Nizhny Novgorod activist sentenced to two years for posts about Alexei Navalny and reposting ACF content

Nizhny Novgorod activist Tatyana Arshinova has been sentenced to two years in a general-regime penal colony after being convicted of participation in Alexei Navalny’s ‘extremist’ organisations under part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code. The Nizhny Novgorod Political Red Cross reported the sentence.

This is not the only criminal case against Tatyana Arshinova. She will also face trial for alleged participation in the Freedom of Russia Legion. The charge of participation in a terrorist organisation under part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code carries a maximum sentence of twenty years.

The court found Tatyana Arshinova to be a participant in Navalny’s regional offices and the Anti-Corruption Foundation on the basis of material posted on her personal VKontakte page. ‘Reposts of ACF content on her personal VKontakte page, a photograph with Navalny, a personal letter to him in the penal colony, posts calling for his release, announcements of the unsanctioned mass protests of 2021, expressions of grief over his death, and more. In essence — simply VKontakte posts,’ the Nizhny Novgorod Political Red Cross described the charges.

Tatyana Arshinova told the court that she ‘had volunteered at Navalny’s now-banned regional office between 2017 and 2021, when it was legal to do so and Alexei was planning to stand in the presidential election.’ According to Tatyana Arshinova, ‘her subsequent posts were personal in nature and expressed only her own feelings on Navalny’s birthdays and on the anniversary of his death.’

Tatyana Arshinova took part in protests in Nizhny Novgorod for many years, including pickets in support of political prisoners. She was arrested on 17 July 2025 on the charge of participation in an extremist organisation. A second charge — participation in a terrorist organisation — was brought against her in October of the same year.