In the Lenin District Court of St. Petersburg, a verdict was delivered against blogger Ekaterina Bivol, whose provocative statements on social media sparked widespread public outcry. For inciting interethnic hatred and humiliating the dignity of people, she was sentenced to 60 hours of community service. The court found her guilty under Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation based on a linguistic examination that confirmed the presence of gross insults and ideas of racial superiority in her posts.
The critical video published last autumn contained aggressive statements and profanity directed at the peoples of Central Asia. Forensic experts noted that Bivol's rhetoric was aimed at discriminating against individuals based on national and linguistic characteristics. The response from Russian authorities to the incident was swift: the blogger's actions were classified as inciting hatred.
However, the consequences for Bivol turned out to be much more serious than administrative punishment in Russia. The authorities of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan took a tough stance: an arrest warrant was issued in Bishkek in the name of Ekaterina, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan officially declared her wanted. Now her status as a "persona non grata" and the possibility of criminal prosecution in these countries have become the real price for attempting to gain popularity through nationalist content.
