Russian teacher arrested in terrorism justification case over Crimean Bridge blast social media post

Russia’s Syktyvkar court has arrested Nikita Tushkanov, school history teacher, in a terrorism justification case until 5 February, Net Freedom reports.

Tushkanov was detained on 7 December after law enforcement officers searched his apartment in Syktyvkar and confiscated his electronic devices. The case was launched after Tushkanov posted online photos of the Crimean Bridge explosion and captioned them with joyous comments.

Nikita Tushkanov taught in a Syktyvkar school until March 2022. He was sacked for “immoral behaviour” after taking part in protest rallies. The police also discovered anti-war posts on his social media profiles. He was charged with hooliganism, demonstration of Nazi symbols, and discrediting the Russian army.

Earlier this summer, the court ended the prosecution in terms of the Nazi symbol demonstration and overturned his fine for the discreditation. However, Tushkanov could not find any employment with regional schools after this.

On 8 October, an explosion rocked the Crimean Bridge, connecting mainland Russia and Crimea. Part of the bridge collapsed, and a freight train transporting fuel caught fire. Four people were killed by the explosion. The Russian security service (FSB) branded head of the Ukrainian military intelligence Kyrylo Budanov as the man who masterminded the attack. Moscow and Simferopol courts arrested 8 Russians in relation to the explosion. All of them are accused of committing a terrorist attack.