Vadim Ostanin was born on October 7, 1976, and lived in the city of Biysk, Altai Krai. Before Alexei Navalny’s headquarters were designated as an extremist organization, he headed the organization’s office in Biysk.
He was sentenced to 9 years in a general-regime penal colony on charges under Part 3 of Article 239 of the Russian Criminal Code (“Propaganda of a non-profit organization whose activities involve encouraging citizens to refuse to perform their civic duties or to commit other unlawful acts,” punishable by up to 2 years in prison) and Part 1 of Article 282.1 (“Creation of an extremist community,” punishable by up to 10 years in prison) in connection with his participation in the allegedly extremist community created by Alexei Navalny and calls to attend protests. The appellate court upheld the sentence.
On December 28, 2021, a measure of restraint in the form of a ban on certain activities was imposed on him. On March 10, 2022, he was taken into custody.
On August 1, 2024, he was released as part of an international prisoner exchange.
