Russia arrests those who photographed soldiers' graves

In Russia, the arrests of people who take pictures of military graves are becoming increasingly widespread. This was reported by Meduza, citing Dmitry Treshchanin, editor of Mediazona.

Security forces have forced residents of a number of regions to apologize on camera. According to the journalist, Mediazona has recently begun offering money for photos of the graves of Russians killed in the war.

Treshchanin noted that this information is attracting the attention of fraudsters. They have repeatedly tried to buy a database that has not yet been published from the publication. Grave photos are used, including to deceive relatives. The journalist did not disclose the details of this scheme, but gave an important warning: if photos and correspondence with the customer are found on a person’s phone, the FSB may charge him with treason.

The case is formalized as if the order came from the Ukrainian special services. Moreover, such proposals can be sent by security officers themselves in order to increase the rate of crime detection.

At the end of last week, it became known that a criminal case was opened against a resident of Yaroslavl for treason. According to the indictment, since October 2024, he has been systematically photographing and videotaping the graves of Russian servicemen and sending these materials to the Ukrainian special services.

The publication notes that over the past month, at least two criminal cases of treason have appeared on the website of the Yaroslavl Regional Court. At the end of June, several residents of the Tomsk region were arrested in a similar case. Their exact number was not disclosed.

“Mediazona” together with the BBC Russian service is counting the number of Russians killed in the war. The publication noted that it had previously asked volunteers to send photos of new graves in Russian cemeteries. Now, the publication strongly recommends against doing so.