Anton Zhigalov, Aleksei Kuznetsov, and Konstantin Mikheev are political prisoners
Three more people have been deprived of liberty on a charge of financing the Anti-Corruption Foundation
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Anton Zhigalov, Aleksei Kuznetsov, and Konstantin Mikheev political prisoners. Kuznetsov and Mikheev were convicted on a charge of financing extremist activities for alleged donations to Aleksei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation; Zhigalov was remanded in custody on the same charge. Their prosecutions and convictions violated their rights to freedom of association and a fair trial. We demand the release of Zhigalov, Kuznetsov, and Mikheev and that all prosecutions related to the financing of the Anti-Corruption Foundation be dropped.
What were the charges for donating to the Anti-Corruption Foundation?
On 4 August 2021, the decision of Moscow City Court to designate the Anti-Corruption Foundation and other organisations associated with Aleksei Navalny as extremist came into force. The next day, Navalny’s team appealed to supporters for support and launched an anonymous fundraising campaign via Stripe.
A year later, the first criminal prosecutions for making donations to the Anti-Corruption Foundation began. According to our data, at least 112 people have since been charged with financing extremism (Article 282.3, Part 1, of the Russian Criminal Code). At first, law enforcement agencies took advantage of a technical error on the first day of fundraising. In some cases, Russian banks received textual markers indirectly indicating the purpose of the payments. Subsequently, the investigative authorities used information about the ID number of the payment’s recipient in an American bank, although the connection of that number to the Anti-Corruption Foundation has not been proven.
News of fresh prosecutions of this kind is constantly emerging.
According to the investigative authorities, Konstantin Mikheev from Severodvinsk in Arkhangelsk Oblast made seven bank transfers to the Anti-Corruption Foundation, the amount of which was not disclosed. He was detained no later than 11 October 2024. On 25 September 2025, he was sentenced to two years’ compulsory work in custody.
Aleksei Kuznetsov from Kirov was accused of making seven monthly bank transfers each of 300 roubles. After the case was opened on 25 March 2025, he was initially remanded in custody and then subsequently placed under house arrest. The case was transferred to Moscow, as the subscription for donations was registered in the capital. On 17 November 2025, Kuznetsov was sentenced to three years’ compulsory work in custody.
Anton Zhigalov from Kaliningrad, according to law enforcement agencies, made seven bank transfers of 300 roubles to the Anti-Corruption Foundation. The case was opened on 4 September 2025; on 24 October he was arrested and remanded in custody. If convicted, he faces up to eight years’ imprisonment. Zhigalov became the sixth resident of Kaliningrad to be charged with financing extremism for making donations to the Anti-Corruption Foundation.
According to available information, in October 2025, another Kaliningrad resident, whose surname is believed to be Kovalenko, was sentenced to a term of imprisonment. However, information about his prosecution has not been verified, and his case has not been included in our report.
To date, at least 80 verdicts have been handed down in cases involving the financing of the Anti-Corruption Foundation. Most of the defendants — at least 51 — received large fines, 13 were sentenced to terms of imprisonment, and at least seven are at present in custody pending trial.
Why do we consider Anton Zhigalov, Aleksei Kuznetsov, and Konstantin Mikheev political prisoners?
The decision of Moscow City Court to designate the Anti-Corruption Foundation and Navalny’s headquarters as extremist organisations is politically motivated and unlawful.
First, no evidence of extremist activity by these organisations was presented. Politically motivated administrative and criminal prosecutions of individual employees do not constitute such evidence.
Second, regular inspections of the organisations by the authorities failed to reveal any extremism in their work, although the results of these inspections were attached to the case by the court as confirmation of extremist activity.
The criminal prosecutions of Zhigalov, Kuznetsov, and Mikheev, based on an unlawful decision by Moscow City Court, were therefore also politically motivated and unlawful.
Financing the Anti-Corruption Foundation should not be considered a crime. However, even if this were not the case, the disproportionate nature of the punishment is obvious. The transfer of very small sums of money — sometimes as little as 100 or 300 roubles — were used as grounds for criminal cases and custody.
A detailed description of the cases of Anton Zhigalov, Aleksei Kuznetsov, and Konstantin Mikheev and of our position is available on our website.
We have also previously published an overview of all cases related to Navalny’s ‘extremist’ structures.
How can you help?
You can donate to help all political prisoners in Russia.
