Vasilya Vershinina is a political prisoner
A teacher from Kamchatka is accused of extremism and calls for terrorism over her civic activism and music videos featuring revolutionary songs
Vasilya Vershinina is a teacher from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and a civic activist. She ran a Telegram channel where she wrote about her activities and called on people to join the “Council of Kamchatka Krai,” an association of activists advocating for popular self-government. Because of these posts, Vershinina was repeatedly subjected to administrative penalties and was later dismissed from her school.
On September 4, 2025, searches were carried out at the homes of seven women in Kamchatka who were linked to the “Council.” After being questioned by the FSB, all of them were released except Vershinina. She was charged with participating in the activities of an extremist organisation (Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code). According to the investigation, under the guise of the “Council of Kamchatka Krai,” the activist continued the activities of the banned Volya party, of which she had been a member until its liquidation in 2016. Vershinina was accused of holding discussions, distributing leaflets, and recruiting people into the organisation. On September 5, a court remanded her in pre-trial detention; however, on September 12, an appeal court changed the measure of restraint to house arrest.
In October 2025, Vershinina faced another charge — public calls for terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code). The basis for the charge was video clips featuring the songs “Varshavianka” and “The Internationale,” which she had published on her Telegram channel. According to the investigation, their content calls for the violent seizure of power. In addition, Vershinina was charged with inducing people to participate in the activities of an extremist organisation (Part 1.1 of Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code).
The charges of continuing the activities of the Volya party are based on a questionable decision to ban it. In May 2025, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the liquidation of the party had violated its members’ right to freedom of expression and emphasised that Russian legislation on extremism allows people to be prosecuted for peacefully expressing their views. Moreover, there are no convincing grounds for considering the “Council of Kamchatka Krai” a continuation of Volya’s activities.
In our assessment, the video clips that formed the basis for the second charge do not contain calls for terrorism. They feature peaceful protests, pickets, and rallies, while the images of violence in revolutionary songs more than a century old are allegorical in nature. The Sova Research Center also found no calls for terrorist activity in the videos.
A detailed description of the case and our position is available in the case summary.
How can you help?
Activists are collecting funds to pay for legal and expert services via a Sberbank card: 2202205010322540 (Irina Evgenievna S.).
On our website, you can make a one-time or monthly donation to help victims of political repression in Russia.
