Popular Russian YouTuber Faces 5 Years In Jail For Playing Pokémon Go In Church

Ruslan Sokolovsky, a popular Russian vlogger who makes essay videos about news and science, and who counts roughly 300,000 subscribers on his two-year-old YouTube channel, is now facing a rather staggering jail sentence. Sokolovsky filmed himself playing the popular Pokémon Go game in a Russian church early last month, and is now being detained for two months and ultimately facing up to five years in prison.

Forces within the Russian government have made their distaste for Pokémon Go palpably clear. The game is currently banned in Russia, and some officials even believe it is being harnessed as a tool for espionage. Despite warnings from news agencies that players could be imprisoned for playing the game in certain public venues, 21-year-old Sokolovsky filmed himself doing so on August 11 at the Church of All Saints in Yekaterinburg — Russia’s fourth largest city — in a video that has currently amassed more than 1 million views (below).

Law enforcement subsequently released a statement, according to The Guardian, saying Sokolovsky had been charged with the incitement of hatred or hostility, and humiliation of human dignity. This is the same charge famously levied against two members of the Pussy Riot, a Russian feminist punk rock group that staged an impromptu performance in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior and were jailed for two years.

Sokolovsky has previously made videos criticizing the Russian church, according to The Guardian, which were picked up by Russian media.

A spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church said that Sokolovsky was not arrested for merely catching Pokémon but for working “in the style of Charlie Hebdo.” Others, however, rallied around Sokolovsky in support, including the mayor of Yekaterinburg, who called the arrest a “disgrace,” according to The Guardian. Fans — as well as punk collective Pussy Riot — popularized the #FreeSokolovsky hashtag on social media.