Gushchin was arrested on February 6, 2012. The Investigative Committee of Russia claimed that Ilya Guschin had grabbed a police officer by his uniform while trying to prevent him from arresting another protester. In his testimony Ilya Gushchin confessed that he had resisted the policemen while standing in a live chain together with other protesters. “They said that the rally had been cancelled, and I could not understand why. The police started beating people, and I attempted to defend a man who they were attacking. I grabbed a police officer by his helmet, I wanted to prevent him from hurting that man, I felt this was my duty to try and do something. I tried to pull the policeman back, I realized that I could hurt him and I did not want this, but the officer turned around and raised his truncheon at me. I disappeared into the crowd. I had done nothing else that could have been considered illegal or criminal”, Ilya Gushchin was quoted as saying.
According to media reports, Gushchin graduated the Moscow Institute of Psychology and Education and spent three years working as an analyst for the Moscow Football Club . “Ilya was an ardent football fan, just a regular chap who trusted people… one thing was always there – he was invariably civic-minded . And that is none of his fault that the authorities had decided to stage a provocation on that day. Nor can he be blamed for his failure to remain just a bystander when he saw that the police were beating people”, Motin writes.