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.
The other defendants, who were charged as “members of the community” and, unlike Bogdan, had remained free during the proceedings, received shorter but still actual prison sentences. Roman Chizhikov was sentenced to 3.5 years in a penal colony, and Ilya Popov to 2.5 years. Both Chizhikov and Popov cooperated with the investigation and testified against Bogdan. The authorities simply used them and then sent them to prison as well. The fourth defendant in the Antifa United case, Matvey Ostrovsky, died during the trial.
The Antifa United case is not the first time Bogdan has faced prosecution. In January 2020, he and his acquaintance Mikhail Ivanov were attacked in Moscow by a group of eight neo-Nazis. A fight broke out, and Ivanov used means of self-defense. In the end, the antifascists were charged with hooliganism, and later another charge was added: “causing minor bodily harm, motivated by ideological hatred”.
In this case, Yakimenko and Ivanov spent a year under house arrest and were then placed under travel restrictions. After the first verdict, which was subsequently overturned, they spent eight months in pre-trial detention. In 2023, Bogdan was sentenced to 4 years of forced labor. The sentence was appealed and has still not entered into force.
Bogdan has never hidden his views and linked the attention he received from the Center “E” anti-extremism police and the FSB to his antifascist activism. He did not want to leave Russia, studied law, and dreamed of becoming a lawyer.
We call on you to support Bogdan. Wish him a happy birthday — send him a letter or a postcard!
Address for letters. Address and letters must be written in Russian – you may use online translation tools.
107076, Россия, г. Москва, ул. Матросская тишина, д. 18, СИЗО-1,
Якименко Богдан Тарасович, 1999 г.р.
Electronic letters can be sent through through PrisonMail, which accepts payment with foreign bank cards.
Instructions for filling the form
City / Region: Moscow
Prison: SIZO-1 Matrosskaya Tishina
Prisoner last name: Якименко
Prisoner first name: Богдан
Prisoner middle name: Тарасович
Prisoners year of birth: 1999
Anarchist Black Cross Moscow
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