Political prisoners support.
Memorial

After the illegal and unjustified liquidation of the Memorial Human Rights Center, with the consent of its Council, our team continues the work of the Memorial Human Rights Center Support Program for Political Prisoners as an independent human rights project

Should I stay or should I go (back)? – 2. Another 24 stories of Russians who returned to their homeland and ended up behind bars

Database of the project ‘Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial’

Stand with victims of political repression

New political prisoners:

Political prisoners:

2479

since 2009

1814

now

Who are political prisoners

Political prisoners

Number of figurants: 1814

Other victims of political repression

Number of figurants: 68

Political Prisoners — Victims of the War

Number of figurants: 611

Persecuted Jehovah's Witnesses

Number of figurants: 216

List of persecuted Hizb ut-Tahrir members

Number of figurants: 222

All the persecuted

News

All news

01 Oct, 2026

Database of the project ‘Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial’

At least 5,729 people in Russia and the occupied Ukrainian territories have been deprived of liberty with signs of political motivation
29 Sep, 2026

Arkhangelsk man detained at airport while trying to leave Russia sentenced to 10 years on charges of attempting to join the Russian Volunteer Corps

Ivan Shadrin has been sentenced to 10 years on charges of attempting to join the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK).
29 Sep, 2026

Yegor Gulyaev from St Petersburg sentenced to six years over three reposts about the war

Yegor Gulyaev has been sentenced to six years in a general-regime penal colony over three reposts about the war in Ukraine.
29 Sep, 2026

Anatoly Lipkovsky is a political prisoner

A resident of Altai Krai sentenced to five years in prison for four “criminal” comments, including the word “bravo”
28 Sep, 2026

Political scientist Aleksandr Kynev diagnosed with two leg fractures after detention

Political scientist Aleksandr Kynev has been diagnosed with two fractures to his lower leg following his detention.
28 Sep, 2026

More than five years over a single comment about Putin and State Duma deputies and 15 years for a Russian man who fought on Ukraine’s side

Read our overview of these and other cases of political prisoners we have recognised last week
25 Sep, 2026

Political scientist Aleksandr Kynev remanded in custody on charges of drug trafficking, denies guilt

Political scientist Aleksandr Kynev has been remanded in custody on a charge of illegal production, sale or dispatch of drugs.
24 Sep, 2026

Should I stay or should I go (back)? – 2. Another 24 stories of Russians who returned to their homeland and ended up behind bars

Our new report examines 24 cases of people who returned for entirely ordinary reasons. Instead, many were detained, prosecuted, and accused of serious offences
23 Sep, 2026

Mikhail Fetisov is a political prisoner

Neurologist from St Petersburg fired for his anti-war stance and facing trial under two criminal charges over VK posts

01 Oct, 2026

Database of the project ‘Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial’

At least 5,729 people in Russia and the occupied Ukrainian territories have been deprived of liberty with signs of political motivation
29 Sep, 2026

Arkhangelsk man detained at airport while trying to leave Russia sentenced to 10 years on charges of attempting to join the Russian Volunteer Corps

Ivan Shadrin has been sentenced to 10 years on charges of attempting to join the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK).
29 Sep, 2026

Yegor Gulyaev from St Petersburg sentenced to six years over three reposts about the war

Yegor Gulyaev has been sentenced to six years in a general-regime penal colony over three reposts about the war in Ukraine.
28 Sep, 2026

Political scientist Aleksandr Kynev diagnosed with two leg fractures after detention

Political scientist Aleksandr Kynev has been diagnosed with two fractures to his lower leg following his detention.
25 Sep, 2026

Political scientist Aleksandr Kynev remanded in custody on charges of drug trafficking, denies guilt

Political scientist Aleksandr Kynev has been remanded in custody on a charge of illegal production, sale or dispatch of drugs.
24 Sep, 2026

Should I stay or should I go (back)? – 2. Another 24 stories of Russians who returned to their homeland and ended up behind bars

Our new report examines 24 cases of people who returned for entirely ordinary reasons. Instead, many were detained, prosecuted, and accused of serious offences
21 Sep, 2026

‘I lay down on the concrete floor and lost consciousness’: Maria Bontsler’s health continues to deteriorate, partly due to torturous conditions during transport to and from court

The health of Maria Bontsler, who has been arrested on a charge of state treason, continues to deteriorate.
21 Sep, 2026

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov: political prisoners should be on Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s agenda in Moscow

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov, the former editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, spoke about Russia's political prisoners in an interview with CNN.
17 Sep, 2026

Pensioner using crutches in occupied Tokmak sentenced to 12 years for financing the Ukrainian Armed Forces

A 69-year-old resident of Tokmak, in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, has been sentenced to 12 years in a general-regime penal colony on charges of financing the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Медиазона 01 Sep, 2026

Melitopol resident accused of preparing a terrorist attack tells court of electric shock torture and ‘some kind of injections’

53-year-old Melitopol resident Olga Kapralova, who is accused of preparing an act of terrorism, described being abducted and tortured
24 Aug, 2026

Russian woman who returned to Moscow from Ukraine over paperwork charged with high treason after four months of ‘carousel’ arrests

Moscow investigators have opened a criminal case on charges of high treason against Svetlana Golovatenko, who lived in Ukraine for many years but returned to Russia to renew her expired internal passport and re-register a flat she still owned in Donetsk.
SOTAvision 22 Jul, 2026

Kherson resident’s six-year sentence upheld over comments about Vladlen Tatarsky and calls on Russian soldiers to surrender

The Appellate Military Court in Vlasikha, outside Moscow, has upheld a six-year sentence in a general-regime penal colony for Kherson resident Nataliia Pushkash
Mediazona 21 Apr, 2026

The 225 donor cases. Russian authorities continue to prosecute donors to Navalny’s Anti‑Corruption Foundation across the country

At least 225 criminal cases had been opened across Russia over donations to Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF) made after it was banned as “extremist” in August 2021
Novaya gazeta 17 Apr, 2026

Artist Liudmila Razumova fears for her life in Russian remand centre

Politprisoner Liudmila Razumova is reportedly in fear for her life following an escalation of hostilities at a remand centre in Tver.
The Insider 14 Apr, 2026

More than 2,200 Ukrainian citizens have been charged in Russia under terrorism and extremism statutes — fewer than 1% have been exchanged

As of mid-March 2026, Russia has charged at least 2,278 Ukrainian citizens under terrorism and extremism statutes
05 Sep, 2025

Aleksei Badmaev is a political prisoner

A student from Irkutsk has been sentenced to 14 years in a strict regime penal colony on charges of justifying terrorism and treason for comments posted on VK and a transfer of 500 roubles.
The Insider 27 Aug, 2025

Over 300 Ukrainian soldiers who fought in the AFU’s Kursk incursion convicted in Russia on “terrorism” charges

Более 300 украинских военных, участвовавших в боях в Курской области, осуждены в России за «терроризм»