Natalya Shakh is a political prisoner

A cultural centre employee and singer from a small settlement in Perm Krai was sentenced to five and a half years in prison over three VK comments

Natalya Shakh worked at the Narodny Dom cultural centre in the settlement of Pashiya in Perm Krai. She also performed in a family music ensemble together with her husband and daughter.

In 2024, criminal proceedings were initiated against Shakh over three comments she posted on VK in 2022–2023. In those comments, she sharply criticised Vladimir Putin and Russia’s war against Ukraine, and called on people to resist what she described as the destruction of the Russian people by organising into “detachments” and “militias.” In one of the comments cited by the prosecution, Shakh wrote: ‘Down with Putler and his cronies — it’s time to form battalions among the people and wipe out all this scum that has seized power.’

Her trial began in autumn 2025. During the hearings, Shakh declined to answer the question of whether she pleaded guilty. The prosecutor requested a sentence of seven and a half years in prison. On 24 April 2026, the court sentenced her to five and a half years in a general-regime penal colony.

A detailed description of Natalya Shakh’s case and of our position is available on our website.

How can you help?

If you know which pre-trial detention centre or penal colony Natalya Shakh is being held in, please let our partners know by emailing [email protected] or by submitting the information through their anonymous secure form.

You can donate to help all political prisoners in Russia.