Humor in Russia is booming. But those who stand up live in fear of being arrested for jokes.

Viewed more than 1.3 million times since it was posted by Russian comedy group “Plyushki” on YouTube last month, the video comes with a disclaimer.

“Some jokes are based on wordplay and do not conform to religious, philosophical or ideological assertions,” he said, acknowledging that humor can be a dangerous business in Russia, where some have been arrested for jokes, especially if they are perceived as criticizing the war in Ukraine.

“Maybe there are problems in the country,” said one of the comedians, nodding that directly dealing with the country’s issues could be dangerous. “There are many cameras here,” replied another, to laughter from the crowd, because the words for camera and prison are the same in Russian.

Although there have been no results for the team, others including Artemy Ostanin are not so lucky. A 29-year-old man was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison by a Moscow court earlier this month after being found guilty of inciting hatred for a joke about the removal of a disabled person. A second joke about Jesus Christ led to condemnation for offending religious believers.

They were brought to the attention of authorities in March by pro-government activists from a group called Zov Naroda, or Call of the People, who accused him of mocking a fighter who lost his legs in the Ukrainian war – a claim he denied, insisting the joke was misinterpreted.

Realizing that he might be in trouble, Ostanin fled to Belarus, but was arrested and deported to Russia. He told a Moscow court that he was severely beaten in the forest and his hair was cut off by Belarusian security forces, independent Russian media, Sota Vision, reported in its report on the case.

Eva Merkacheva, a member of the Russian Human Rights Council, also posted a photo in the Telegram of Ostanin with severe bruises and blood on his back.

The Ministry of the Interior of Belarus issued a statement to Telegram denying that he was beaten.

Colleague Nikolai said his friend was a “man of discipline” and the harsh sentence was intended to scare other comedians into the ropes. “It’s easy to punish one person so that others can live with the knowledge that it’s better not to take risks,” he told NBC News in an interview earlier this month.

NBC News has agreed not to use the last names of the people interviewed inside Russia, out of fear for their safety.

A relatively new phenomenon in Russia, the stand-up comedy started ten years ago after it was broadcast on television, turning unknowns into big stars.

Even today, “it’s hard to find a bar in Moscow that doesn’t host a stand-up gig at least once a week,” says Nikolai.

But “the regime does not know humor well,” according to Yevgeny Smirnov, a lawyer for the First Division human rights organization, which is responsible for protecting people accused of political crimes and espionage. He added that authorities are taking “everything seriously and seriously,” and Russia has introduced more laws punishing people for speaking out.

Among the worst was a law introduced shortly after President Vladimir Putin launched what the Kremlin refers to as its “special military operation” in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Those found guilty of “discrediting” the Russian military could face up to 15 years in prison.

Previously, several topics were limited, including issues such as the #MeToo movement, according to Anastasia, a 35-year-old artist from Moscow who used to go to comedy gigs before the crack. He added that people are proud of how free and brutal Russian comedy is.

That changed dramatically after the war began nearly four years ago, he said, adding that in the current climate, comedians are “playing it safe.” Before presenting their jokes, he said that some comedians will tell their audience that they don’t want to offend them while others will tell the crowd that they have jokes “but I won’t say.”

He said that because of this he is going to do fewer gigs because many things were repeating themselves.

“Every time, we fall completely down. And it never ends. We live in a world of scary mirrors,” said Anastasia, adding that although she was not a fan of jokes about disabled people, she was frustrated by Ostanin’s prison sentence.

After 2022, Nikolai said, he deleted things about the army because he was upset and told to stop joking about the war, and he had heard that others had been beaten for doing so.

Some comedians who wanted to make jokes about those things left Russia, among them is Denis Chuzhoy, who sings in English using the name “Dan the Stranger,” a literal translation of his name in Russian.

Already famous in his hometown, he said his fortunes changed after he spoke out against the war. During a parade in the northwestern city of Vologda, he recalls, two men stood up and gave him a funeral wreath with a ribbon that read “Russian traitor,” one of the reasons he decided to move to Spain.

Today, Russian comedians “repeat wives’ jokes,” Chuzhoy, who is now playing in Europe and the US, said in an interview earlier this month. Although he often jokes about death and depression, some of his social media posts refer to Putin and the Russian state.

The daring comedian he recently saw in a video filmed in Russia did a routine “about the proper way to eat pizza,” he said. As the comic held up a pizza with two slices missing, it finally became clear that it “looked like a peace sign,” he said.

On the first day of the invasion of Ukraine, he added, it was made clear to comedians on television that joking about this was not allowed. “We are making a comedy show, not a revolution,” the show’s producers were told in group discussions.

Those who defied the ban were threatened with “deportation or criminal charges,” he said.

Even those who seem uncritical of the war are immune, such as Nurlan Saburov, a popular Kazakh comedian who was banned earlier this month in Russia for 50 years for “criticizing the military’s special operations, as well as violations of immigration and tax laws,” according to the state-run TASS news agency.

In a statement posted on Instagram, Saburov said he does not want to comment on the situation and that his lawyers are handling the matter.

Still, Nikolai said some political upheaval still exists in Russia at the grassroots level. Comedians perform in front of a faithful audience of about 20 people who “really know them,” he said. “No one will even think about doing it on TV. No one wants to kill themselves,” he added.

Comparing standing in Russia to an electric fence, he said “it’s easy to pass, but God forbid you brush the side – you’re dead.”

Back in Moscow, a soldier who lost a leg in the war in Ukraine stands on the stage of a show broadcast on Russian social media channel VK.

“I am the only comedian who has fought for all the members of the audience,” he said, echoing the crowd.