Russia country conditions monthly digest — October 2026
November 3, 2026
The Russia Country Conditions Monthly Digest (RCC Digest) provides a curated selection of significant developments relevant to the assessment of country conditions in Russia. Intended for U.S. immigration adjudicators, immigration attorneys and country conditions researchers, it covers reports by international organizations and human rights groups, legislative and judicial developments and documented cases of persecution and other human rights violations. Each entry provides a summary, identifies the original source and includes a direct link to the publication. The Digest is intended for informational and research purposes and does not constitute legal advice.
1. International reports
1.1. UN Human Rights Council extends Special Rapporteur’s mandate and condemns repression in Russia
October 6, 2026 | United Nations
On October 6, 2026, the UN Human Rights Council adopted Resolution 63/22, “Situation of human rights in the Russian Federation,” by a recorded vote of 21 to 5, with 21 abstentions. The Council extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Russia for one year. It welcomed Special Rapporteur Mariana Katzarova’s report on transnational repression (A/HRC/63/60).
The Council was “gravely concerned at the continued significant deterioration of the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation.” Its concerns cover nine areas:
• Killings and use of force. Reports of the extrajudicial killing of government critics. Excessive use of force against peaceful protesters.
• Fundamental freedoms. Severe restrictions on freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association, online and offline. Expanding state control of the internet, including penalties for online searches for “extremist” content, mobile internet shutdowns and pressure on users to move to state-backed platforms.
• Criminalization of dissent. Reported mass arbitrary arrest, detention and harassment of people who peacefully protest the war against Ukraine and the deterioration of the rule of law. The Council describes the result as “the widespread and systematic criminalization of peaceful dissent.”
• National security laws and designations. “The deliberate, widespread and systematic arbitrary use, instrumentalization and continued expansion of national security and public safety legislation.” Labels such as “foreign agents,” “undesirables,” “terrorists” and “extremists” target civil society, Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and minority groups. The Council named Memorial, OVD-Info, the Moscow Helsinki Group, the Sakharov Centre, the SOVA Center and Golos, among others, and the closure of the Gulag History Museum.
• Justice system. Lack of judicial independence. Denial of a fair trial and of a lawyer of one’s own choosing. Pressure on lawyers, including disbarment, criminal prosecution and detention. Wider use of trials in absentia and closed-door proceedings.
• Torture and detention conditions. Reports of “the widespread and systematic use of torture” against detainees, including with the participation of medical personnel. Denial of medical care, arbitrary solitary confinement, restricted contact with the outside world and coercive psychiatry. These practices put detainees, “including more than 2,000 political prisoners, at grave risk.”
• Impunity. The authorities are unwilling to investigate enforced disappearance, torture and sexual and gender-based violence in detention. Impunity is compounded by Russia’s withdrawal from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture. The Council noted with deep concern statements indicating evidence that Alexei Navalny was poisoned and that deaths in custody continue.
• Children, minorities and schools. A systematic crackdown on, among others, civil society, journalists, Indigenous Peoples, children and their families and minorities. More than 150 children aged 14 to 17 were added to the federal list of “extremists” and “terrorists.” Schools are increasingly politicized and militarized.
• Transnational repression and reprisals. The Council condemned “the widespread, systematic and institutionalized practice of transnational repression by the Russian Federation.” The methods include:
• targeted violence and threats to life;
• surveillance and digital attacks;
• targeting of relatives;
• extraterritorial legislation;
• restricted access to property and to financial, administrative and consular services;
• abuse of INTERPOL and other law-enforcement cooperation mechanisms.
The Council also condemned reprisals against those who cooperate with the UN.
Source: Situation of human rights in the Russian Federation. Resolution by UN Human Rights Council, A/HRC/RES/63/22, adopted October 6, 2026. Language: English. URL: https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/RES/63/22
1.2. UN: political repression in Russia has become institutionalized, and torture has become part of state strategy
October 26, 2026 | United Nations
The UN Secretary-General transmitted to the General Assembly the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, Mariana Katzarova, “Traitors to the Motherland”: the strategy of fear and punishment of the Russian Federation to erase dissent at home and abroad (A/81/374), dated September 15, 2026. The report covers information received up to September 11, 2026.
• Institutionalized repression. The Special Rapporteur concludes that “repression in the Russian Federation has become institutionalized and militarized in its mechanisms and effects.” Legislation on “foreign agents,” “undesirable organizations,” extremism and terrorism is used against human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, antiwar activists, religious and national minorities and other groups. The “rule of fear” documented previously “has hardened into an ordinary mode of governance” (paras. 1, 82).
• Torture. Torture is widespread and systematic and forms part of the authorities’ strategy. Beatings, electric shocks, suffocation, sexualized violence, psychological torture and threats are used in places of detention. Perpetrators enjoy impunity (paras. 56–60, 84).
• Political prosecutions. As of early September 2026, 4,968 persons were subject to politically motivated criminal prosecution, including 2,178 who were incarcerated. The average prison term in politically motivated cases rose from six years and seven months in 2021 to 11 years in 2026. In 2025, there were 468 convictions for treason, espionage and confidential cooperation with a foreign actor, with no acquittals and a median sentence of 15 years (paras. 37, 61).
• Forced participation in the war. Conscripts are forced to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense through beatings, torture and threats. Servicemen refusing deployment to the front are held without legal basis in pits, basements and other unofficial sites. By July 2026, at least 29 such sites had been documented (paras. 49–51). Russian servicemen who had left the country described the execution of fellow soldiers for refusing orders. One recounted a commander shooting four men who had fled the front line; another described some 20 bodies in a pit after such killings (para. 52).
• Transnational repression. A separate report by Katzarova, A/HRC/63/60, dated September 8, 2026, and prepared for the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, addresses this subject. The mechanisms it describes include prosecutions in absentia, abuse of extradition and international search procedures, financial restrictions, denial of consular services, digital surveillance and pressure on relatives.
• International protection. The Special Rapporteur “recalls that persons refusing to participate in the war of aggression may require international protection and that third States are obliged to assess the risk of refoulement rigorously” (para. 48). She recommends that States “protect human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, anti-war activists, conscientious objectors and deserters from transnational repression and refoulement” and “reject politically motivated extradition, International Criminal Police Organization and mutual legal assistance requests” (para. 86(c)).
Sources:
UN General Assembly. “Traitors to the Motherland”: the strategy of fear and punishment of the Russian Federation to erase dissent at home and abroad. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, Mariana Katzarova, A/81/374, September 15, 2026. Language: English. URL: https://docs.un.org/en/A/81/374
Nowhere is safe: exporting the rule of fear beyond borders – transnational repression by the Russian Federation. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, Mariana Katzarova, A/HRC/63/60, September 8, 2026. Language: English. URL: https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/63/60
1.3. Memorial: from January to September 2026, the number of people prosecuted for statements fell by 22%, and the number prosecuted for participation in banned organizations rose by 50%
October 7, 2026 | Memorial (Political Prisoners Support project)
The report Repression barometer. Q3 2026. Main trends of 2026 compares data on new politically motivated criminal prosecutions for the first nine months of 2025 and 2026. The data are current as of September 30, 2026.
• The total number of people prosecuted in Russia grew by only 4%, but the structure of prosecutions changed significantly.
• The number of people prosecuted for statements fell by 22% (by 107 people).
• The number of people prosecuted for participation in banned organizations and for assisting their activities rose by 50%.
• The number of people prosecuted under articles on terrorist organizations rose by 25% (by 53 people).
• In 67% of cases, at least one article of the Russian Criminal Code under the investigative jurisdiction of the FSB was present.
The decline mainly affected less serious charges. Use of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code (justification of terrorism) fell by only 1%, and imprisonment under this article was imposed in more than 80% of cases. The share of people deprived of liberty among those prosecuted for statements reached 67%, against an average of 69%.
The report separately examines campaigns against supporters of Alexei Navalny (at least 40 new people prosecuted for donations to FBK each quarter), Jehovah’s Witnesses, “citizens of the USSR” and supporters of the Artpodgotovka movement (44 cases, against 20 in the same period of 2025).
Source: Repression barometer. Q3 2026. Main trends of 2026 by Memorial (Political Prisoners Support project), October 7, 2026. Language: Russian. URL: https://memopzk.org/analytics/barometr-repressij-iii-kvartal-2026-goda
1.4. Memorial: about a quarter of arrest scenes in FSB videos show signs of staging; confessions are recorded, including after torture
October 20, 2026 | Memorial (Political Prisoners Support project)
The review FSB Reels: behind the scenes of spectacular arrests analyzes FSB videos in 70 randomly selected criminal cases with signs of political motivation opened after the start of the full-scale war.
• About a quarter of the arrest scenes in the cases examined show signs of staged filming.
• Surveillance footage recorded before the arrest appears in 6 of the 70 videos, and all six cases are based on provocation by the security services.
• Confessions appear in almost two thirds of the videos. The authors cite evidence that confessions were recorded after beatings, electric shock torture and threats of sexual violence, and in several takes.
• Ruslan Sidiki reported torture with electric shocks, beatings and threats of rape before the staged video of his arrest was recorded. Artist Bogdan Ziza said that he recorded at least five “apology” videos and that he was beaten for not repenting “sincerely” enough.
The authors conclude that FSB videos are used as propaganda support for criminal cases, as well as to pressure relatives and to discredit and blackmail detainees.
Source: FSB Reels: behind the scenes of spectacular arrests by Memorial (Political Prisoners Support project), October 20, 2026. Language: Russian. URL: https://memopzk.org/analytics/reels-fsb
1.5. Memorial has documented at least 69 deaths of victims of politically motivated prosecution since 2022
October 29, 2026 | Memorial (Political Prisoners Support project)
The study Not living to see freedom. A chronicle of the deaths of victims of political repression (2022–2026) collects information on at least 69 people who died since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It covers deaths in places of detention, during searches, under house arrest or shortly after release.
• By year: 2022 — 4; 2023 — 10; 2024 — 26; 2025 — 13; 2026 (as of the end of October) — 16.
• At least 29 people died of illness and lack of medical care.
• At least 20 people died from beatings, torture or their consequences. Twelve of them were citizens of Ukraine, primarily residents of the occupied territories and prisoners of war, as well as a Polish citizen abducted in Ukraine.
• Ten people presumably committed suicide or died in similar circumstances.
• The causes of death of eight more people are unknown.
Source: Not living to see freedom. A chronicle of the deaths of victims of political repression (2022–2026) by Memorial (Political Prisoners Support project), October 29, 2026. Language: Russian. URL: https://memopzk.org/analytics/victims-of-repression
1.6. Freedom House reports further decline in internet freedom in Russia
October 22, 2026 | Freedom House
Freedom House released Freedom on the Net 2026: Seismic Shifts on the Global Internet. Russia’s internet freedom score fell to 16 out of 100, from 17 a year earlier. Russia remains “Not Free.”
According to the country report, internet freedom in Russia “hit a new low” as authorities stepped up efforts to isolate the population from the global internet.
• In February 2026, legal changes allowed the Federal Security Service (FSB) to demand that internet providers restrict or shut down access based solely on presidential decrees.
• Mobile internet was restricted or shut down in at least 38 regions, most notably in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
• Authorities blocked a record number of websites and Telegram, targeted end-to-end encrypted messaging apps and escalated efforts to disrupt VPN use.
• A new law punishing intentional searches for broadly defined “extremist material” was enacted. Another law lists VPN use as an aggravating circumstance for some crimes.
• Critics of the war and of the government continued to receive long prison sentences.
Source: Russia: Freedom on the Net 2026 Country Report by Freedom House, October 22, 2026. Language: English. URL: https://freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-net/2026
1.7. UN Commission of Inquiry: Russian authorities committed crimes against humanity through attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and trafficked foreign nationals into the Russian army
October 26, 2026 | United Nations
On October 26, 2026, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine presented its report A/81/440 to the UN General Assembly. The report addresses the following issues:
• Attacks on energy infrastructure. The Commission concluded that “the Russian authorities have committed war crimes of intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects and the crimes against humanity of other inhumane acts” (Summary). The attacks “have been committed pursuant to a state policy to deprive civilians from essential energy supplies and cause suffering” (para. 33). The Commission named Sergey Shoigu, Andrey Belousov and Valery Gerasimov as those responsible for planning and overseeing the attacks (para. 29).
• Trafficking of foreign nationals into the Russian armed forces. The Commission “found compelling evidence that Russian authorities, in nexus with agents or agencies operating in different countries or geographic regions, have trafficked persons from 29 countries, using deception or coercion, to recruit them in the Russian armed forces” (Summary). It investigated recruitment of nationals from 48 countries and relied on 245 testimonies (paras. 38, 45). The contracts with the Ministry of Defense were written only in Russian, and phones and passports were often confiscated (para. 53). One man recounted: “They took me 100 metres away, shot four Russians in my presence, and told me if you don’t sign, you are the next” (para. 57).
• Coercion of foreigners inside Russia. Foreign nationals held in police stations, in centers for the temporary detention of foreign nationals or in prisons were coerced to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense. Federal Penitentiary Service personnel subjected those who refused to “detention in inhuman conditions, solitary confinement, threats of violence, and extension of their sentences” (paras. 58–59).
• Treatment at the front. The recruits “were subjected to similar patterns of treatment as documented by the Commission with respect to Russian soldiers: punishment inflicted by commanders, including detention, beatings, and threats to be killed” (para. 63).
Sources:
Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine. A/81/440, October 19, 2026. Language: English. URL: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/coiukraine/a-81-440-auv.pdf
1.8. First Department: record number of verdicts in treason and espionage cases in the third quarter of 2026
October 23, 2026 | First Department
The human rights project First Department (Pervyi Otdel), together with Parubets Analytics, published a study of cases under Articles 275 (high treason), 275.1 (confidential cooperation with a foreign state), 276 (espionage) and 276.1 (assistance to the adversary) of the Russian Criminal Code for the third quarter of 2026.
• From July to September 2026, courts issued 186 verdicts against at least 203 people. Both figures are records for the entire period of observation.
• In July and in September, courts issued 67 verdicts each, the highest monthly number ever recorded. The previous record was 57 verdicts in May 2026.
• From January to September 2026, courts issued at least 459 verdicts against 487 people. This already exceeds the total for all of 2025 (458 verdicts and 478 defendants).
• Military courts issued 89 of the 186 verdicts (47.8%). The Southern District Military Court issued the most: 33 verdicts against 36 defendants.
• Terrorism charges were combined with the state security charges for 87 of 203 defendants (42.9%). Sabotage charges were brought against 32 defendants (15.8%), more than double the share in the second quarter (7.1%).
• High treason was the only charge from this group of articles for 182 of 203 defendants (89.7%).
• Courts hid the personal data of 167 of 203 convicted persons (82.3%), up from 72.8% in the first quarter and 74.1% in the second.
• In the third quarter, courts received 191 new cases. As of September 30, 2026, at least 242 cases against 279 people were still pending.
First Department concludes: “The combination of charges of ‘high treason’ and ‘espionage’ with articles of the terrorism group remains a trend of wartime repressive practice.”
Sources:
67 verdicts a month: a new record in treason and espionage cases by First Department, October 23, 2026. Language: Russian. URL: https://dept.one/story/2026-3kvartal/
Two verdicts a day. Russian courts set a new record since Soviet times in treason and espionage cases by The Moscow Times, October 26, 2026. Language: Russian. URL: https://ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/26/dva-prigovora-vden-rossiiskie-sudi-ustanovili-novii-rekord-sovremen-sssr-podelam-ogosizmene-ishpionazhe-a209613
2. Prosecution for participation in banned organizations and support for their activities
2.1. Teenager charged with participation in a terrorist organization for distributing election leaflets
October 27, 2026 | Mediazona
Security officers detained a 17-year-old resident of Kasli, Chelyabinsk Region, and charged him with participation in the activities of a terrorist organization. Mediazona cites a release by the regional office of the Investigative Committee.
• According to investigators, in August and September 2026 the teenager received “recommendations for organizing protest voting” through a Telegram bot, made more than 150 “campaign materials” and distributed them in the entrances of apartment buildings.
• Investigators searched his home and planned to ask the court to impose a pretrial measure of restraint.
• Mediazona notes that before the September 2026 elections, Alexei Navalny’s team and Maxim Katz circulated a list of candidates for protest voting, including through the Smart Voting bot. In November 2025, the Supreme Court designated the U.S. legal entity of FBK a “terrorist” organization.
Source: Teenager from Chelyabinsk Region charged with participation in a terrorist organization over campaigning for protest candidates whose list he received from a Telegram bot by Mediazona, October 27, 2026. Language: Russian. URL: https://zona.media/news/2026/10/27/kasli
2.2. Fine of 570,000 rubles imposed for seven donations to FBK totaling 7,000 rubles
October 30, 2026 | vtomske.ru
The Kirovsky District Court of Tomsk found Alexander Lunev guilty of financing extremist activity (Article 282.3, Part 1, of the Criminal Code). The court imposed a fine of 600,000 rubles and reduced it to 570,000 rubles to account for time spent in pretrial detention.
• According to investigators, between August 19, 2021, and February 19, 2022, Lunev made seven transfers to the Anti-Corruption Foundation totaling 7,000 rubles. This amount will be confiscated.
• Lunev told the court that he had set up recurring payments that were debited automatically and had taken no further action. He pleaded guilty.
• Lunev was detained in early August 2026 when he flew to Russia from the Czech Republic, where he lived. Before the verdict, he spent about three months in a pretrial detention center. He was released in the courtroom.
• After the case was opened, he was added to Rosfinmonitoring’s list of extremists.
Source: Darya Berdnikova. Alexander Lunev, who built a home in a Tomsk water tower, sentenced over donations to FBK by vtomske.ru, October 30, 2026. Language: Russian. URL: https://vtomske.ru/news/217152-aleksandru-lunevu-postroivshemu-dom-v-vodonapornoi-bashne-tomska-vynesli-prigovor-za-donaty-fbk
2.3. Russian ornithologist sentenced to three and a half years for $25 in donations to Navalny’s foundation
October 23, 2026 | The Moscow Times
On October 7, a Moscow court sentenced ornithologist Sofya Rozenfeld, 50, to three and a half years in a penal colony for two donations totaling 2,000 rubles ($25) to Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK).
• Rozenfeld is a researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Ecology and Evolution. She told the court she had signed up for recurring donations to FBK to help fight corruption.
• She stayed in Russia during the investigation and continued her fieldwork with court permission. She was taken into custody after the verdict.
• According to The Moscow Times, she is the third woman in Russia imprisoned for donating to FBK. Memorial has designated her a political prisoner.
• Citing Mediazona, the article reports that by spring 2026 the authorities had opened more than 200 criminal cases over FBK donations, with an average donation of 400 rubles ($5).
Source: Maria Ivkina. She Was a Leading Arctic Ornithologist. Now She’s Imprisoned for $25 in Donations by The Moscow Times, October 23, 2026. Language: English. URL: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/23/she-was-a-leading-arctic-ornithologist-now-shes-imprisoned-for-25-in-donations-a94050
2.4. TV Rain chief executive sentenced to five years for organizing the channel
October 30, 2026 | Interfax
A Moscow court sentenced TV Rain (Dozhd) chief executive Mark Ten in absentia to five years in a general-regime penal colony under Article 284.1, Part 3, of the Criminal Code (organizing the activities of a foreign or international organization designated as undesirable). Interfax cites the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office.
• The court also barred Ten for 10 years from managing media outlets, engaging in journalism in them and administering websites and online channels.
• TV Rain is designated in Russia as a “foreign agent” and an “undesirable” organization.
• Ten has been arrested in absentia and placed on the wanted list. On September 9, 2026, a court also arrested TV Rain founder Natalia Sindeeva in absentia.
Source: Dozhd CEO Mark Ten sentenced in absentia to five years in a penal colony by Interfax, October 30, 2026. Language: Russian. URL: https://www.interfax.ru/amp/1126036
2.5. Russia designates opposition delegation at PACE as an “undesirable” organization
October 30, 2026 | The Moscow Times
Russia’s Justice Ministry added the Dialogue with Russian Democratic Forces at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to its list of “undesirable” organizations. The Prosecutor General’s Office made the designation on October 21, and the Justice Ministry approved it on October 29.
• The delegation of Russian exiles was set up in January. Several members, including Vladimir Kara-Murza and Nadya Tolokonnikova, already face criminal prosecution in Russia.
• Under Russian law, affiliation with an “undesirable” organization carries up to four years in prison. Organizing its work carries up to six years.
• On the same day, the Justice Ministry listed 11 other foreign entities, including Vidim Books, a publisher of books censored or banned in Russia.
Source: Russia Designates Opposition Delegation at PACE as ‘Undesirable’ by The Moscow Times, October 30, 2026. Language: English. URL: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/30/russia-designates-opposition-delegation-at-pace-as-undesirable-a94137
3. Prosecution for antiwar statements and participation in public events
3.1. More than 60 people detained at an authorized CPRF rally in Moscow; antiwar slogans were chanted in the youth column
October 6, 2026 | Meduza
On October 4, 2026, at an authorized rally of the Communist Party (CPRF) in Moscow marking the anniversary of the 1993 shelling of the White House, police detained 65 people, according to the organizers. Young people not affiliated with the CPRF also joined the rally, including members of leftist groups and supporters of Yabloko.
• Slogans such as “No to war,” “Down with the tsar” and “Down with Roskomnadzor” were chanted in the youth column.
• According to a participant interviewed by Meduza, detentions began near the metro station before the march and did not depend on slogans: people who were not chanting anything were also detained.
• According to her, the cases were heard in three courts. Many detainees were fined; others received administrative arrest of 10, 14 or 15 days.
Source: Dozens of young people unexpectedly joined an authorized CPRF rally. They chanted “No to war!” and “Down with the tsar!”, and more than 60 people were detained by Meduza, October 6, 2026. Language: Russian. URL: https://meduza.io/feature/2026/10/06/na-soglasovannyy-miting-kprf-vnezapno-vyshli-desyatki-molodyh-lyudey-oni-krichali-net-voyne-i-doloy-tsarya-bolee-60-chelovek-zaderzhali
4. Persecution of religious figures and communities
4.1. Baptist pastor sentenced in absentia to five years in prison for an antiwar speech
October 28, 2026 | Mediazona
The Kuntsevsky Court of Moscow sentenced 74-year-old Baptist pastor Yuri Sipko, a former vice president of the Baptist World Alliance, in absentia to five years in a penal colony under Article 207.3, Part 2, Item “d,” of the Criminal Code (dissemination of “fakes” about the Russian army). The prosecutor had requested six years.
• The case was based on a March 2022 stream on the Spring of Life Church YouTube channel in which the pastor condemned the invasion of Ukraine.
• Sipko left Russia in 2023, a few days before searches of his Moscow apartment and the office of the Kaluga Christian Center.
• The criminal case became known in August 2023, when the pastor was also placed on the wanted list. In May 2026, he was arrested in absentia.
Source: Baptist pastor Yuri Sipko sentenced in absentia to 5 years in a penal colony in a military “fakes” case by Mediazona, October 28, 2026. Language: Russian. URL: https://zona.media/news/2026/10/28/sipko
4.2. Jehovah’s Witness sentenced to six years in prison for holding religious meetings by video link
October 16, 2026 | Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia
On October 15, 2026, Judge Alexei Semerikov sentenced 55-year-old Jehovah’s Witness Vitaly Syrykh of Kemerovo Region to six years in prison on charges of organizing the activities of an extremist organization.
• The case was based on weekly worship services that the believer held at home by video link during the coronavirus pandemic.
• Recordings of his telephone conversations served as evidence for the prosecution. The charges were based in part on his use of God’s name, Jehovah.
• The first criminal case against him was opened in April 2021 and closed for lack of evidence of a crime. In December 2024, he was charged again, this time with a more serious offense.
Source: Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia. Kuzbass resident sentenced to six years in a penal colony for prayers and conversations about the Bible by www.jw-russia.org, October 16, 2026. Language: Russian. URL: https://www.jw-russia.org/news/2026/10/160920.html
4.3. Jehovah’s Witness sentenced to two years in a penal colony for discussing the Bible
October 21, 2026 | Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia
On October 20, 2026, the Odintsovo City Court of Moscow Region sentenced 64-year-old Alexander Paisov of Zvenigorod to two years in a penal colony on charges of participating in the activities of an extremist organization.
• The case was based on a discussion of the Bible with a man who turned out to be an undercover agent of the security services.
• The case was opened in December 2025. By the time of the verdict, Paisov had spent about ten months in custody.
• The court denied the defense motion to return the case to the prosecutor. The defense relied on the opinion of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which found the prosecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia arbitrary and discriminatory.
• In Moscow and Moscow Region, 35 Jehovah’s Witnesses have been criminally prosecuted; 18 of them received prison sentences.
Source: Moscow Region court sends Zvenigorod postal worker to a penal colony by by www.jw-russia.org, October 21, 2026. Language: Russian. URL: https://www.jw-russia.org/news/2026/10/210914.html
5. Restrictions on lawyers’ professional activities and conditions of detention of political prisoners
5.1. Justice Ministry seeks to terminate the status of six lawyers living abroad
October 28, 2026 | Mediazona
According to the human rights project First Department, the Ministry of Justice sent submissions to the Moscow Bar Chamber seeking to terminate the status of six lawyers who, according to the FSB, left Russia more than a year ago. First Department cites a source in the Bar Chamber.
• They include Nikolai Polozov, who defended members of Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Savchenko and Sergei Udaltsov. In February 2026, he was sentenced in absentia to eight and a half years in prison in a case on “fakes” about the army.
• Amendments allowing the termination of a lawyer’s status after more than a year abroad were adopted in 2024. In August 2025, the FSB sent the Ministry of Justice a list of eight such lawyers. In early October 2026, a court began hearing a claim to terminate the status of First Department lawyer Evgeny Smirnov.
• These are submissions by the Ministry of Justice, not final decisions to terminate the lawyers’ status.
Source: First Department: Justice Ministry seeks to strip six lawyers who have been outside Russia for more than a year of their status, including Nikolai Polozov by Mediazona, October 28, 2026. Language: Russian. URL: https://zona.media/news/2026/10/28/status