Putin pardons Lerchek

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree pardoning the well-known blogger Valeria Chekalina, better known by the pseudonym Lerchek.

TASS reports this.

According to the document, she has been fully released from further serving the sentence previously handed down to her by a Moscow court.
Chekalina sent her clemency petition to the head of state several days ago amid her serious health condition. In February 2026, she was diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer. In connection with this, the court changed her preventive measure as early as March and lifted her house arrest. In the fall, the disease began to progress, and her lawyers sought permission for the blogger to travel to China to undergo specialized therapy.

In July, the court sentenced her to five years' probation in the case of the illegal transfer of more than 250 million rubles abroad.