11 years for anti-war posts on Instagram and 15.5 years for leaflets left in a cemetery
Read our overview of these and other cases of political prisoners we have recognised last week
Aleksandr Glazunov, a chemistry student from the Tula Oblast, was charged with publicly justifying terrorism online over a comment about the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK). In April 2026 the court sentenced him to three years in a penal colony.
Igor Tyron taught history, geography and social science in a village in the Komi Republic, and cared for two children — one with a disability, the other a minor. He was remanded in custody in December 2024 on charges of publicly justifying terrorism over comments supporting the Ukrainian Azov unit. He was later also charged with illegal possession of ammunition over cartridges that had belonged to his late father. The court sentenced Igor Tyron to five years in a penal colony.
Vitaly Grigoryev, a resident of St Petersburg, was sentenced in April 2026 to six years in a penal colony after being convicted of publicly justifying terrorism online. The charges stemmed from posts in support of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) and the Freedom of Russia Legion, posted on his VKontakte page in 2023.
Shovaa Khertek, originally from Tuva, lived in Khakassia. In April 2026 he was sentenced to 11 years in a high-security penal colony over Instagram posts about the attack on the Crimean Bridge, the strike on Russian military personnel in Makiivka, and calls to donate money to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He was found guilty of publicly justifying terrorism, preparing to incite high treason, and making public calls for activities directed against state security.
Volodymyr Hrabovetskyi, a Ukrainian-born former naval serviceman from the Murmansk Oblast, was arrested in May 2024. Polina Kuzmina, a Ukrainian national who lived in Moscow and worked in elderly care, was arrested in July that year. Volodymyr Hrabovetskyi was charged with transferring money to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and Polina Kuzmina with helping him transfer the money using her Ukrainian bank account. He was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment for high treason, and she to 12 years for aiding and abetting it.
Oleh Plachkov, an entrepreneur from Melitopol, was detained in September 2023 along with his wife, Tetiana. Tetiana Plachkova was charged with espionage. In February 2024 she fell into a coma and was hospitalised; she died three months later. Her husband has been held incommunicado for almost three years without charge.
Mikhail Kuzin, a 20-year-old resident of the Chelyabinsk Oblast, was detained in January 2024 at a cemetery, where he had been putting up leaflets bearing a picture of Putin and the words ‘If it weren’t for him, I would be alive, stop the war!’, along with a link to the Freedom of Russia Legion’s website. He was charged with high treason, participation in a terrorist organisation and public justification of terrorism, and sentenced to 15.5 years in a high-security penal colony.
Twelve Ukrainian servicemen taken prisoner in the Donetsk region were charged with training for terrorist activity and participation in a terrorist community over their service in Ukraine’s National Guard brigade Azov. In April 2026 the Southern District Military Court sentenced Oleh Tereshchenko, Serhii Kukushkin and Oleksandr Kryvytskyi to 20 years’ imprisonment each, Hlib Prylypko to 19.5 years, Viacheslav Krasovskyi and Rostyslav Babenko to 19 years, and Vadym Herman, Oleksii Savchenko, Danylo Skliarov, Valerii Ardelianov, Bohdan Holovanov and Serhii Medvedev to 18 years each.
You can read more about these cases, including addresses for correspondence with political prisoners, in our full report.
One-off or regular donations in support of people affected by political repression in Russia can also be made via our website.
