A native of Karachay-Cherkessia was sentenced to prison for extremist comments.

A military court in St. Petersburg sentenced Eldar Kabardaev, a native of Karachay-Cherkessia, to six years in prison for inciting extremism. Kabardaev claimed in court that he wrote the comments at the behest of security forces.

Eldar Kabardaev, a 31-year-old native of Karachay-Cherkessia, was detained in St. Petersburg on January 28 and arrested the following day on charges of justifying terrorism. 1

According to the prosecution, in 2022, Kabardaev published comments in a Telegram chat justifying the activities of the Nogai and Cherkessk Battalions, which are listed as terrorist organizations in Russia, Mediazona* reports today.

In court, the Karachay-Cherkessia native admitted guilt, stating that he wrote his comments as part of an operational activity coordinated with an FSB officer. He did not mention this during pre-trial questioning, explaining that his lawyer advised him to remain silent about his collaboration with security forces. The case file also includes a certificate from the FSB stating that Eldar Kabardaev was not involved in any cooperation, the publication notes.

The court found Kabardaev guilty on two counts. In addition to the article on terrorist propaganda mentioned in the St. Petersburg court press service's announcement of his arrest, the native of Karachay-Cherkessia was also charged with public calls for extremist activity. 2 The prosecution requested a six-year prison sentence for Eldar Kabardaev, and the court accepted the proposed sentence.

The St. Petersburg branch of the Russian National Guard, reporting the man's arrest on January 28, claimed that his comments also justified the militants who carried out the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in 2024. "The 30-year-old detainee identified himself with the North Caucasus underground, (...) posted detailed instructions on how to make and use homemade explosive devices," the publication stated.

Eldar Kabardaev worked as a laborer in St. Petersburg before his arrest. He was a former military man, serving as a reconnaissance officer since 2014.

* are listed as foreign agents.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.