In mid-May, 36 countries plus the EU confirmed their intention to participate in establishing a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, which is expected to begin its work next year in The Hague. The Kremlin already has its own response: Moscow’s so-called International Public Tribunal on the Crimes of Ukrainian Neo-Nazis and Their Accomplices (MOTPUNIP), established under the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. The latter tribunal consists of 72 members, including criminals, genuine neo-Nazis, and numerous “foreigners” who have long been living in Russia. Every six months, the tribunal stamps out reports about the purported “atrocities” being committed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, while residents of occupied territories who refused to evacuate and were eagerly awaiting Russian tanks serve as “witnesses.” The project’s supervisors are staff from the propaganda department of the Russian Presidential Executive Office and intelligence service representatives.Contents1.Chairperson Grigoryev and the director with a stolen tape recorder2.Supervisor Miroshnyk and the fugitive Kot3.“Foreign experts”: Kremlin lobbyist, extortionist cop, and antisemite4.Ex-mayor’s adviser, a Canadian registered at RT, and a former violinistChairperson Grigoryev and the director with a stolen tape recorderMOTPUNIP was created on March 1, 2022, four days after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The idea for the tribunal is attributed to Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin. A source at the Public Chamber told The Insider that “people were being called in a rush and presented with a fait accompli — many don’t even know they were included in the tribunal.”Maxim Grigoryev, a native of St. Petersburg and a close acquaintance of Bastrykin, was appointed chairman of MOTPUNIP. In the early 2000s Grigoryev was involved in electoral schemes in St. Petersburg, and after moving to Moscow he headed the Foundation for the Study of Democracy Problems, which receives multi-million-ruble grants from the state budget. For example, in 2022 alone, Grigoryev received 8,780,680 rubles ($120,300) for a series of authored analytical programs about the special military operation — its reported title: “The Word Is Ours!” (though The Insider was unable to find any trace of these broadcasts). Grigoryev is the author of propaganda books “Anti-Maidan,” “White Helmets: Accomplices of Terrorists and Sources of Disinformation,” “Crimes of the U.S.-Led Coalition in Syria,” “History of Lithuania,” and “Ukrainian Crimes Against Humanity.”In 2022, civic activist Grigoryev underwent assault training and a one-month advanced course at the General Staff Academy of the Russian Federation, after which he traveled — posing as a journalist — to the occupied territories of Ukraine to gather “evidence” of the “crimes” of the Kyiv regime. Still, according to a source at the Presidential Executive Office, Grigoryev primarily serves as a “talking head,” while all of the substantive work of MOTPUNIP is done by his longtime associate Denis Teleshev, head of the Institute for Analysis of Neo-Nazi and Extremist Ideologies. The two met in St. Petersburg during an electoral campaign and have been cooperating closely ever since. Denis TeleshevTeleshev does not like talking about his youth, as he has a criminal record for robbery: in 1997, he attacked a woman with a knife and stole her tape recorder and bags. However, the judge took pity on the 19-year-old criminal and sentenced him to three years probation with a two-year supervision period.Teleshev has a criminal record for robbery: in 1997, he attacked a woman with a knife and stole her tape recorder and bags