The Kirovsky District Court of Khabarovsk fined Anna Rymareva, the founder of the Say Yes language school, 20,000 rubles in a case involving the symbols of organizations designated “undesirable” in Russia. Mediazona drew attention to the ruling.
The report under Article 20.33 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses, which concerns participation in the activities of an “undesirable organization,” was based on certificates published on the school’s website that displayed the logos of the British Council and International House World Organisation.
According to the report, by the time the news item was prepared, those certificates and any references to the organizations could no longer be found on the school’s website. The article also mentions a screenshot of the homepage of the Say Yes school in Khabarovsk.
The British Council, which the Prosecutor General’s Office declared “undesirable” last summer, is one of the organizers of the IELTS English-language exam.
The International House network, banned in Russia in the same period in summer 2025, is a global association of language schools and teacher-training centers that has existed since 1953. Before the ban, several schools from Russia were also part of it.
Schools within that network prepare students for international English exams including IELTS and TOEFL, while the parent International House institute runs its own courses and issues certificates for teachers.
Earlier, Mediazona wrote that in Yaroslavl authorities drew up numerous reports under the law on “undesirable organizations” over links to the British Council website. According to the outlet, after the ban fines there were imposed on a language school as well as several university and school employees. A language school in Voronezh had also previously been fined in a case tied to International House.