Беспредел власти

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.”

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.”

Anton is currently being held at Detention Center No. 1 (SIZO-1) in Irkutsk. He needs qualified legal assistance in order to challenge the verdict of the Second District Military Court, which in October sentenced him to six years in prison over two comments posted on Telegram.

Anton left the first comment in the Telegram channel “Irkutsk Blog” in July 2024. Under a post about Governor Igor Kobzev, who considers spending on the war to be a higher priority than repairing schools, Anton wrote:

The lawsuit was filed by the acting prosecutor of Zabaykalsky Krai, Stanislav Nemtsov. The defendants were Chita-based anarchists Aleksandr Snezhkov and Lyubov Lizunova. According to their support group, they were declared the “leaders” of the association. Anarchists took part in the court hearing on January 20 via video link.

He is turning 29. Alexey is a musician from Novotroitsk in Russia’s Orenburg region. In his youth, he wanted to become a soldier, and after an unsuccessful attempt to enroll in an airborne military school, he voluntarily went to serve his compulsory military service. During that time, his views evolved first toward Marxism, and later he came to identify himself as an anarchist.

On October 22, 2025, the Second District Military Court in Chita will start hearing a new criminal case against anarchist Alexander Snezhkov. This time, he is charged under of “Public calls for terrorist activity, public justification, or propaganda of terrorism.” The article carries a penalty of up to 500,000 rubles (circa 5000 euros) in fines or two to five years in prison.

Anarcho-syndicalist from Ufa Kirill Bobrov has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for participating in the arson of the United Russia party office and for creating an "extremist community" in 2012. The criminal case over the arson was opened 13 years ago. Kirill left the country at that time, but in 2023 he returned to Russia for personal reasons and was arrested right at the airport.

On Saturday, September 20, the Anarchist Bookfair will take place in London — one of the main annual events of the anarchist movement in England. As part of the program, Antti Rautiainen will give a talk titled “Anarchism and Anti-War Resistance in Russia.”

Time: 11:00–12:45

Upd. Cancellation of the concert in support of Ruslan Sidiki. Fires of freedom launches an urgent fundraiser

This Saturday, September 13, Berlin will host a concert in support of Ruslan Sidiki - a Russian anarchist sentenced to 29 years in prison for anti-war guerrilla activities. In 2023 Ruslan staged a drone attack on a military airfield and undermined railroad tracks used for military purposes - 19 freight cars derailed.

On August 16–17, the annual Anarchist Bookfair will take place in Stockholm. This year, the main theme of the event will be “Security and Solidarity.”

Here’s what the organizers write in their announcement:

On August 5, Savely Frolov celebrates his birthday. He turns 24.

Savely is an anti-fascist and anti-war activist from Moscow. He used to be a fencing coach and in the summer he traveled to Altai, where he worked as a pararafting and parakayaking instructor at a charity camp for children with cerebral palsy. Savely took part in the 2021 protests, and after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army, he handed out anti-war leaflets near the metro and held solo pickets.

For over a year now, the trial in the Tyumen case has been moving through the Central District Military Court in Yekaterinburg. The defendants—anarchists and anti-fascists—were detained in 2022 and subjected to brutal torture. Since then, there have been 30 court hearings. Each one is a step in a long fight to protect the lives and futures of people who dared to resist.

In June, we managed to raise 48,000 rubles (about 500 euros). Thank you to everyone who contributed—your solidarity keeps this going.

At the beginning of 2024, the Russian Ministry of Justice added the American Anarchist Black Cross Federation to its list of “undesirable organizations.” At that time, Anarchist Black Cross Moscow (ABC Moscow) publicly stated that it had no organizational ties to the American federation: ABC groups worldwide are autonomous, and Russian groups have never been part of the American federation.

On July 13, Lyubov Lizunova celebrates her birthday. She turns 19 years old.

Lyuba is an anti-fascist and anarchist from Chita. Together with Alexander Snezhkov, she managed the Telegram channels “Shugan-25” and 75ZLO, which were dedicated to protest initiatives in Primorsky Krai and the Transbaikal region.