Russian court upholds injunction blocking Navalny’s video

MOSCOW – A court in southern Russia has ruled to uphold an injunction to block an online investigation featuring a woman who has boasted of her relationship with a Russian oligarch.

The video posted in February by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny drew from the social media account of Anastasia Vashukevich, a Belarusian woman who claimed to have had an affair with billionaire tycoon Oleg Deripaska.

Deripaska has sued Vashukevich and her “sex guru,” Alexander Kirillov, for breach of privacy. A court in southern Russia imposed an injunction, and communications providers blocked access to the video. Navalny appealed that ruling to the Krasnodar regional court, which rejected it Tuesday.

Vashukevich, who calls herself Nastya Rybka, and Kirillov have been jailed in Thailand for offering sex lessons without a work permit.