Police in Sakhalin are on the lookout for a rogue who insulted the governor

Investigators in Sakhalin are on a manhunt for the rogue who filmed himselfwalking down the city’s Lenin Street, complaining about the absence of a sidewalk, and blaming Governor Oleg Kozhemyako, whom he also insults in the video. The footage appeared on the website Sakhalin.info on April 9. According to the mayor’s office, the man filmed himself walking along a roadside that never had a sidewalk.

According to Sakhalin.info, Governor Kozhemyako reported the video to investigators, though his office told the magazine RBC that it was the regional government’s legal department that alerted the police. For insulting a public official, the suspect faces a fine as high as 40,000 rubles ($630) or up to a year of community service. The governor’s office says it will drop the charges if the man apologizes. It’s still unknown, however, if the authorities have identified him.

In 2017, a court in Vladivostok fined a demonstrator 3,000 rubles (about $47) for offending then Governor Vladimir Miklushevsky when he attended a protest carrying a sign that read, “Crook. United Russia member. Hyatt.” (The final word here refers to a long-delayed local construction site for a Hyatt hotel.)