Nalchik Resident Fined for Selling Banned Religious Book

The Nalchik City Court has fined a 40-year-old local resident for distributing extremist materials. According to law enforcement, the woman posted an advertisement on an online platform to sell a religious book that had been added to the Federal List of Extremist Materials in 2015.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs for Kabardino-Balkaria reported that officers discovered the sale of the literature during investigative operations. Based on the gathered evidence, the court found the woman guilty and imposed an administrative fine.

Article 20.29 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation ("Mass distribution of extremist materials or their production/storage for the purpose of mass distribution") carries a penalty of a fine ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 rubles or administrative arrest for up to 15 days, along with the confiscation of the materials in question.

A case file regarding the distribution of extremist materials appeared in the Nalchik City Court’s database on September 12, listing Diana Indreeva as the defendant. The text of the court ruling has not yet been published on the court's website.

According to estimates by the SOVA Research Center, at least 301 rulings imposing penalties under Article 20.29 were issued in 2025. The Judicial Department at the Supreme Court recorded 178 rulings that had entered into legal force during the first half of the year; SOVA estimates the total figure for the year at approximately 320. In 2024, there were 314 such official decisions.

At the same time, the nature of the cases has shifted noticeably: the proportion of cases involving religious materials rose from 24% in 2024 to 41% in 2025. According to SOVA, these cases primarily involve Islamic materials.

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