Name of the participant: Saibabtalov (Sokolovsky) Ruslan Gafiullovich (Gennadievich)
Age (birthday): 20.10.1994
City: Shadrinsk, Kurgan region; Ekaterinburg
Height and weight: 180 cm
Channel directivity: vlogs, criticism, news and popular science videos
Number of subscribers: more than 300.000
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Ruslan Sokolovsky was born in a small industrial town in the Kurgan region. From childhood he was fond of reading books. When the boy was 13 years old, grief came to his family - his father died of a heart attack.
Mom had to take on the upbringing of her son, she alone "put him on his feet." In high school Ruslan is fond of sports, often participates in city Olympiads in chemistry and biology.
Unexpectedly for everyone at the age of 15 he is fond of parliamentary debates and politics... The young man earned his first money on his hobby on the Internet, he created websites for different customers, conducted marketing analysis, was a copywriter and SEO-optimizer.
After graduating from school No. 4, he enters the Shadrinsk State Pedagogical University at the Faculty of Technology and Entrepreneurship. But already during the first session, he realizes that he has chosen the wrong direction and hastily moved to Yekaterinburg.
There he entered the Ural Humanitarian Institute at the Faculty of Law, in which he also very quickly got bored.
At the age of 19, he opens his first companyby choosing the main type of SEO promotion and analyzing this market.
In 2014, succumbing to his own creative impulse, Sokolovsky creates his own youtube channel... Here he begins to upload videos on various topics, including conversational videos, in which he actively expresses his opinion regarding certain situations that have occurred in real and virtual life.
After another 2 years, inspired by the information and its presentation to the reader in the French magazine "Charlie Hebdo", he released his own - "Sokolovsky!"
Before the initiation of a criminal case, thanks to which the bulk of popularity came to Ruslan, the blogger had conflicts with other representatives of large channels. Including with Andrey Afonin and.
The guy hides his personal life... It is known that he is not married, does not have a long-term relationship, adheres to "child free". In 2017, he planned to go on a stand up tour of Russian cities with his solo program.
Criminal prosecution of Ruslan Sokolovsky and sentence
The controversial video, which eventually split the public in two, was uploaded to his main channel in the summer of 2016, a few days after the federal channel announced a ban on the use of "Pokemon Go" in temples.
Thus, the guy tried to ridicule, in his opinion, a stupid ban. In it, a guy comes to the Church on the Blood and plays a few minutes in a mobile application.
Then he says that he failed to catch the rarest Pokemon, referring to Jesus, and says that no one prevented him from playing, devaluing the words of the TV presenters. The video went viral, in the first day it was watched by over 700,000 people.
September 2, 2016 Sokolovsky was detained on the basis of two articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
He was accused of extremism and insulting the feelings of believers. The first hearing took place on September 3.
Searches were conducted in his apartment for a week. On September 8, Ruslana was changed to house arrest, but after 1.5 months she was again placed in a pre-trial detention center due to the defendant's failure to comply with the rules of conduct regulated by law.
In December, the guy was recognized as a political prisoner. He stayed there until January 23, 2017. In the detention center, Sokolovsky read a lot, studied English. His infrequent letters at will were published on his personal instagram. In February, he was again placed under house arrest.
The final verdict was announced on May 11, 2017. The court found Ruslan Gennadievich guilty and sentenced him to 3.5 years of probation (the prosecutor demanded a real term). The YouTuber's lawyer intends to appeal this decision. And that same video is still present on the channel in the public domain. In turn, some well-known personalities expressed support for Sokolovsky, including Alexei Navalny, Alexander Plushev and Igor Eydman.
Ruslan Sokolovsky is a Russian video blogger, publisher and publicist. Ruslan was born in 1994 in the small town of Shadrinsk, which is located in the Kurgan region, where he spent his childhood and youth. When the boy was only 13 years old, a misfortune happened in the family - Ruslan was left without a father, and later he was raised by his mother.
The guy from childhood was addicted and inquisitive, tried to understand the rapidly developing computer technologies. He was especially interested in the Internet industry. As a teenager, Sokolovsky started building websites. From the age of 16, he began to earn money from a hobby: he became interested in freelancing, remotely completing the tasks of employers for writing and marketing analysis of Internet pages.
After graduating from high school, the young man enters the Kurgan State University at the Faculty of Psychology. But after studying one course there, Ruslan Sokolovsky realized that he had made a not entirely correct choice of his future profession. He moved to Yekaterinburg and in 2012 became a student at the law faculty of the Ural Humanitarian Institute, where he still studies.
The blogosphere
Continuing to create websites, Ruslan Sokolovsky got a job in a large company as an SEO specialist, where he began to optimize the work of web portals. But a daily visit to the office was not what the soul of a creative young man required. He retires from the office and at the age of 19 formalizes his first own company.
For some time he worked in the previous field of activity, then focused on marketing research and the promotion of content on social media networks. Later, he took up various Internet projects, created a personal public on the popular social network and a video channel on YouTube.
Success did not come immediately, but when Sokolovsky took up translations and dubbing videos, he managed to attract the attention of Internet users. Having found his niche, Ruslan realized himself as a video blogger, uploading videos to the network in which he expressed his opinion about famous personalities, popular movies, events in the world community or about himself.
During the year, Sokolovsky's blog gathered over 100,000 subscribers on the YouTube portal and about 45,000 on the VK social network. The fans of the project take part in the life of the blog and actively comment on the videos they like.
Publishing
The latest brainchild of the video blogger was, which was created as a domestic adaptation of the scandalous French publication "Charlie Hebdo". A special logo of the publisher flaunts on the cover of the monthly, and on the pages Sokolovsky speaks rather sharply in a sarcastic form about all the events that excite him in Russian and foreign reality.
In parallel with the paper edition, an electronic version of the magazine is published.
Personal life
Ruslan Sokolovsky is not an ardent lover of talking about his private life and romantic relationships. It is known that he has never been married and has no children, since he adheres to the ideology of the childfree subculture, which is characterized by a conscious unwillingness to have children in the name of personal freedom.
Ruslan Sokolovskith- a blogger who came out of the "underground intellectuals" crowd.
He began his work with translations of foreign videos, later moving to the usual podcast genre.
Due to the similarity of worldview (atheism, childfree, etc.) and content delivery, they are often compared with, with which, by the way, Ruslan is really close. The general public is known as the "Pokemon Catcher" in the church.
More about creativity
As mentioned earlier, Sokolovsky began his career mainly with translations of popular foreign video makers.
Later, Ruslan decides to switch to a more traditional podcast format, trying on the image of intellectual and an educator with an alternative point of view.
As you know, bloggers with similar views often cause a public outcry, which Ruslan, apparently, staked on. Criticizing religion with all that it implies, Sokolovsky manages to attract the attention of some Orthodox activists
Blogger profile
Date of Birth:20.10.1994
City:Ekaterinburg
Hometown:Shadrinsk
Height Weight:∼180 cm, 73 kg
Carier start: 22.07.2014
Sokolovsky vs Roma Mechanic
Dawkins Akbar
A funny production, perfect for mutual PR, or just for fun.
17 january 2016 of the year, a video appeared on the wall of the official community, in which Ruslan Sokolovsky said that he had hacked this public, and would return it to its owner only after he gave him $ 10.
Sokolovsky and pokemon
"I believe that it is safe and not prohibited by law."
One of the most scandalous incidents throughout history Russian video blogging.
Everyone remembers that universal hype around the game " Pokemon go"In mid-2016. In one of the broadcasts on TV, the news slipped that for catching Pokemon in the temple, you can be fined for 500 thousand rubles.
This impudent stuffing touched Sokolovsky, and he, like a militant atheist, challenges the system and goes to the lion's mouth with provocative intentions.
The video spread incredibly quickly throughout the network, and later reached television. One of the main state channels - Russia 24, dedicated a story to the blogger, in which they said, they say, "a young man with a fragile mind does not understand what he is doing." The blogger dedicated a video to this story with his reaction, in which he mentioned that he really faces imprisonment or a fine, as a result of which he decides to spend donation stream.
The next stage of the scandal happened September 2, 2016... In the morning, representatives of law enforcement agencies broke into Ruslan's apartment with clearly negative intentions. The punishment was severe, but not terrible (especially by the standards of the Russian court) - 2 months jail.
11 May 2017 year, the final trial took place, during which Ruslan was "given" 3.5 years suspended sentence... It is important to understand that the reasoning for the final verdict was markedly different from what was originally stated. The final accusation was based not so much on "OChV" as on the storage of forbidden spying gadgets.
Note: you can read more about this incident on Wikipedia (link to article)
Comments from other bloggers about the arrest
Did Sokolovsky insult? Yes, insulted, I really think it's wrong. Should I be punished for this? Naturally - if there is an injured party.
But is it necessary for, albeit stupid and insulting, words to deprive a person of freedom, and put him in the same place of detention with murderers, rapists, and real criminals?
I welcome guests and regular readers of the site website... So, a video blogger, publicist and critic Ruslan Sokolovsky (earlier Saibabtalov) was born on October 20, 1994 in Shadrinsk. In the nineties, his parents were engaged in the clandestine sale of alcoholic beverages. Due to problems with business, the family had to go out of town for a year. Due to abrupt changes, the boy becomes withdrawn. After the danger has passed, the family returns home.
At the age of 14, Sokolovsky lost his father - he died of a heart attack. During that period, the teenager becomes even more squeezed and devotes all the time to reading books, which he became interested in in early childhood. The young man mastered the entire parental book stock, after which he began to buy new ones, and also signed up for the library.
Despite his great reading, Ruslan had practically no social skills, so he had no friends, and, in addition, was the sickest in the class. To fix this, in the 8th grade he began to engage in weightlifting, then switched to powerlifting. Sokolovsky quickly caught up with his peers in physical form, and later devotes time to fencing and throwing knives.
In high school he got carried away with parliamentary debates, where he competed with students and even defeated them. At that time, the young man was a frequent participant in various biology Olympiads.
When Ruslan got the Internet, he immediately became interested in how he could make money on the Internet. Whoever he was - a rewriter, copywriter, SEO optimizer. In those days, Sokolovsky paid more attention to making money on the Internet than studying.
After graduating from school, he enters a psychologist, but after the first session he realizes that this is not his. Then he tries to study to become a lawyer, but this university drops out even faster than the previous one. Then he tries to work in the office, open his own projects on the Internet, VKontakte, but all these activities quickly bored him.
On July 22, 2014, he registers his personal YouTube channel, on which he begins to release his own videos. It is this activity that Sokolovsky considers one of the most interesting in his experience.
Why am I afraid to make new videos (2015)
He started with translations and soundtracks of other videos, then he tried to make completely his own videos, in which he shared his position on various topical issues, and also talked about events, persons, films, books, etc. that interest him. Ruslan tried to choose topics that would be interesting to the viewer "with brains".
The Seven Most Bloodthirsty Characters in the Bible (2015)
Also, the guy in many videos was engaged in criticizing religion, including Orthodoxy in a very cynical and harsh form. The guy was inspired by the old program of Alexander Nevzorov "600 seconds".
PRISON PERIOD FOR ATHEISM (2016)
Since 2016 he has been publishing his own magazine "Sokolovsky", inspired by the infamous French publication "Charlie Hebdo".
SPRING MY JOURNAL ACROSS YEKATERINBURG (2016)
On August 11, I published a video in which a blogger, being in the Yekaterinburg Temple-on-the-Blood, searches for Pokemon in the popular mobile game "Pokemon Go".
The fact is that the media spread information that responsibility was introduced for catching Pokemon in the church. Sokolovsky, on the other hand, believed that there is nothing wrong with walking around with a smartphone in a temple, especially in Russian legislation not a word is written about this situation. This is what became the prerequisite for recording a video.
CAPTURE POKEMONS IN THE CHURCH - 2016
On September 2, riot police broke into the guy's apartment and detained him on charges of "insulting the feelings of believers."
The guy spent 8 months in prison (he was in a pre-trial detention center and under house arrest). On May 11, Sokolovsky was found guilty on several counts (incitement to hostility and hatred, extremism, insulting the feelings of believers) and sentenced to 3.5 years probation. It is worth noting that the young man was tried not only for the video about Pokemon - they studied all the content that he posted publicly.
While at large, the guy plans to graduate from the university, as well as engage in volunteer activities under the patronage of the head of Yekaterinburg, Yevgeny Roizman.
He also starts working for the Znak.com media, for which he removes his column about the events of the last days. This decision is due to the fact that Ruslan wants to have patronage provided by the mass media, which will competently polish his videos, so that he is not imprisoned again.
CHANGED SURNAME IMMEDIATELY AFTER SCHOOL
- Elena Borisovna, how did you find out about Ruslan's detention?
On Friday, a lawyer called. He said that he needed to come to Yekaterinburg, bring the documents. Not long before that, we talked with my son on the phone. He told me that he had made some kind of video and that a case was being brought up against him. I was very worried. He hadn't expected that things would turn out so seriously. In theory, he did not offend anyone, did not offend anyone.
- Before he was arrested, when was the last time you saw your son?
A month ago. He came to me in Shadrinsk.
This is the name of his father. Yes, he used to wear it, but then he decided to change it. Ruslan went to all sorts of parliamentary debates and Olympiads all the time. He said that people there are constantly confused, pronouncing his last name: supposedly it is too difficult to pronounce. When Ruslan finished school, he just went and changed it.
- Where is his father now?
He became very ill and died when Ruslan was still in the third grade. So I raised him alone. We had no one to hope for. Because of this, Ruslan became independent very early. Already in the 8th grade, he began to work - he was engaged in the optimization of Internet sites. I earned money and helped me. If not for Ruslan, I would not have survived at all. Several years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer. They underwent a major operation, after which they were assigned the 2nd disability group for life. At one time they paid a disability allowance, and then they said: "Let's do it yourself somehow." Now I can no longer work. Heavy. I am 60 years old already. All my income is a pension of 5820 rubles and another 2-3 thousand allowances. Of this money, 7 thousand I have to pay for an apartment and for one more to somehow live. A year ago, Ruslan's older brother died in Tobolsk, leaving two young children. His heart stopped right at work ...
At the funeral of my eldest son, my heart ached. They were taken away by ambulance. Now we have to go to a paid cardiologist, since we don't have free ones in Shadrinsk, and we have to buy very expensive medicines. Ruslan paid for all this. If he is imprisoned, then I do not know how I will continue to live. But this is not the only point! He needs to study, not to sit in jail. They will ruin!
WANTED TO STUDY IN PERM TO BE A BIOLOGIST
- His program on the Internet has a lot of viewers. He wanted to be a celebrity since childhood?
He always said that he did not want to keep anything to himself, he wanted to speak out. He is generally a very smart boy. After school I applied to four institutes at once. Entered the three - Shadrinsky, Perm and Kurgan.
- Which of them did he want to do the most?
He wanted to go to Perm. They say they teach biology well. But we were late in submitting the original documents. Therefore, he entered the Kurgan university - psychology. He studied a little and said: "It's boring here." Then he transferred to Yekaterinburg to study law. True, he had to take an academic leave, which will end only in October. While he was resting, he lived with me in Shadrinsk. And in February he said that he had found an apartment in Yekaterinburg and left.
- Ruslan was baptized?
No. His dad was a Muslim. I'm Christian. My husband and I were always arguing. He says: "the son needs to become a Muslim." I say: "No, let's baptize him." They argued, argued ... In general, Ruslan remained unbaptized. Religion was of little interest to him.
DON'T LET THE SON IN SIZO
At the meeting, where it was decided whether Ruslan would be released from arrest, he was not brought: contact with him in the pre-trial detention center was maintained through video conferencing. Did you manage to talk to your son?
No. The TV was set so that I could not see Ruslan from my seat. I tried to get closer, but the bailiff drove me away. Only out of the corner of my eye I managed to see my son. He was shaved (Elena smiles bitterly). He had never worn such a hairstyle before.
- And in the pre-trial detention center you were allowed to see him?
No. I asked for a date. I wrote a formal request, but nothing was answered. Only things were allowed to be conveyed. He had nothing there.
- You live in Shadrinsk. Was it difficult to come to Yekaterinburg to support your son?
If non-governmental organizations didn’t help me, I would have sat there and roared with despair. I simply would not have had anything to come and rent an apartment here while the investigation is underway.
- Did the investigators invite you to their place?
Yes, Thursday morning before the meeting. They asked how Ruslan was as a child, whether he belongs to any sect. No. Nothing! Ruslan is generally very good. It is he who plays the role of the "villain" on camera, as many actors do. And in life he would rather sit at home than go somewhere for some kind of drunkenness. He studied very well. Best Graduate! He even received a letter of thanks from the governor of the Kurgan region and a letter from the mayor of Shadrinsk. And now suddenly everyone shows that he is a criminal! It's good that he was at least released under house arrest. I can finally see my son.