A Russian medical student read about Ukraine’s Azov Regiment while riding the bus. Within hours, federal agents arrested him for an ‘illegal Internet search.’

One fine day in late September, a medical student named Sergey was riding the bus to work in Kamensk-Uralsky, browsing the Internet on his phone. He came across some photos showing the insignia of Ukraine’s Azov Regiment and the pro-Kyiv paramilitary group known as the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK). “Who are those guys again?” Sergey asked himself. He satisfied his curiosity with a quick bit of reading and pocketed his phone.