Prosecutions for defending indigenous peoples’ rights, singing ‘Varshavianka’, and subscribing to a Telegram channel about torture
Natalya Leongardt, a defender of indigenous peoples’ rights, and Konstantin Vorobyov, a Moksha activist, were remanded in custody in December 2025. They are charged with participation in a terrorist organisation over alleged involvement with the Forum of Free Nations of Post-Russia.
Aruna Arna is a community activist and mother of a large family from Gorno-Altaysk. In October 2025, she was arrested on charges of incitement to terrorism. She was sentenced to five years in a penal colony over music videos featuring cover versions of The Internationale and Varshavianka.
Svetlana Burim, a retired anaesthesiologist from Irkutsk, was sentenced in April 2026 to five years in a penal colony on charges of public justification of terrorism over a YouTube comment expressing support for the Russian Volunteer Corps.
Nikolai Rudy from Moscow Oblast was remanded in custody in September 2025 over a YouTube comment thanking the Russian Volunteer Corps. On charges of public justification of terrorism, he was sentenced to three years in a penal colony.
Yelena Sarkisyan is a resident of Novosibirsk and a subscriber to the Telegram channel ANTI PYTKI (Anti-Torture). She was remanded in custody in April 2025. She was initially charged with recruiting for and participating in an extremist community, and was subsequently also charged with incitement to hatred and enmity.
Bogdan Bondarev from St Petersburg was detained in February 2024. He allegedly set fire to a relay cabinet, carried out surveillance of defence industry facilities, and produced anti-Putin leaflets, all on the instructions of the Freedom of Russia Legion. On charges of sabotage, state treason and participation in a terrorist organisation, Bogdan Bondarev was sentenced to fourteen years in a high-security penal colony.
Two young church ministers of Ukrainian origin, Nikita Ivankovich and Denis Popovich, were arrested in February 2025 in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) with the aim of derailing peace negotiations with Ukraine. They were charged with preparation for a terrorist attack and the unlawful handling of explosives. Both gave confessions under torture, but subsequently retracted them. They have since been charged with three further offences: participation in a terrorist community, undergoing terrorist training, and unlawful access to computer data. For the totality of the charges against them, they potentially face life imprisonment.
In June 2026, Jehovah’s Witnesses were detained in Altai Krai and Moscow Oblast. Pensioners Valery Firsov and Viktor Kovalenko from Slavgorod, and Natalya Krasnobayeva and Tatyana Volkova from Shchyolkovo, were placed under house arrest, while Tatyana’s husband, Sergei Volkov, was remanded in custody.
Eight Ukrainian servicemen captured in Donetsk Oblast were convicted on terrorism charges for alleged membership of Azov. Volodymyr Reva received five and a half years; Serhii Bliznuk and Yan Samarsky, eighteen years each; Hennadii Bybochkin, Myroslav Pipash and Oleksandr Kucheryavenko, nineteen years each; and Andrii Haliuk and Denys Holub, twenty years each.
Angelina Skiba from Mariupol is the widow of an Azov fighter who died in Russian pre-trial detention. In July 2025, she was detained in Pskov Oblast, placed under administrative arrest and subsequently remanded in custody on criminal charges. For making donations in support of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including Azov, she was sentenced to thirteen years in a penal colony on charges of state treason and financing terrorism.
Vladislav Lobanov from Nizhny Novgorod was sentenced to five years on charges of confidential cooperation with foreign nationals. He allegedly intended to take part in hostilities on the side of Ukraine.
Yekaterina Gukayeva, originally from Pyatigorsk, was remanded in custody in late April 2026, also on charges of confidential cooperation. Further details are unknown.
Vorobyov Konstantin Anatolyevich
Semyon Simonov was arrested in Moscow in December 2024 on charges of state treason. He was subsequently found guilty of confidential cooperation with foreign nationals. The length of his sentence and further details of the case remain unknown.
You can read more about these cases, including addresses to write to the political prisoners, in our full report. By staying informed, sharing updates, or making one-off or regular contributions, you can help those affected by political repression in Russia.
