Rozhkov carried out the third known arson attack on a military enlistment office following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army. He committed the act on March 11, 2022, as a form of protest and a way to draw attention to the situation. In an interview Ivan Astashin conducted with Alexey in December 2022 — when he had managed to flee to Kyrgyzstan — the anarchist explained his motivation:
“I just understood that I couldn't stay indifferent. (...) Any war means death for ordinary, simple people. War in the 21st century seems completely alien to me. Especially with such absurd reasons [they gave]. We annexed Crimea in 2014, and even then I said it was all done in vain. Crimea is not ours and never will be. There will be consequences. And that’s exactly what happened.
I find it deeply upsetting that people are dying — civilians are dying, and those who don’t want to fight but were conscripted are also dying. I wanted to make a statement, to get people to fight against this war. I wanted to influence the situation, to do something to stop or at least weaken [the Russian military]. That’s why I set fire to the military enlistment office.”
Until the fall of 2022, such acts of arson were not always classified as terrorism. That’s why, after six months in a pre-trial detention center (SIZO), Rozhkov was released under a travel ban, as he was initially charged with a mid-level offense of property damage. Alexey managed to escape to Kyrgyzstan, awaiting documents to travel to an EU country. But the bureaucratic process was painfully slow. After six months, the FSB and Kyrgyz authorities (GKNB) staged a covert operation to abduct Rozhkov, bringing him back to Russia, torturing him, and sending him back to pre-trial detention.
Later, the charge was reclassified as “terrorism.” Rozhkov was also accused of “justifying terrorism” and spreading “fake news” about the Russian military due to an interview he gave to the Khodorkovsky Live channel.
The final sentence: 16 years. A similar sentence was handed to anarchist Roman Shvedov from the Rostov region, who set fire to a government building involved in conscripting people for war. After receiving his sentence, he died by suicide.
At the very least, you can write a letter to Alexey Rozhkov. Nothing sustains a prisoner more than human connection. There’s no need for pity or false hope — what matters is showing he’s remembered and giving him space to express himself. You can share stories of other political prisoners who endured many years in prison but remained strong and made an impact after release — such stories were always a source of inspiration to him. Or you can simply talk about something unrelated — a reminder that there is life beyond prison walls.
Mailing Address: Rozhkov Alexey Igorevich, born 1997, Repina St. 4, SIZO-1, 620019, Yekaterinburg, Russia. Letters should be written in Russian, you may use automatic online translation tools. If you are outside Russia and cannot use Zonatelecom, write to ABC-Moscow at: abc-msk@riseup.net. Inside Russia, letters can be sent via the Zonatelecom online service. Select Sverdlovsk Oblast as the region.
None of us are free until all of us are free.
Support the fundraiser for Alexey Rozhkov's legal defence
Source: Ivan Astashin
Translation: Anarchist Black Cross Moscow
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