Masked security forces shut down grassroots festival in Russian Urals

A festival for grassroots initiatives and local activists in Tyumen, in the Russian Urals, was raided and shut down by security forces on Saturday, according to the independent news channel 7x7.

The festival, titled “Taking Everyone to the Future”, was scheduled to run throughout the weekend, with a programme including discussions of street art, regional feminist initiatives, AI usage, and public spaces. However, about an hour after the start of the festival on Saturday, several armed men wearing masks raided the venue and shut down the event.

A source told Novaya Europe that security forces checked participants’ phones for anti-war posts and other “suspicious” messages. All attendees were subsequently let go without charges.

Organisers initially announced that a planned podcasting event would not go ahead, before confirming that the second day of the event was cancelled on Saturday evening. On Tuesday, one of the festival’s participants confirmed in a post on X that the cause for the cancellation was a raid by security forces.

The festival organisers also confirmed the raid on Telegram, though the channel has since been deleted.

7x7 added that riot and anti-terrorism police in Tyumen, alongside members of the far-right paramilitary group Russian Community, raided a punk concert at a local bar the same day over alleged links to anarchist and anti-fascist groups.