the court’s ruling. Pozdnyakov, who reportedly resides outside of Russia, did not appear in court.

Earlier, Pozdnyakov wrote on Telegram that he “didn’t care” about the claim against Male State, claiming that he “hasn’t run this brand for a year.”

The name “Male State” was linked to a number of private groups on the Russian social network VKontakte that proclaimed an ideology described as “national patriarchy.” The social network blocked Male State in 2020, but the group still has an active channel on Telegram.

Male State’s founder, Vladislav Pozdnyakov, was handed a two-year suspended sentence in 2018 for inciting hatred against women. His sentence was overturned three months later, after which Pozdnyakov left Russia.