All assessments of the criminal prosecution of specific individuals, including the designation of detained persons as political prisoners, reflect the position of our Project. Such assessments are not based on the views and assessments of the individuals being prosecuted, their families, friends or lawyers, and do not imply their consent or approval. The information regarding the facts of specific criminal cases published on our Project’s website has been obtained from public sources and does not imply or require the consent of the individuals mentioned therein or their representatives.
Two and a half years for spitting on a St George ribbon, and eight years for posts on a blocked page
Read our overview of these and other cases of political prisoners we have recognised last week
31 Jul, 2026
Natalya Shakh is a political prisoner
Сотрудницу дома культуры и певицу из маленького посёлка в Пермском крае приговорили к 5,5 годам заключения за три комментария в VK
28 Jul, 2026
Dmitry Sorokin is a political prisoner
A St. Petersburg mover was sentenced to eight years in prison over posts on a blocked VK page
26 Jul, 2026
Prosecution of a schoolboy over a sixteen-second oath, and a customs officer over a comment reading ‘Good news this fine morning’
Read our overview of these and other cases of political prisoners we have recognised last week
24 Jul, 2026
Arseny Klimin, Danil Yeliseev and Nikita Sukhorukov — political prisoners
Students from Yekaterinburg sentenced to 7–8 years for allegedly planning to set fire to railway relay cabinets for money on behalf of the Freedom of Russia Legion
22 Jul, 2026
Boris Rudnitsky is a political prisoner
A St. Petersburg man was placed in pre-trial detention over the comment 'Good news to start the day' beneath a report about the death of a crime boss
20 Jul, 2026
Danila Smirnov is a political prisoner
A schoolboy from Astrakhan faces terrorism charges over Telegram messages, a video "oath," and a photograph of a mosque allegedly linked to the Freedom of Russia Legion
20 Jul, 2026
Six years for a schoolboy for arson ‘on the instructions of Ukrainian intelligence’, and five and a half years for a farmer for two comments about Azov
Read our overview of these and other cases of political prisoners we have recognised last week
16 Jul, 2026
Alyona Lysanova is a political prisoner
The daughter of a United Russia politician from Vologda Oblast was sentenced to 13 years for donations to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and online comments in their support
15 Jul, 2026
Ariadna Litvinova is a political prisoner
A former police college student deported from Turkey is facing criminal charges for "discrediting" the Russian army over an anti-war protest
14 Jul, 2026
Serhii Korzh is a political prisoner
An employee of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant abducted in occupied Enerhodar was sentenced to 13 years in prison on espionage charges
13 Jul, 2026
Prosecutions for defending indigenous peoples’ rights, singing ‘Varshavianka’, and subscribing to a Telegram channel about torture
Read our overview of these and other cases of political prisoners we have recognised last week
10 Jul, 2026
Anhelina Skyba is a political prisoner
The widow of a Ukrainian serviceman who died in Russian captivity was sentenced to 13 years in prison for money transfers to the Armed Forces of Ukraine
07 Jul, 2026
Denys Popovych and Nikita Ivankovich are political prisoners
Two young Orthodox clerics face multiple criminal charges over an alleged plot to assassinate Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov), described as Putin's 'confessor'
06 Jul, 2026
Thirteen years for a Russian citizen who had lived in Ukraine over money transfers, twenty-seven years for a Ukrainian prisoner of war with Russian citizenship convicted of state treason and terrorism
Read our overview of these and other cases of political prisoners we have recognised last week
02 Jul, 2026
Oleg Roldugin is a political prisoner
An investigative journalist faces up to six years in prison for using data lookup bots in his reporting
30 Jun, 2026
Semyon Kravchenko is a political prisoner
A Russian citizen who came under Russian shelling in Ukraine and later travelled to Russia from Norway was sentenced to 14 years in a strict-regime penal colony for donations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine
28 Jun, 2026
Five and a half years for a wheelchair user over a comment, and fourteen years for a Ukrainian-born man over plans to join the Ukrainian armed forces and for ‘justifying terrorism’
Read our overview of these and other cases of political prisoners we have recognised last week
26 Jun, 2026
Aleksandr Krichevsky is a political prisoner
A disabled system administrator from Izhevsk was sentenced to 5.5 years over a comment. His elderly mother was placed in a care home after his arrest and died there
22 Jun, 2026
Up to ten years in a penal colony for young men incited to commit arson by a female FSB agent, and twelve years for a young female courier over links to the Freedom of Russia Legion
Read our overview of these and other cases of political prisoners we have recognised last week
17 Jun, 2026
Enemies, not criminals
We are publishing an analytical overview of the tightening of penalties and discussing the legal mechanisms the state is using to achieve this
15 Jun, 2026
A year for spitting in a box and 13 years for graffiti
Read our overview of these and other cases of political prisoners we have recognised last week
11 Jun, 2026
Vitalii Trofymchuk is a political prisoner
A 19-year-old disabled resident of the occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison for Telegram comments
10 Jun, 2026
Nikita Voitsekhovsky and Dmytry Ionov are political prisoners
A Moscow student and a football fan from the Moscow Oblast were accused of collaborating with the Russian Volunteer Corps over graffiti
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