Ilya Remeslo, the informant who helped put Navalny in legal jeopardy, just learned what it costs to call Putin a war criminal

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Ilya Remeslo, a pro-Kremlin blogger and informant, publishes a lengthy post on his Telegram channel sharply criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Remeslo calls the war in Ukraine “absolutely deadlocked” and says it is causing serious damage to the Russian economy. He also faults Putin personally for his prolonged hold on power and for corruption, accusing him of “not wanting to hear his voters.” “Vladimir Putin must resign and be put on trial as a war criminal and a thief,” Remeslo writes at the end of his post.

Until then, Remeslo had been known for his conspicuously pro-Kremlin stance and for a years-long personal campaign against Alexei Navalny. Remeslo has claimed credit for the criminal fraud charges filed against Navalny over donations to the Anti-Corruption Foundation.

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Amid rumors that his account had been hacked, Remeslo confirms that he, not a hacker, wrote the post criticizing Putin. He gives a series of interviews to independent media outlets, saying he has no plans to leave Russia. “They’ll put me on trial — well, let them try. I also have plenty of interesting things to say in court,” he says.

Remeslo attributes his unexpected turn against Putin to his belief that the Russian president has no intention of “ever ending” the war — a course he says runs contrary to Russia’s interests.

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Remeslo is hospitalized in a psychiatric clinic. The reasons are unclear. Commentators suggest the hospitalization was deliberately arranged to shield him from criminal prosecution, with help from relatives who work in psychiatry.

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Remeslo is discharged from the psychiatric clinic. “Harsh criticism of senior government officials comes at a price — remember that,” he says.

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Journalist Ksenia Sobchak publishes an interview with Remeslo in which he says that he was hospitalized against his will and that it was “punishment” for his posts about Putin.

Remeslo also says that he has no intention of backing away from his criticism of Putin, that he has no patrons in power, and that he does not plan to go abroad. He says he is confident that Putin will lose power very soon: “It will be something like a palace coup. […] We’ll wake up in a different country.”

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Remeslo continues to run his Telegram channel, which has more than 120,000 subscribers, posting criticism of both Putin personally and the actions of Russian forces.

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Remeslo is detained on charges of spreading “fake news” about the Russian military. According to sources at the Russian business news outlet RBC, the case was opened over posts on his Telegram channel. Telegram channels close to the security services circulate video of the detention, showing the blogger lying face-down on his bedroom floor with his hands behind his back, wearing only underwear. Remeslo’s lawyer, Sergei Badamshin, clarifies that the posts criticizing Putin were what triggered the case.