Nikolai was convicted of "participating in group actions that grossly violate public order" in a criminal case opened after a protest that took place in Brest on September 13, 2020. During the protest, people sang and danced in circles, and a water cannon was used against them.
In early April 2022, it became known that Nikolai's type of punishment had been toughened, and in June of that year he was transferred from an open-type correctional facility to a penal colony.
He was released in December 2022, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.
