A mysterious group is calling on Russians to protest the Kremlin’s Internet restrictions. Is it a trap?

In the last month, accounts linked to a movement calling itself “Scarlet Swan” began appearing on TikTok and Telegram in Russia. Its members — young men and women, including minors, as the outlet Verstka has reported — are urging Russians to take to the streets on March 29 to protest the Kremlin’s intensifying Internet restrictions. However, opposition activists and journalists have warned that the project could be a setup orchestrated by Russian security services. On March 23, the movement’s Telegram channel said that one of its administrators had sold their account to associates of Vladislav Pozdnyakov, a pro-war blogger and founder of the far-right organization ”Male State” — though minutes later the same channel dismissed the claim as fabricated.