Blogger Andrey Kurshin arrested in Moscow on suspicion of spreading ‘fakes’ about Russian army

Andrey Kurshin, who runs the Telegram channel Moscow Calling, has been arrested in Moscow. State news agency TASS reports, citing a source in law enforcement, that the Russian authorities have opened a criminal case on spreading “fakes” about Russia’s Armed Forces against Kurshin.

Telegram channel Shot posted footage of Kurshin’s arrest at Moscow’s Leningradsky railway station. According to Mash, Kurshin is an engineer at the scientific research firm Rif, which develops weapons-related software. He reportedly has some level of access to state secrets.

Independent news outlet iStories writes that Kurshin fought for the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” under the call sign Moskva in 2014–2015. He later adopted a more moderate position and started the Moscow Calling channel, which covered hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.

Moscow Calling currently has over 86,000 subscribers. Posts, which were likely planned and scheduled, continued to appear after news broke of Kurhsin’s arrest.

In May 2023, Kurshin complained that pro-Putin activists threatened his elderly parents and broke windows in their home.