Russia

According to Mediazona, in October 16, 38-year-old Vasily Kuksov was released from Penal Colony No. 16 in the Nizhny Novgorod region. 17th of October he arrived by train in Serdobsk, in the Penza region, where he reunited with his family.

In 2020, Kuksov, a musician and design engineer, was sentenced in Penza to nine years in a penal colony in the case of the “Network organization” (the defendants in this case received sentences of up to 18 years in prison).

We are now supporting another political prisoner — 20-year-old punk musician Maxim Lunin from the town of Verkhnyaya Salda in Sverdlovsk Oblast. There is now a fundraiser for 250 000 rubles to cover six months of work by a lawyer who will defend Lunin at the Central District Military Court in Yekaterinburg. This is a significant amount for supporters of political prisoners, so we very much hope for your help.

Anton will turn 37 on October 9. This will be his first birthday in prison.

Anton lived in Irkutsk, worked as a security guard and repaired boats, ran a Telegram channel about the history of his hometown, helped homeless animals, and went to punk concerts.

At the end of October 2025, Anton was sentenced to six years in a general-regime penal colony on charges of “justifying terrorism” over two comments on Telegram.

Dima has started learning English and plans to learn the basics of German and French. In July and August, the project already sent him English and French textbooks. It is not yet clear whether these suited his needs, so the project wants to send him another batch of study materials, including a German textbook that we need to purchase for him.

Donation details:

Tomorrow on September 3, Moscow antifascist Bogdan Yakimenko will turn 27. This will be his third birthday in captivity.

In February 2026, Bogdan was sentenced to 9 years in a penal colony in the Antifa United “extremist community” case. According to law enforcement, he was the “organizer” of the Antifa United social media page (an antifascist clothing brand) and the “331 Firm” chat, where attacks on “ideological enemies” were allegedly planned.

Written by the support group:

On August 21, our dear Roma will turn 29. This will be the fourth birthday that our comrade will spend in detention.

From Telegram channel of Support Group of Kansk Teenagers:

Wish Nikita a Happy Birthday!

The Tyumen Case has now been heard by the Central District Military Court in Yekaterinburg of Russia for two years. The defence is currently presenting evidence in court proving the innocence of our comrades.

Six substantive hearings are scheduled for August and the first half of September. We continue our fight for the freedom of Nikita Oleynik, Deniz Aydin, Yury Neznamov, Danil Chertykov, and Roman Paklin.

Today, July 21, anarchist Deniz Aydin celebrates his birthday. He turns 27 years old.

Deniz is an anarchist and anti-fascist from Tyumen. He played guitar in two bands: the hardcore group Siberian Brigade and the black metal project RASPUTIN. Shortly before his arrest, he enrolled in college to train as a locomotive driver. He planned to continue developing as a musician and dreamed of creating a support fund for political prisoners.

Lyubov Lizunova willturn 20 years old.

In April 2024, Lyuba was sentenced to three and a half years in a general-regime penal colony over posts published on the Telegram channels. Two of the posts described anti-war direct action protests in the Transbaikal region. Initially, Lyuba was also prosecuted on a vandalism charge for the graffiti "Death to the regime" painted on the outskirts of Chita, but that case was later dropped after the statute of limitations expired.

This will be the ninth birthday he spends behind bars.

Vasily was arrested in the autumn of 2017 and sentenced to nine years in a general-regime penal colony. During these years in prison, he has faced many hardships, contracted and recovered from tuberculosis, and been transferred between several colonies. Before his arrest, he lived in Penza, worked as a design engineer, played music, and helped animal shelters.

He will turn 31 years old. According to the support group, this is already the fourth birthday he is spending in captivity.

On April 21, the day after arriving at the colony, Azat was taken to the administration building. They tried to force him to clean a toilet there. After he refused, he was systematically tortured. Yesterday, The Insider published a detailed account by Azat, which they translated into English today. We are republishing an article by The Insider, in which Azat also names his torturers. You may find the postal address and details for financial support after the translation.

Anarchist, mathematician, and political prisoner Azat Miftakhov was sentenced on March 28, 2024, to 4 additional years in prison. On September 4, 2023, he was detained upon leaving IK-17 in Omutninsk, Kirov region, where he had already served his first sentence—allegedly for breaking a window at a United Russia office in Moscow’s Khovrino district. The basis for the new prosecution for “justifying terrorism” was (allegedly) comments Azat made while watching a TV program with other inmates about anarchist Mikhail Zhlobitsky, who carried out an explosion at the FSB office in Arkhangelsk.

How did a young, successful programmer become a “terrorist” and “extremist”? How did prisoners and prison guards react to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? And why did some prisoners, even those who were in prison for desertion, go to war? Viktor Filinkov, a defendant in the “Network” case who got 7 years in prison, talked about this in an interview with Posle.

He will turn 38 years old. Ruslan Sidiki is a citizen of Russia and Italy, an electrician from Ryazan, an explorer of industrial areas, bicycle traveler, anarchist, and partisan. Last year the 2nd Western District Military Court sentenced Ruslan Sidiki to a record 29 years in prison. Two acts of sabotage against Russian military infrastructure carried out by Ruslan in 2023 were classified by the court as “terrorist acts.”

Anarchist Ruslan Sidiki, who was sentenced to 29 years in prison, continues to await his appeal in the Ryazhsk pre-trial detention center (SIZO) in the Ryazan region.

But this is not just waiting — it is a constant struggle. Ruslan is being denied access to books, newspapers subscribed in his name do not reach him, and for the second time in a row the same investigator has refused to open a criminal case regarding the torture Ruslan endured during his arrest.

Other Defendants in the Antifa United Case Receive 2.5 and 3.5 Years.

Judge Ekaterina Stepina of the Izmailovsky District Court of Moscow delivered a verdict to three antifascists in the case of Antifa United, which law enforcement agencies—and now the court as well—consider an “extremist community.”

On February 8, Danil Chertykov turns 32 years old. He is celebrating his birthday in captivity for 4th time.

Danil Chertykov is an anarchist and antifascist from Yekaterinburg. He worked as a veterinarian, and in his free time devoted himself to music, playing guitar in the riot-folk band Rocker Balboa.