Russian poet jailed for satirical suicide-themed dating poem goes free after nearly a year in pretrial detention A St. Petersburg court has dismissed the criminal case against poet Kirill Yakovlev, also known as Glikery Ulunov, who was charged with “suicide propaganda” related to a satirical poem. He has been freed from pretrial detention after nearly a year. The case stemmed from a poem investigators claimed contained “hidden calls to suicide and self-harm,” and prosecutors sought a prison sentence of five to 15 years.

• Poet Kirill Yakovlev (Glikery Ulunov) was freed after a St. Petersburg court dismissed charges of “suicide propaganda.”
• He had been in pretrial detention since August 2025.
• The case was based on his satirical poem, “Five Thousand Ideas for a Destructive Date,” which investigators claimed contained “hidden calls to suicide and self-harm.”
• Prosecutors had charged him with “organizing activities aimed at inciting suicide,” an offense carrying a five-to-15-year prison sentence.
• Defense attorneys described the case as “absurd.”
• Russian propaganda outlets highlighted Ulunov’s education at prestigious institutions and his plans to relocate to the UK, linking associated foundations to banned entities.