Faced with a war-weary public and a deteriorating economy, the Kremlin is alarmed by foreign-based internet platforms—with good reason. On the messaging app Telegram, the pro-Kremlin lawyer Ilya Remeslo, well-known as a scathing critic of democratic activists and a strong supporter of the war against Ukraine, made a stunning about-face on March 17. Mr. Remeslo condemned Vladimir Putin for waging the war, impoverishing the country, and destroying internet and media freedom. He described Mr. Putin as an illegitimate president who should be “brought to justice as a war criminal and thief.”

Mr. Remeslo then checked himself into a psychiatric hospital. His criticism must have rattled the Kremlin. Before Putin confidant Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner Group turned against Mr. Putin in their infamous mutiny of June 2023, Prigozhin took to Telegram to denounce Russia’s generals.

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