Share this article
Facial Recognition Tech May Be Being Used Against Russian Protestors
Russian police officials may be tracking attendees at pro-Navalny protests using facial recognition tools, detainees claim.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 11:04 a.m. Published Feb 1, 2021, 9:37 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
As massive protests sweep across the nation, activists fear Russia has been deploying facial recognition technology to clamp down on dissent.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Following nationwide protest rallies on Jan. 31, several people reported on social media they were detained by the police after subway and street surveillance cameras recognized them as protesters. Countries all over the world deploy facial recognition tech to surveil cities, leading to fears of possible abuse.
Over the past two weekends, Russians have been protesting the arrest of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who recently returned to Russia after recovering from being poisoned. Navalny built a nationwide political movement in Russia by exposing corruption among the country's high-ranking officials.
His latest investigation, released on YouTube after he was jailed, reveals a luxurious palace reportedly belonging to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. (Putin denies he owned the property.)
The authorities have responded to the protests with mass arrests, beatings, criminal persecution of protesters and apparently some fresh surveillance methods.
Cameras at work
Popular photographer George Malets wrote on Facebook he was detained on Jan. 31 in the Moscow subway. Malets told CoinDesk that at the police station the police officers mentioned some “Face ID” system being used to search for people.
He added that he overheard people saying they were detained because they were spotted by street cameras at the previous protest rally on Jan. 23.
“According to what I heard from police officers talking to each other, there was a mass search yesterday,” Malets said. “Apparently, they were looking for anyone who was at least near the rally.”
The officers asked Malets about his presence at the rally, he wrote in his Facebook post, and were not convinced by his words that he went to the rally as a journalist to take photos. During the rally police detained journalists along with protesters, even though they were wearing green “Press” vests.
Lawyer Mikhail Biryukov posted yesterday his client Kamil Galeev, a historian, was detained at his home. According to the lawyer, street cameras captured Galeev during the protest rally on Jan. 23, and to identify him the police used photos from Galeev’s passport and social networks.
Rapper Samariddin Rajabov also tweeted yesterday that he was detained in the subway. Moscow subway stations have been recently equipped with video cameras, some of them placed on the entrance turnstiles.
The city authorities announced last year that those cameras would use facial recognition software to charge passengers for entrance and locate people “in need of medical assistance” for express help.
The Moscow government is planning to spend $33 million to ramp up video surveillance in the peripheral districts of Moscow this year.
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Ethereum Foundation makes post quantum security a top priority as new team forms
EF researcher Justin Drake says a new post-quantum team will drive wallet safety upgrades, research prizes and test networks as quantum timelines shorten.
What to know:
- The Ethereum Foundation has elevated post-quantum security to a top strategic priority, forming a dedicated Post Quantum team led by Thomas Coratger with support from leanVM cryptographer Emile.
- Researcher Justin Drake said Ethereum is shifting from background research to active engineering, including biweekly developer sessions on post-quantum transactions and multi-client post-quantum consensus test networks.
- The foundation is backing new cryptography with funding and outreach, launching two $1 million prizes, planning post-quantum community events and education, and stressing that blockchains must prepare early for quantum threats despite their long-term nature.
Top Stories
