Огни свободы

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.

In less than two months, you have donated 235,000 rubles (2600 euros) for Ruslan Sidiki’s legal defense. We have already paid the lawyer’s fees for November and December, and the remaining amount will cover expenses through the end of February.

He is turning 28. Alexey Rozhkov is an anarchist from the city of Berezovsky in the Sverdlovsk region. He was involved in punk music, previously played bass in the band Tell Me the Reason, and was interested in existentialist philosophy.

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.

Anarchist Ruslan Sidiki remains in detention — and we continue to support him. Right now we need to raise 200,000 rubles to pay for his lawyer’s work for the next three months. When someone is held in a pre-trial detention center (SIZO), this is the most expensive period to provide support. At the same time, it’s also when there are more opportunities — for the defense, regular lawyer visits, and filing appeals.

On 22–23 November, the annual Anarchist Book Fair Amsterdam will take place, featuring workshops and presentations by horizontal initiatives from around the world.

At the fair you will be able to get “Fires of freedom” merch, as well as try — on a donation basis — the prison-style DIY korjak cake and the detainees’ drink chifir.

Former political prisoner and anarchist Ilya Romanov is in need of our help. After 20 years of imprisonment in Ukraine and Russia, a stroke, and numerous surgeries, he remains severely disabled — yet he refuses to give up. Ilya continues to paint, stay in touch with friends, and keeps his sharp mind and sense of humor.

The Anarchist Black Cross of Moscow has received information that Dmitry Osyagin does not identify himself as an anarchist or an anti-fascist — he considers himself an anti-war democrat. The reason why the security services attributed to him participation in the “Combat Organization of Anarcho-Communists” (BOAK) is currently unknown. It may be due to the authorities’ desperation to announce the arrest of at least one member of this elusive underground organization.

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.

October 18, 7:30 PM, Via San Donato 158/70 (source).

Ruslan Sidiki, an anarchist partisan, is currently imprisoned in Russia. Fires of freedom is an anarchist collective that supports Ruslan and other anarchist prisoners in Russia.

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 September 5, anarchist Kirill Bobrov celebrates his birthday. He turns 35. 

Kirill is an anarchist from Ufa who participated in the activities of the Revolutionary Union of Free People “Justice.” In 2011–2012, this group posted videos online showing arson attacks on administrative buildings and called for struggle against the state.

Three years ago six anarchists and antifascists from the Russian regions of the Urals and Western Siberia were jailed after secret services accused them of forming a "terrorist organization" and planning attacks against government agencies. All of them were brutally tortured. In Russia, this trial is known as the "Tyumen Case" — after the city of Tyumen, where the first arrest took place.

Antifascist Bogdan Yakimenko was arrested on June 5, 2024, in Rostov-on-Don in connection with the Antifa United case, which the authorities declared an extremist organization. Pro-government channels call Yakimenko its organizer.

Anarchist and anti-war activist Dmitry Osyagin from Kazan has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for setting fire to a court building. He was charged under three articles: calling for "extremism", "terrorism" and committing a “terrorist act” .

On August 17 defendant in the case of the Kansk teenagers Nikita Uvarov celebrates his birthday. He is turning exactly 20 years old.

Nikita is a young anarchist from Kansk. Before his arrest, he was a school student, studied the works of Peter Kropotkin, listened to songs by Yegor Letov, learned to play guitar, and dreamed of entering the journalism faculty. Already at the age of 14, Nikita was interested in politics and actively spoke out against political repression.

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.