The public repentance of the Krasnodar activist was the result of pressure.

A native of Dagestan, Kurban Magomedrasulov, was detained in Krasnodar after attempting to organize a rally; under pressure from security forces, he recorded a video apologizing for his posts.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on September 24, Krasnodar party "Yabloko" agitator and candidate Kurban Magomedrasulov submitted a notification to hold a rally on October 7 against election fraud in the mayoral elections. The event was planned in a park near the city center. On September 27, it became known that after the rally was denied approval, Magomedrasulov was detained near the city hall, and six administrative protocols were drawn up against him: two for petty hooliganism and four under the article on discrediting the army.

Chronicle of public apologies in the Caucasus

On September 28, a Telegram channel associated with security forces published a video of 19-year-old Kurban Magomedrasulov apologizing for discrediting the army and using foul language. Later, the video was posted by "Living Kuban", calling Magomedrasulov a "provocateur".

Kurban Magomedrasulov was detained as he was leaving the Krasnodar administration, where he had gone to collect a response to his notification about the rally, a source close to the activist told a correspondent from "Caucasian Knot" on October 2, on condition of anonymity.

"On September 24, he submitted a notification to the Krasnodar administration about holding a rally on October 7 with up to 500 participants. On September 25, he received a call from the administration asking him to collect the response in person. Despite Kurban Magomedrasulov's request for the response to be sent to his email, it never arrived. So he decided to go in person, received the response, and was detained by four plainclothes police officers as he was leaving," the source said.

Magomedrasulov was informed that six protocols had been drawn up against him: two under part 3 of article 20.1 of the Administrative Code ("Petty hooliganism") and four under article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code ("Discrediting the army"). According to the source, the basis for the charges were Magomedrasulov's posts on social media. In the first case, it was about comments containing foul language, "not directed against anyone specific", and in the second case, about comments and a post in which Magomedrasulov spoke about the senselessness of war and once used the word "war" instead of the abbreviation "SVO", the source noted.

"Kurban Magomedrasulov, despite his request, did not receive screenshots of the very messages and comments he is accused of. When he asked for them during his detention, the police officer refused to provide him with copies of these screenshots, asking why he needed them. He was also not given copies of the protocols, and when he returned two days later for the documents, he was only given copies of the protocols, and regarding the materials, they said they had already been sent to court, but did not specify which one," the source said.

According to him, Magomedrasulov does not have a lawyer. "At first, he planned to defend himself, but then he was convinced that he needed a lawyer. And now he is looking for one," the source said. He noted that, according to his information, the rally was denied due to a drone threat.

Kurban Magomedrasulov himself told a correspondent from "Caucasian Knot" that he would not communicate with the press. Representatives of the Krasnodar branch of the "Yabloko" party refused to speak with the correspondent from "Caucasian Knot" about Magomedrasulov's case.

A friend spoke about the pressure from security forces on Magomedrasulov

14:28 30.09.2026

The trend of apologies: from Chechnya to the farthest outskirts

Ramzan Kadyrov opened Pandora's box, initiating the practice of coercion to apologize. This campaign has gone far beyond the Caucasus. Statements by public figures provoke harassment, in which anonymous individuals participate. How this builds into a system of harassment against dissenters was examined by "Caucasian Knot".

Another acquaintance of Magomedrasulov, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, told a correspondent from "Caucasian Knot" that Kurban agreed to appear in a video with "repentance" in order to be able to leave the station.

"He feared that if he did not do this, they might add something else to the charges [accuse him of something] and simply not let him out. However, as I heard, they had to reshoot this video twice because he was reading the prepared text with a smile," the acquaintance of the activist said.

According to him, Magomedrasulov is from the village of Pervomayskoye in the Kayakent district of Dagestan, is married, works as a cook, and has already participated in pickets in support of fair elections, against repression, against internet blockages, and had not been detained before.

He was called a provocateur, a traitor, and so on, although he always calls only for compliance with the law.

"In Telegram channels, he was called a provocateur, a traitor, and so on, although he always calls only for compliance with the law, no matter how strict it may be, and for fighting for his rights within the law," said Magomedrasulov's acquaintance.

He added that, according to his information, Kurban Magomedrasulov had been interested in the "Yabloko" party several years ago, but only became actively involved in the party's activities in 2026.

"When the election campaign began, he signed up as a volunteer in "Yabloko", distributing leaflets in Krasnodar Krai and in Dagestan as well. He wanted to become an observer in Dagestan, but due to the requirements of the Central Election Commission that only a person registered in the region can be an observer, his candidacy was rejected. In September, he submitted documents to join the party," the source said.

It should be noted that voting in the State Duma elections took place from September 18 to 20, but early voting was organized in 13 municipalities of Kuban and in the federal territory of Sirius, which, depending on the territory, took place from September 14 to 17, so in part of Kuban, voting lasted up to seven days. A total of 67 electoral campaigns took place in Kuban. "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a reference "Election campaign in the North Caucasus Federal District and Southern Federal District in 2026".

Materials about this campaign have been collected by "Caucasian Knot" on the page "Elections-2026: where will the protest go?".