Russian Blogger arrested after posting video of cops attending mobster’s funeral

On January 8, the Russian city of Amursk came to a standstill when mourners buried the town’s top mobster, Yuri ‘Knuckles’ Zarubin. Viktor Toroptsev says he published the funeral footage on YouTube and Instagram.

Underboss Yuri Zarubin died of cancer

Shortly after his content went up, a user named VictorKvert2008 commented that Zarubin’s pallbearers included the city’s district attorney and chief of police. Toroptsev said he deleted his posts 15 minutes later. After another 15 minutes, he says he received a call from the local police, summoning him to the station for questioning.

The police and district attorney summoned Toroptsev several times. He was arrested by traffic police and accused of having an expired license. On January 17, police raided his home and seized his computer. Police investigating the case also searched the home of one of Toroptsev’s friends. Authorities have opened a defamation case against him. “The messages contain falsities defaming law enforcement officers.”