Vadim Kharchenko is a well-known activist and blogger. On his YouTube channel, to which more than 400 thousand people are subscribed, he spoke a lot about political criminal cases, detentions at public events, arbitrariness of law enforcers, problems of the Krasnodar Territory and other regions, as well as criticised local and federal authorities. In 2017 and 2019, Kharchenko was attacked by unknown persons, during the second attack he received bullet and knife wounds. In 2018, unknown persons set fire to his car.

The civil position, anti-war activity and popularity of the videos could have been the reason for the close attention of law enforcement agencies to Kharchenko, and for his prosecution under a non-legal article and groundless accusations. The blogger's lawyer confirmed that each of the nine episodes was linked to a specific video of the actions of local and federal officials.

He was first placed under house arrest, then transferred to a pre-trial detention centre. The lawyer said that Vadim Kharchenko is being held in solitary confinement in a damp basement in unhygienic conditions, where there are only bars and no windows, and all the dust and dirt is flying into the cell. During the trial, Vadim declared his innocence and that he was being prosecuted for criticising corrupt officials.