Varvara Volkova is a political prisoner
A flight attendant from Moscow Oblast has been sentenced to seven years in a penal colony for posts about the war in a village chat group
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Varvara Volkova a political prisoner. Varvara Volkova was convicted on a criminal charge of spreading ‘fake news’ about the army for messages posted in a Telegram chat. Volkova’s criminal prosecution and conviction violated her rights to freedom of expression and a fair trial. We demand that Varvara Volkova be released and that all criminal charges against her be dropped.
What were the charges against Varvara Volkova?
Varvara Volkova was a flight attendant with Ural Airlines. Her criminal prosecution began because of an online chat among residents of the village of Sapronovo in Moscow Oblast. The private chat group consisted of just 12 people.
In December 2024, Varvara Volkova had an argument about the war with Ruslan Grigoryev, who had fought in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In January 2025, screenshots of her messages began to be widely circulated by pro-regime propaganda Telegram channels. Following a wave of denunciations against Volkova, in February 2025 she was fined on two administrative-law charges of propagating extremist symbols (for the words ‘Glory to Ukraine’) and ‘discrediting’ the army (for a comment stating that her friends had been killed ‘at the hands of Russian soldiers’). Volkova was also dismissed from her job.
In the summer of 2025, it emerged that a criminal case had been brought against her on a charge of spreading ‘fake news’ about the army (Article 207.3, Part 2 [e], of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The basis for the charge was most likely excerpts from her messages in the same chat group. For instance, in one of them Volkova wrote that ‘thousands of civilians have been killed.’ In another, in response to the question ‘what if, God forbid, Ukraine advances into the Moscow Oblast?’ she replied: ‘I’ll invite them [the Ukrainians] over for tea because our faggots bombed their civilian targets.’
In November 2025, Volkova was sentenced to seven years in a general regime penal colony. Grigoryev, who had launched the smear campaign against Volkova, was killed in Ukraine in March 2025.
Why do we consider Varvara Volkova a political prisoner?
All charges for the offence of spreading ‘fake news’ about the army are unlawful. They are used to prohibit dissemination of any information about the war in Ukraine that differs from the official line and for purposes of political repression. You can read more about our position here.
The statements by Varvara Volkova that formed the basis for the criminal charges were made in a small chat group and reflected her personal experience and opinions. They contained no information she knew to be false. They expressed a subjective assessment of the war and her personal feeling of loss. Furthermore, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the deaths of civilians resulting from Russian military action in Ukraine have been repeatedly confirmed by international investigations.
A detailed description of Varvara Volkova’s case and of our position is available on our website.
How can you help?
You can write to Varvara Volkova at the following address:
RU:
429430, Чувашская республика – Чувашия, г. Козловка, ул. Шоссейная, д. 10, ФКУ ИК-5 УФСИН России по Чувашской Республике – Чувашии, Волкова Варвара Владимировна, 2002 г. р.
EN:
Varvara Vladimirovna Volkova (born 2002), Penal Colony No. 5, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Chuvash Republic, 10 Shosseynaya Street, Kozlovka, Chuvash Republic, 429430, Russia.
You can also send emails via ZT (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.
