Alyona Lysanova is a political prisoner
The daughter of a United Russia politician from Vologda Oblast was sentenced to 13 years for donations to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and online comments in their support
Alyona Lysanova is a resident of Vologda Oblast. Her father, and apparently her grandfather, run Bely Ruchey JSC, a major timber harvesting and wood-processing company. Her father was also elected several times as a municipal deputy and, in 2021, was elected to the Vologda Oblast Legislative Assembly on the United Russia party list, although he later declined to take the seat.
Lysanova was charged in a criminal case, apparently no later than February 2025. According to the prosecution, between June 2022 and July 2023 she made 11 cryptocurrency transfers to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces, totalling more than US$2,000. She was also accused of publishing online posts “in support of a Ukrainian nationalist military organisation banned in the Russian Federation, falling under the Criminal Code article on the justification of terrorism.” Based on this wording, the accusation most likely concerned the Azov Brigade. As far as is known, Lysanova was held in pre-trial detention throughout the investigation.
In October 2025, she was convicted of high treason in the form of providing financial assistance to a foreign state in activities allegedly directed against the security of the Russian Federation, as well as justifying terrorism online. She was sentenced to 13 years in a general-regime penal colony and fined 100,000 roubles. On appeal, the fine was overturned, while the rest of the sentence was upheld.
We consider the high treason charges for supporting Ukraine to be unlawful. The actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces do not threaten Russia’s security; on the contrary, they are directed against the principal threat to that security — Russia’s aggressive war. Expressions of support for units of the Ukrainian armed forces cannot legitimately be treated as justification of terrorism, since the designation of the Azov Brigade and other Ukrainian military units as terrorist organisations is itself unfounded and contrary to international law.
A more detailed description of the case of Alyona Lysanova and the position of the human rights project is available on our website.
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