On Friday, June 26th, I read about a Russian blogger and war veteran who had previously served in Ukraine, and who on June 25th had posted a video on Instagram describing alleged widespread torture of Russian soldiers in the war zone by their own officers. He further demanded a live, on-air meeting with Vladimir Putin, warning that if Putin did not respond promptly, “the army will turn its weapons against the Kremlin.” [Steve Gutterman, RFE/RL, June 26, 2026.]

That man identified himself as Aleksandr Lunin, and said he was simply relaying a message from unidentified military and security officials with whom he had allegedly met a day earlier. And I immediately thought:

He’s a dead man.

The very next day, Lunin recanted in a second video, in which he claimed that his earlier statements had been twisted. As described by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, “every other word [in the second video] is a crude expletive and in which at one point he spits to punctuate his derisive remarks.” [Id.]

And again I thought:

Too little, too late. He’s still a dead man.

In Russia today, one does not badmouth Vladimir Putin; and most importantly, one does not criticize the Russian military in general, or the “special military operation” in Ukraine in particular. This man had to be either supremely egotistical to think he could get away with it, or batshit crazy, or both . . . and especially considering the fate of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder and head of the Wagner Group of mercenaries until he decided to stage a march on the Kremlin in 2023 to call attention to problems in the military.

Well, the jury is still out on the question of Lunin’s sanity. But it took the authorities no time at all — only until Saturday, June 27th, according to Russian independent news agency Verstka — to arrest him and bring him before a court for a hearing. And, while court officials refused to provide a copy of their decision, saying that “cases like this are not made public,” posts on Lunin’s Telegram channel said that he had been sentenced to 11 days in detention, with no reason given. [Anastasia Protz, Ukrainska Pravda, June 29, 2026.]

According to The Moscow Times, he had been found guilty of “displaying extremist or Nazi symbols” — an infraction that carries a sentence of up to 15 days in detention. [The Moscow Times, June 29, 2026.]

But in his video, Lunin had said that:

“ . . . dozens, hundreds, thousands of our soldiers are rotting in [pits], thrown there by their own commanders. Just sitting, rotting, being tortured and abused by what their own ranks call the Gestapo. Why? For refusing to follow idiotic, suicidal orders. For refusing to hand over their own money. And in the end they are zeroed out, listed as missing in action.” [Ukrainska Pravda, op.cit.]

That language is far more serious than simply “displaying extremist or Nazi symbols.” And thus I am sorry to say that I don’t hold out much hope for Aleksandr Lunin’s future. Based on the way such matters are usually handled, the most likely scenario would involve further charges being entered while he is in detention — charges that would require his remaining in custody, ultimately being brought to trial (most likely behind closed doors), and inevitably being convicted of some higher crime and sentenced to years in prison, or perhaps a mental institution.

We’ll see if I’m right, or even close . . . that is, if there is any follow-up information forthcoming from Russian authorities. After all, as the first court official said,

“Cases like this are not made public.” [Id.]

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
6/30/26