Russia charges medical center head convicted of 'LGBT extremism' with involvement in 'Satanism movement'
On October 1, 2026, it was reported that Russian authorities initiated a new criminal case against Ilya Zhuravlev, the former head of a medical dialysis center network in the Ulyanovsk region who is already serving a prison sentence for alleged “LGBT extremism.” Investigators have now accused him of participating in the banned “International Movement of Satanism,” independent news outlet Mediazona reported, citing the human rights legal initiative Prison Advocate.
The new charge has been brought under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code (participation in the activities of an extremist organization). The allegation stems from assertions made by security services following Zhuravlev’s initial arrest in August 2024. At the time, the regional Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed that Zhuravlev, “being an adherent of Satanism, promoted the idea of same-sex relations among subordinate staff as a means of introducing them to devil worship,” allegedly promising career advancement and financial perks in return for adopting the cult.
In March 2025, the Inzensky District Court of the Ulyanovsk Region sentenced Zhuravlev to three years in a general-regime penal colony followed by six months of restricted freedom. He was convicted of participating in the banned “international LGBT movement” (Article 282.2, Part 2) and coercing a subordinate into sexual acts (Article 133, Part 1) after a complaint filed by an employee. Prosecutors presented private messaging logs found on the defendant’s mobile phone as primary evidence of his affiliation with the non-existent LGBT organization. The conviction was upheld on cassation appeal in autumn 2025.
The “International Movement of Satanism” (also designated as the “International Movement of Satanists”) was declared an extremist organization and outlawed by Russia’s Supreme Court on July 23, 2025, following a closed-door suit filed jointly by the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministry of Justice. The ruling was handed down by Supreme Court Judge Oleg Nefedov. Legal experts and human rights defenders note that no centralized entity exists under this name, and that such sweeping designations allow law enforcement to arbitrarily penalize unconventional religious practices, occult symbolism, and personal beliefs.
Uránia previously reported on European Union sanctions imposed against Judge Oleg Nefedov for banning both the LGBT and Satanism movements, and cited Ilya Zhuravlev’s case among the first criminal prosecutions for “LGBT extremism” in Russia .
