Police refused to follow up on a denunciation of a Kuban animal rights activist.

Law enforcement agencies have refused to open a criminal case against Tikhoretsk animal rights activist Denis Dzhalaganiya following a complaint filed by Oksana Zhiteneva, head of the Stavropol animal rights organization. The activist also filed a complaint against the district police officer who made the decision.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," Oksana Zhiteneva, head of the Stavropol animal rights organization, accused Denis Dzhalaganiya, a Kuban public animal welfare inspector, of slander, insults, and discrediting the army in late September, asking the FSB to open a criminal case against him. In October 2024, the court had already fined Dzhalaganiya for discrediting the army due to pacifist posts in an animal rights group chat room. According to the activist, the case was also initiated based on a denunciation.

The Tikhoretsky District Ministry of Internal Affairs refused to open a criminal case against Tikhoretsk animal rights activist Denis Dzhalaganiya following a complaint filed by Oksana Zhiteneva, head of the Stavropol regional public organization "Center for Legal Defense of the Population. Environmental Protection," a duty officer at the department told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The case was transferred from the FSB, where the Stavropol activist had initially appealed, to the police in Dzhalaganiya's place of residence. "The request to open a criminal case against Dzhalaganiya was denied. "The investigation materials have now been transferred to the prosecutor's office for review," the duty officer clarified. The "refusal material," he said, was issued by the Tikhoretsky District police officer, Police Lieutenant Anton Karpetchenko.

Denis Dzhalaganiya himself told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent today that "District inspector Anton Karpetchenko was on vacation until October 3," which is why he had been unable to retrieve the decision refusing to initiate criminal proceedings against him.

"The district officer reported to work today. I called him to arrange a meeting to pick up the decision, to which Anton Karpetchenko informed me that he was in trouble because of this case and had filed a complaint against him with the Investigative Committee. That concluded our conversation. "I was upset and called Karpetchenko's immediate supervisor, Galina Chizhova, to find out the reason for her subordinate's troubles, but she wouldn't tell me anything, only confirming that they had refused to initiate criminal proceedings against me and that the decision had been sent to the complainant a few days earlier. "I can review the materials of the refusal case and the decision itself when they return from the prosecutor's office to the police department," Denis Dzhalaganiya said.

According to Denis Dzhalaganiya, after receiving the decision to refuse to initiate criminal proceedings against him, Oksana Zhiteneva also complained about the district police officer who refused to process her complaint under the "always winning" category of cases. Zhiteneva answered a call from a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent but declined to comment on the situation, stating only that she "isn't worried" and "everyone will answer for their actions."

It's noteworthy that Oksana Zhiteneva had previously praised Denis Dzhalaganiya on her Telegram channel "Zakon_pravo" (Law_Right), citing his work as an example. "Thank you very much @chief.denis (Denis Dzhalaganiya) for your work in bringing this horror to light. Thanks to your work, law enforcement agencies have brought this horror to the attention of law enforcement agencies," Zhiteneva wrote.

Dzhalaganiya believes that Zhiteneva's desire to become a deputy prompted her to change her attitude toward him, but she was denied even registration, as he wrote on social media. The animal rights activist presented the Pyatigorsk Territorial Election Commission's ruling of August 4, 2025, to the "Caucasian Knot": the document states that all 34 signatures she submitted for registration as a self-nominated candidate were deemed "invalid."

Oksana Zhiteneva's actions against animal rights activist Denis Dzhalaganiya drew criticism from other animal rights activists, who condemned the denunciation and the attempt to punish the activist for his civic stance. "This is the most vile event, when one animal rights activist settles scores with another animal rights activist by denunciating the FSB for discrediting the Russian armed forces. After this, Oksana Zhiteneva has become a disgrace to me," Yuri Koretskikh, a well-known Russian animal rights activist and founder of the Animal Defenders Alliance, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Yuri Koretskikh himself was forced to leave Russia in July 2025, as he faced persecution for his pacifist stance. He also runs several personal animal protection projects in France.

“Russia is living through revealing times, when public denunciations and snitching are becoming the norm for reprisals (...) against ideological opponents. (...) What's notable about this story is that Oksana Zhiteneva is a fairly prominent and active animal rights activist in the Stavropol Krai and even organized a "Live Line" to Putin in Pyatigorsk eleven days ago. This is the level to which one can sink when, to gain support from the current government, one is willing to imprison one's comrades,” Koretskikh wrote on his Telegram channel.