Mikhalev Viacheslav Sergeevich

Viacheslav Mikhalev, a resident of the settlement of Vanino in Khabarovsk Krai, worked as a dockworker at the port. He was arrested in May 2023 on charges that, in 2022, he had allegedly joined the Freedom of Russia Legion via Internet and, acting on its orders, was preparing to “disable” a number of “critical transport facilities,” including railway tracks on a section of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) leading to local seaports. Ultimately, however, he was not charged with preparing for those specific acts; the court found Mikhalev guilty of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization and of confidential cooperation with a foreign organization. He was sentenced to 8 years in a maximum-security penal colony.