Russian Blogger Convicted of Distributing Pornography, Spared Prison

Sonya Marmeladova, a popular Russian sex blogger, was sentenced to three years of suspended punishment by a Moscow court on Friday for distribution of pornography, according to the Russian media.

Her real name is Sofia Vershinina. Prosecutors claimed she offered private paid Telegram channels with intimate photos and videos to subscribers. They stated that Vershinina advertised private chats in a public channel. The defendant admitted guilt, expressed regret, and asked the Meshchansky District Court to impose suspended punishment, according to Meduza.

The prosecutors demanded three and a half years in a penal colony, according to Ostorozhno Novosti citing the courtroom.

The court imposed a fine of 4.8 million rubles (about $60,000 or €53,000) on Vershinina, as well as an iPhone 16 Pro Max, Meduza reported. The ruble amount was declared a fine. The sex equipment found at the defendant’s residence, like handcuffs and a leather choker, was returned to her, according to Vzglyad.

According to the investigators, Vershinina earned about 30 million rubles from explicit photos and videos in 2026. According to the investigators, she spent this money on the purchase of an apartment in Moscow City and designer products, according to Izvestia. According to other media sources, her total earnings from subscriptions exceeded $385,000 since January 2024, according to the Telegram channel SHOT.

Access to one of the private channels of Vershinina was provided to the authorities due to a controlled purchase, after which the material was classified as pornographic by state experts, according to Baza.

The news of the case was published in late May. Vershinina was detained in Moscow on July 28, according to Meduza and Izvestia.

Vershinina was accused under Article 242 of the Russian Criminal Code, which refers to illegal production and distribution of pornographic materials and is punishable by up to six years of imprisonment, according to Izvestia.

Russian law enforcement agencies have been increasingly active against platforms popular among sex workers and adult content producers, such as OnlyFans, as well as the models using them, according to Ostorozhno Novosti and Baza.

Another famous case is related to Diana Shurygina, who became popular in Russia in 2017 after the broadcast of several talk-show segments on her rape allegations on Channel One. In June, a Moscow court put Diana Shurygina under house arrest on charges of distribution of pornographic materials as part of an organized group in connection with the content from OnlyFans, according to Komsomolskaya Pravda. Her partner, Anastasia Ovsyannikova, and a producer, Ludwig Krichker, were also detained, according to Izvestia.

There is no clear definition of pornography in Russian law, so state expert evaluations play a key role in such cases, according to Izvestia.