Aruna Arna is a political prisoner
Mother of three from Gorno-Altaysk sentenced to five years in prison for posting video clips set to revolutionary songs
Aruna Arna is a civic activist, the founder of the Council of Residents of the Altai Republic, and the mother of three minor children. She campaigned against restrictions on local self-government and collected signatures calling for the resignation of the head of the region, Andrei Turchak. Arna runs the Telegram channel Aruna Arna. People’s Leader of Altai, which has around 5,000 subscribers. She has repeatedly faced administrative prosecution, including under the articles on ‘discrediting’ the Russian army and organising a public event without prior notification.
In September 2025, searches were carried out at Arna’s home, as well as at the homes of her mother and other female activists. Security officers seized electronic devices, cash, and bank cards. Although Arna had an infant child, she was taken in for questioning and, in October, remanded in pre-trial detention. She was charged under Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code (‘Public calls for terrorist activity on the Internet’).
The charges were based on two video clips posted on her Telegram channel featuring modern cover versions of the songs The Internationale and The Warsawian. The lyrics had been only slightly altered, while the videos interspersed historical footage with scenes from contemporary protests. Experts concluded that lines from these historical songs, such as ‘We will destroy the whole world of violence to its very foundations’ and ‘All power to the working people’, constituted calls to overthrow the current constitutional order in Russia, and the investigation classified them as calls for terrorism.
Arna pleaded not guilty. She maintained that the videos featured well-known historical works and called for the experts to be prosecuted for issuing a false expert opinion, promoting anti-Russian sentiment, and rehabilitating Nazism.
The case was heard behind closed doors on the pretext that it involved state secrets. On 1 June 2026, a military court sentenced Arna to five years’ imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony.
We believe that the videos contain no calls for terrorist activity or violence and that the prosecution of Aruna Arna is solely connected with her civic and political activities.
A detailed description of Aruna Arna’s case and of our position is available on our website.
How can you help?
You can write to Aruna Arna at the following address:
Ru:
630010, г. Новосибирск, ул. Караваева, д. 1, ФКУ СИЗО-1 ГУФСИН России по Новосибирской области, Арна Аруна Александровна, 1986 г. р.
En:
Remand Prison No. 1, Russian Federal Penitentiary Service for Novosibirsk Oblast,
1 Karavayeva Street, Novosibirsk, 630010, Russia, Arna Aruna Aleksandrovna, born 1986.
You can also send emails via the ZT service (for payment with all bank cards), and Memorial-France (free of charge).
Please note that letters in languages other than Russian are highly unlikely to reach the intended recipient.
You can donate to help all political prisoners in Russia.
