Dmitry Baev, deacon of St John the Baptist parish in Kirov, a graduate of the Vyatka Theological School, left Russia immediately after the start of the war. He has been publishing anti-war articles and videos on his VKontakte social network page (currently deleted or blocked). Metropolitan of Vyatka and Sloboda Mark suspended him from ministry and referred his case to the church court on 11 March. In September, by decision of the Eparchial ecclesiastical court, Baev was «deposed from the priesthood.» On 23 March, a case was opened against the deacon under the newly introduced law on fakes and discrediting the Russian Armed Forces. He is accused of posting «deliberately false information containing materials on the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation for protection of the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens.» Baev’s apartment in Kirov was searched. The deacon was put on the federal wanted list. He also was added to the list of Rosfinmonitoring following the initiation of a criminal case against him for publicly «discrediting the Russian army.»
