Single-person picket: what to expect

• First, weigh the risk honestly. An anti-war picket often ends in detention, a record and a fine. People have been fined for a 'No to war!' sign, for a sign made only of asterisks and even for a blank sheet (OVD-Info, Radio Liberty). Decide whether you are ready for that, and write your lawyer's number on paper in advance.
• What the law says. You don't need to notify the authorities of a single picket unless you use a prefabricated structure (art. 7 of the Public Assemblies Act 54-FZ). A region may set a minimum distance between single picketers of no more than 50 metres; in Moscow and St Petersburg it is 50 metres (OVD-Info). You may not stand next to courts, presidential residences, prisons, on railways or in the border zone (art. 8). Since 2022, rallies and marches have been banned next to government buildings, schools, hospitals, stations, airports and places of worship (art. 8). A single picket there is not banned outright, but OVD-Info warns that several pickets in a row can be treated as one event, so it is better not to stand there.
• A 'quasi-group' picket. A court can treat several single pickets as one event if they are 'united by a common plan and common organisation', and then notice was required (art. 7, 54-FZ). OVD-Info advises holding one sign, not walking around with it, and asking a friend to take photos and video to prove the picket was single.
• What to carry. No weapons, sharp objects or alcohol, and no face covering except a medical mask. To identify yourself it is enough to state your full name, year and place of birth; you may show your passport but it may not be taken from you (OVD-Info).
• If you are detained. Detention usually lasts up to 3 hours, and up to 48 hours for offences that can carry arrest (art. 27.5 CAO). OVD-Info advises using art. 51 of the Constitution, writing objections under 'Explanations', not giving your phone passcode and not agreeing to fingerprints, photos or DNA samples unless there is a criminal case or a court-ordered arrest.
• Which articles. The record is usually drawn up under art. 20.2 CAO: a fine of 10,000-20,000 roubles or up to 40 hours of community service (pt 5); if you are deemed to have caused obstruction, up to 15 days' arrest (pt 6.1); for a repeat, 150,000-300,000 roubles or up to 30 days (pt 8). For anti-war words on the sign, art. 20.3.3 CAO: a fine of 30,000-50,000 roubles, 50,000-100,000 with aggravating factors, no arrest. In 2023 the Constitutional Court upheld this article.
• When a criminal case is possible. Holding an anti-war sign again within a year of a fine under art. 20.3.3 falls under art. 280.3 of the Criminal Code, up to 5 years in prison. In 2025 Elena Abramova from St Petersburg got 2 years for two single pickets this way. After more than two penalties under art. 20.2 within 180 days, art. 212.1 is possible, up to 5 years; in 2017 the Constitutional Court said it needs real harm or a threat of harm.
• What OVD-Info's data show. From 24 February 2022 to 24 July 2025 courts received 11,591 'discreditation' cases (art. 20.3.3): roughly 5,560 in 2022, 2,950 in 2023, 2,158 in 2024 and 931 from 1 January to 24 July 2025. Be prepared for the case to end in a fine: no one can promise a different outcome.
• The same art. 20.3.3 applies online: a photo of your picket on social media, a caption or a repost can lead to a separate record. More in the memo 'Prosecuted for a post, repost or comment'.
• Where to turn: Net Freedoms Project (@nfp_hotline), First Department, OVD-Info (bot). OVD-Info is designated 'extremist' in Russia; contact it from a device you will not have to hand over if detained. RosShtraf helps pay fines in anti-war cases.

Designations of organisations in this guide: OVD-Info (foreign agent, extremist, on Rosfinmonitoring list). Contacting them carries a risk: do not write from a phone that may be seized, and do not repost their materials.

current as of 26 September 2026. More: OVD-Info: single picket, how to avoid detention (in Russian) (foreign agent, extremist, on Rosfinmonitoring list); OVD-Info: if the police detain you (in Russian) (foreign agent, extremist, on Rosfinmonitoring list); OVD-Info: 'discreditation' and 'fakes', how to reduce the risk (in Russian) (foreign agent, extremist, on Rosfinmonitoring list); OVD-Info: anti-war persecution data as of 24.07.2025 (foreign agent, extremist, on Rosfinmonitoring list); OVD-Info: four years of war in numbers (in Russian) (foreign agent, extremist, on Rosfinmonitoring list); Public Assemblies Act (54-FZ), art. 7: single picket without notice (in Russian); Public Assemblies Act (54-FZ), art. 8: banned places (in Russian); Code of Administrative Offences, art. 20.2: breaking the rules of public events (in Russian); Code of Administrative Offences, art. 20.3.3: 'discrediting' the army (in Russian); Code of Administrative Offences, art. 27.5: length of detention (in Russian); Criminal Code, art. 280.3: repeated 'discreditation' (in Russian); Criminal Code, art. 212.1: repeated breaches of protest rules (in Russian); Constitutional Court ruling 2-P of 10.02.2017, Dadin case (in Russian); Pravo.ru: Constitutional Court upholds art. 20.3.3 CAO (in Russian); Radio Liberty: 30,000-rouble fine for a 'No to war!' single picket (in Russian) (foreign agent, undesirable); MR7: Elena Abramova's case over two single pickets (in Russian)