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Comprehensive archive of political persecution — 37 individuals fighting for freedom and justice

Documented Cases.

Comprehensive archive of political persecution — 37 individuals fighting for freedom and justice across Russia, Belarus, Georgia, and Central Asia.

Country

Urgency

Valeria Kovalishina

Valeria Kovalishina is facing charges for allegedly making a false report of a terrorist threat in Saint Petersburg. Details of the case are currently unknown.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Activism

Maria Malysheva

Maria Malysheva is accused of making a false bomb threat to a police department. Searches were conducted at the homes of local civil activists in connection with the case, but no verdict has been reached yet.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Protest

Maxim Evstropov

Maxim Evstropov, an artist and founder of the "Party of the Dead," is facing charges related to his posts on Telegram and VKontakte around Easter. The posts contained photographs of a protest at a cemetery with anti-war posters.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

anti war

Evgeniya Smetankina

Evgeniya Smetankina is on trial for a false bomb threat against a police station in St. Petersburg. She was previously detained for an anti-war banner and fired from her job.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Social media

Andrei Tishchenko

Andrei Tishchenko, a resident of St. Petersburg, received a suspended sentence of 2.5 years for rehabilitating Nazism. The charges stemmed from a satirical text he posted online comparing referendums in occupied territories to a hypothetical referendum during the siege of Leningrad.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Protest

Ariadna Litvinova

Ariadna Litvinova is being charged with vandalism for spray-painting anti-war inscriptions on stands of a patriotic photo exhibition in St. Petersburg. She was previously fined under an administrative article for discrediting the army.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Social media

Arthur Kanin

Arthur Kanin was sentenced to four years in prison for calls to extremism and terrorism. The charges stemmed from comments he made in a Telegram chat room of the "Russian Volunteer Corps," including a negative statement about Russians and a call to set fire to military recruitment centers.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Social media

Varvara Lemann

Varvara Lemann was sentenced to three years in prison for incitement to terrorism, stemming from a video posted in a Telegram group calling for the overthrow of the Russian government and violence against military leaders. Lemann claimed her views changed after a visit from FSB officers and now supports Russian actions.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Protest

Kirill Korolev

Kirill Korolev was initially sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment for attacking police officers at an anti-war rally. The sentence was later replaced with a suspended sentence after appeal.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Activism

Lelya Nordic

Lelya Nordic, an artist, is accused of making a false bombing report to the police. Dozens of houses belonging to local activists were searched in connection to the incident.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Protest

Nikita Yuferev

Nikita Yuferev, a municipal deputy from St. Petersburg, is facing a criminal case for discrediting the Armed Forces. The case was triggered by tweets explaining his refusal to pay a fine for discrediting the army and discussing an article about his municipality.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Social media

Unknown male 345

A resident of St. Petersburg was detained for allegedly justifying the bombing that killed Vladlen Tatarsky, calling for violence against participants in the war in Ukraine, and suggesting blowing up a law enforcement building. He was detained in a dramatic raid.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Activism

Konstantin Pokhilchuk

Konstantin Pokhilchuk is accused of making a false bomb threat report against a police station. He was given an ultimatum to leave the country or face charges for online statements and has since left Russia.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Protest

Nikita Chirkov

Nikita Chirkov was charged with vandalism for applying an anti-war inscription on a monument in St. Petersburg. He was sentenced to one year of restrictions on freedom.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Social media

Alexander Karasev

Alexander Karasev was fined for comments made in the chat room of the project 'I Want to Live'. The comments called for violence against Rublevskoye Highway residents.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Activism

Daniil Sitnikov

Daniil Sitnikov, a resident of St. Petersburg, is facing charges for allegedly making a false bomb threat report against a police station. He was detained after a search but apparently released, and the case is one of several brought against anti-war activists in the city.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

treason

Marat Asanbekovich Gadzhiev

Marat Gadzhiev was detained in St. Petersburg and accused of cooperating with a foreign state against the security of the Russian Federation. He allegedly contacted the Norwegian consulate and embassy expressing interest in discussing assistance in modernizing military equipment supplied to Ukraine.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

treason

Ivan Nikolaevich Kartashov

Ivan Kartashov from Saint Petersburg is accused of collaborating with a foreign state. He is suspected of contacting foreign intelligence services to sell classified documentation and UAV systems and is currently in pre-trial detention.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Protest

Maxim Asriyan

Maxim Asriyan, a healthcare worker, was sentenced to 8 years for attempted arson of a military recruitment office and treason for intending to join the "Freedom of Russia" legion. The Memorial Human Rights Defence Centre considers his prosecution politically motivated and aimed at suppressing dissent.

HEALTH RISK

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

anti war

Evgeniya Kazantseva

Evgeniya Kazantseva was detained in St. Petersburg as part of a case involving a false report of a terrorist attack. The details of the case are unknown, and the case was later suspended before becoming part of a larger series of cases against anti-war activists.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Activism

Anton Grachev

Anton Grachev, a human rights defender and former Navalny headquarters volunteer, is accused of making a false bomb threat to the Moscovsky District Court in Saint Petersburg. He was detained, then released on the obligation to appear, and the case is part of a series against anti-war activists.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Other

Polina B.

Polina B. is suspected in three cases of false reporting of a terrorist attack related to the Moscow District Court. She was detained multiple times and released under an NDA before leaving Russia.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Journalism

Bella Rapoport

Bella Rapoport is being questioned in connection with a false bomb threat at the Moscow District Court of St. Petersburg. She was detained after a search and subsequently released.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg

Protest

Andrei Belous

Andrei Belous was detained in connection with a false bomb threat at the Moskovsky District Court in St. Petersburg, part of a wave of prosecutions against anti-war protesters in 2022. He was released two days later; the warrant referenced his public statements about the war.

LAST UPDATED · MAY 26, 2026

Detained