Russian authorities have drawn up an administrative case against Pavel Gubarev for allegedly “discrediting” the Russian military, according to a listing in the Moscow City Court database. The case was registered on February 18 in Moscow’s Tagansky District Court.
The court entry says Gubarev P.Yu. is being prosecuted under Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code, which carries a fine of up to 50,000 rubles. The initials match those of the former self-styled “people’s governor” of Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Speaking to RBC, Gubarev said he did not know what triggered the report. “Whether this is someone’s design, I don’t know. I can only assume that some people didn’t like my texts. I consider this sheer stupidity. I don’t expect any consequences for myself,” he said.
Gubarev rose to prominence in spring 2014 as one of the leaders of pro-Russian forces in the Donbas. In March 2014, he was declared “people’s governor” at a rally in Donetsk, though he did not subsequently take an official post in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR). After returning to Russia and the start of the fighting in Ukraine, he joined the army as a private.
He runs a Telegram channel followed by about 25,000 people.
In 2023, Gubarev was detained outside Moscow’s Meshchansky District Court after the decision to arrest former DNR “defense minister” Igor Strelkov (Girkin). Gubarev publicly backed Strelkov at the time, saying he had “always offered well-founded criticism of the leadership of the Ministry of Defense.” Police then led Gubarev away.
