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A loyal pro-Kremlin blogger who, against all odds, denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “war criminal and thief” was admitted to a psychiatric institution.
Pro-Putin lawyer and firebrand Ilya Remeslo shocked Kremlin supporters and critics on Tuesday when he shared a lengthy message on Telegram, titled “Five reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin.”
Among his reasons, he highlighted Russia’s invasion of Ukrainewhich he called “an absolutely hopeless war.” He also accused the Kremlin of being responsible for “enormous damage to the Russian economy and the well-being of citizens” and criticized the Russian government’s campaign to strangle the Russian economy. Internet and digital freedoms, including the planned ban on Telegram, the country’s most popular messaging app.
Remeslo, previously known as a vocal critic of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny who even testified against him in court, accusing Putin of being in power for too long, with the apparent intention of “staying on the throne for at least 150 years.”
Even a “morally impeccable person” would be corrupt by such a long reign, he said.
Putin does not respect his voters and does not want to listen to them, Remeslo wrote, adding that the Russian leader has wiped out the opposition and anyone who dared to speak out is either in exile or dead.
“Bottom line. Vladimir Putin is not a legitimate president. Vladimir Putin must resign and be tried as a war criminal and thief,” he wrote.
Remeslo’s comments constitute an unusual public display of dissent and personal criticism of Putin. in an atmosphere of repression and strict control in Russiaexacerbated by the invasion of Ukraine.
The change was so abrupt that some in the pro-Kremlin camp speculated that Remeslov’s account might have been hacked, that he was being held hostage, or that for some other reason he had simply lost the plot.
Remeslo responded in messages on Telegram that he had not been hacked, that he remained in Russia and maintained his views.
On Wednesday, he continued his criticism, accusing Putin of an “insane, borderline morbid thirst for luxury”, referring to anti-corruption investigations into the leader’s assets, such as: launched by Navalny.
He also recorded a video saying that Putin was too afraid to surround himself with those who can tell him the honest truth.
Russian President Vladimir Putin during a government meeting on Wednesday at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence near Moscow.Gavriil Grigorov / AFP via Getty ImagesIn a response to Russian media outlet Ostoroghno Novosti, Remeslo said his view had changed because the country had “changed a lot.”
Prominent pro-Kremlin TV host Vladimir Soloviev spoke about Remeslo on his show Wednesday, calling him a “lawyer who has lost his mind,” without naming him, saying that “some people’s nerves can’t take it anymore.” Responding to Soloviev’s criticism, Remeslo urged him to move to the “side of light.”
Meanwhile, some Kremlin opponents have expressed doubts about Remeslo’s motives and whether he has already fallen out of favor with the Kremlin.
But the story took a dramatic turn after Remeslo abruptly stopped posting Wednesday evening.
On Thursday, the Fontanka news site reported that Remeslo was hospitalized at the Skvortsov-Stepanov psychiatric hospital No. 3 in St. Petersburg.
When NBC News called the hospital Friday, a man who answered the phone but would not give his name said a person matching the name Ilya Remeslo was indeed a patient at the hospital. He was admitted Thursday, but the reasons for his hospitalization can only be revealed to the patient’s family, we learned on NBC News.
Remeslo did not respond to a request for comment.
The 42-year-old blogger was previously a vocal critic of Navalny, died in an Arctic penal colony in early 2024. State news agency Tass called Remeslo “one of Navalny’s most famous whistleblowers” as he testified against the politician in court in 2022 and investigated his anti-corruption fund, FBK.
However, in one of his articles on Wednesday, he concluded with a slogan made famous by the late opposition leader, concluding: “Here we speak the truth.”