Mikhail Kuzin is a political prisoner
22-year-old resident of Chelyabinsk Oblast sentenced to 15.5 years in prison for putting up leaflets in a cemetery
Mikhail Kuzin, a resident of Miass, was detained in January 2024 at a cemetery, where he was putting up leaflets on the graves of Russian soldiers. The leaflets featured an image of Putin and the words “If it weren’t for him, I would be alive. Stop the war!” as well as a QR code leading to the website of the Freedom of Russia Legion. According to the prosecution, Kuzin was acting on behalf of the organization.
The young man was charged under three articles: participation in the activities of a terrorist organization (Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code), treason (Article 275), and public justification of terrorism (Part 1 of Article 205.2). Kuzin’s trial lasted for more than a year. During the investigation, he was held in a pre-trial detention center.
During the trial, the young man said that he had grown up with the belief that “the most important thing is that there should be no war”, and therefore reacted negatively to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He also apologized to his parents for having “let them down.”
On June 4, 2026, Judge Vitaly Chumakov of a military court sentenced Mikhail Kuzin to 15.5 years in prison, the first five years of which he must serve in prison.
We are convinced that Mikhail Kuzin’s actions do not constitute any crime. He did not cause any damage to the security of Russia, as required by the charge of treason brought against him. The Freedom of Russia Legion was unlawfully designated a terrorist organization in Russia; consequently, the charges of participating in such an organization and justifying terrorism are also unlawful. Such an extraordinarily long prison sentence has been imposed on a very young man in order to use this brutality to intimidate everyone who opposes Russia’s war against Ukraine.
A detailed description of Mikhail Kuzin’s case and of our position is available on our website.
How can you help?
You can write to Mikhail Kuzin at the following address:
Ru:
620019, г. Екатеринбург, ул. Репина, д. 4, ФКУ СИЗО-1 ГУФСИН России по Свердловской области, Кузин Михаил Павлович, 2003 г. р.
En:
Kuzin Mikhail Pavlovich (born 2003), Pre-trial Detention Center No. 1, Federal Penitentiary Service Directorate for Sverdlovsk Oblast, 4 Repina Street, Yekaterinburg, 620019, Russia.
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.
