Yekaterinburg poet and father of many children Yegor Beloglazov was persecuted f...

Yekaterinburg poet and father of many children Yegor Beloglazov was persecuted for “rehabilitating Nazism” over an image for May 9. A few months ago, he passed away. We remember his story

On May 9, 2024, Yekaterinburg poet, former fencer, and father of many children Yegor Beloglazov saw a collage online featuring a photograph of the Russian president. St. George ribbons were sticking out of Putin’s eyes and mouth. Yegor posted this image on VKontakte. Almost a year later, officers came to his home with a search warrant.

“They came from the Investigative Committee. In several cars: were they afraid or something that there was a whole gang here. I had only been out of intensive care for two days: I’m asthmatic and have a heart condition, disabled,” Beloglazov recalled of the day of the search.

The security forces were met by the poet’s wife, his children, numerous cats, and a dog with puppies. They searched the house and seized his phone and laptop. The owner of the house watched the search while breathing oxygen through the tube of a machine. Because of his illness, he, a person with a lifelong third-degree disability, had to use an oxygen concentrator for the rest of his life.

Because of Yegor’s condition, it was impossible to take him away for questioning, as usually happens after searches. So the investigator came directly to the house. It was hard for Beloglazov to endure the two-hour interrogation.

“I could barely think and could barely breathe. I hardly recognized people and spoke with difficulty,” the poet recalled.

The questions were “purely technical” — “did you do it, when, do you admit it or not.” But one question from the investigator stuck in his memory. He asked whether Yegor had ever wanted to leave the country.

“I told the truth,” Beloglazov recalled. “That I am a patriot, I love this country, and let those who are turning it into a fascist concentration camp leave.”

A criminal case under two articles and one administrative protocol were opened against Beloglazov (“offending the feelings of believers,” “rehabilitating Nazism,” and displaying LGBT “symbols”). All the cases were initiated over images the poet had posted on VKontakte.

After the interrogation and search, the security forces did not come to Yegor again and gave no updates on his criminal case.

“I’m not afraid of anything,” Beloglazov said in a conversation with “OVD-Info.” “I’m an almost bedridden disabled person, what can they do to me? Lock me up? I’ll croak on the way there, and I’ll say thanks for that. Fine me? Pension is 14, utilities 8, medication 10. Go ahead and fine me, we’ll have a laugh together!”.

Against the backdrop of the persecution, Beloglazov lost the ability to work. During the search, his equipment was seized, equipment that allowed him to teach remotely, and while the poet was looking for a new laptop, all his students left him.

Later, the Yekaterinburg poet was hospitalized again. On December 18, 2025, he passed away. Yegor Beloglazov was 50 years old.

Yegor Beloglazov / Photo: It’s My City