Dear friends, welcome to our latest update!
But first, we need to ask for your help. When Russia invaded Ukraine, in February of 2022, we decided to widen our focus by supporting anti-war prisoners – up till that point, we had supported only anarchist and anti-fascist prisoners. However, as of October 2022 we have run out of almost all funds to support anti-war prisoners and we decided to launch a fundraising effort on the Firefund crowdfunding website. Please join our fundraising effort by donating and sharing our call – there are only 3 days left for us to reach our goal!
Support our fundraising campaign in Firefund
Right now we don't have so much good news to share, but we have a little.
Yulia Tsvetkova has finally been cleared of all charges
Yulia Tsvetkova is a local feminist activist from Komsomolsk-na-Amure in Russia's Far East. Since February 2019, she was pressured by authorities, and eventually targeted with some completely ridiculous charges: spreading ”gay propaganda” and ”pornography”. Due to her feminist activism there was a wide-spread campaign to support her. The charges have been overturned and then resurfaced several times, until the final acquittal on the 22nd of November in the Khabarovsk court of appeals. It was also announced that Tsvetkova had left Russia. She gave an interesting interview to Russian Forbes, in which she pointed out that the repression had actually started when she made a theatre piece about the history of political repressions in the USSR and GULAG.
Probational sentences for war resisters in Cherepovets
The Activatica activist news service reported that 16 and 17 years olds accused of throwing molotov cocktails at a military draft center in the city of Cherepovets on the 8th of May, have been given probational sentences due to their young age.
There are several new direct action war resisters. Their addresses can be found through the initiatives Solidarity Zone and Tales for political prisoners , which we have listed in this update:
Remand imprisonment of anti-war resister Ruslan Zinin prolonged until the 26th of February
Ruslan Zinin came to a military draft center in Ust-Ilimsk in Siberia on the 26th of September with a sawed-off shotgun. After a discussion on the subject of a friend of his who died at the front in March, it is claimed that Ruslan wounded an army officer with said shotgun. A video of the events is here. Ruslan's cousin was about to be drafted by the army that day. Ruslan is suspected of attempted murder of a government official, which can carry a prison sentence of 12 years to life. The wounded officer did not die.
Ruslan was transferred from Ust-Ilimsk to Irkutsk, where on the 21st of November his period in remand prison was prolonged to the 26th of February.
If your country still has postal service to Russia, you can write support mail to Ruslan at the following addresses:
Zinin Ruslan Aleksandrovich 1997 g.r. SIZO-1, ul. Barrikad 64, 664019 Irkutsk Russia
If not, you can write letters of support via the e-mail of the Anarchist Black Cross Moscow, abc-msk@riseup.net
Letters should be in Russian. (You can use google translate for help with that.)
Anti-war prisoner Andrey Bogdanov is in need of proper medical care
60 year old Andrey Bogdanov has been resisting the war since the beginning and was fined for speaking up. When someone threw a molotov cocktail at a military draft center in his hometown Zelenopodolsk, in Tatarstan, authorities promptly rounded him up and threw him in jail. Andrey is defiant and in good spirits, but the prison administration does not provide him with the medical care he needs. In case you read Russian, here are the guidelines for demanding his remand prison to provide him proper medical care
If your country still has postal service to Russia, you can write Andrey at the following address:
Andrey Nikolaevich Bogdanov 1962 g.r.
SIZO-5 ul. K. Libknekhta 1, g. Chistopol
422980 Respublika Tatarstan Russia
If not, you can write letters of support via the e-mail of the Anarchist Black Cross Moscow, abc-msk@riseup.net
Letters should be in Russian. (You can use google translate for help with that.)
Support suspected anti-war railway saboteur Vladlen Menshikov
On the 30th of September, local news in the Sverdlovsk region reported on the arrest of 29-year-old Vladlen Menshikov. He is suspected of having attempted railroad sabotage between the stations Rezh and Striganovo, where Russian military supplies are being transported. Police have published a video of his interrogation, in which he tells that he is against the war and the current regime in Russia, and where he is presented some methods of sabotaging railroad transpor.t
Vladlen Menshikov has been contacted by the Solidarity Zone -initiative, and is welcoming all kinds of support. Vladlen is currently being held in complete isolation, so any kind of support could cheer him up.
If your country still has postal service to Russia, you can write Vladlen at the following address:
Vladlen Alekseevich Menshikov
SIZO-1 ul. Repina 4
620019 g.Yekaterinburg Russia
If not, you can write letters of support via the e-mail of the Anarchist Black Cross Moscow, abc-msk@riseup.net
Letters should be in Russian. (You can use google translate for help with that.)
Anti-war prisoner Andrey Petrauskas's birthday is coming up!
Andrey is suspected of having committed an arson attack against a military draft center in Krasnoyarsk on the 3rd of October. There is CCTV camera footage of the action here. Andrey was arrested 4 days later, and is now charged with ”terrorism." He has been sent to remand prison (SIZO) number 1 in Krasnoyarsk, which is notorious for its tortures. On the 4th of December Andrey will turn 24. You can send him messages of support online via Russian FSIN-Pismo system if you are able to get past the Russian language interface.
If your country still has postal service to Russia, you can write Andrey at the following address:
Andrey Vadimovich Petrauskas 1998 g.r.
SIZO-1, ul. Respubliki 72, 660075 Krasnoyarsk Russia
If not, you can write letters of support via the e-mail of the Anarchist Black Cross Moscow, abc-msk@riseup.net
Letters should be in Russian. (You can use google translate for help with that.)
Support anti-war musicians Roman Nasryev and Alexey Nuriev
Roman Nasryev and Alexey Nuriev were arrested on the 11th of October. They are suspected of an arson attack against the city administration building of the city Bakal in the Chelyabinsk region. They were first accused with ”property damage”, but the FSB (Federal Security Service) quickly became involved, and they are now remanded under terrorism charges. They are facing a prison sentence of 15 years to life.
The suspects are members local rock band Room32. Some of their concerts are available on their YouTube channel.
If your country still has postal service to Russia, you can write them support letters at the following address:
Roman Raifovic Nasryev 1995 g.r.
SIZO-7 ul. Kommuny d. 70, 454091 Chelyabinsk Russia
Alexey Talgatovich Nuriev
SIZO-7 ul. Kommuny d. 70, 454091 Chelyabinsk Russia
If not, you can write letters of support via the e-mail of the Anarchist Black Cross Moscow, abc-msk@riseup.net
Letters should be in Russian. (You can use google translate for help with that.)
Keep up supporting prisoners in Russia
You can find the contact addresses of all prisoners in Russia supported by us here.
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