Trauma of repression: How state persecution of Russian activists alters their lives

According to OVD-Info, in 2023, convictions under Russian criminal law rose nearly sevenfold compared to 2022, and not a single defendant was acquitted. As of today, 1,073 individuals have faced political criminal repression, with 331 currently imprisoned.

Victims of political persecution are being tried in court alongside dangerous criminals – for their social media posts, reposts, and videos. Hundreds of ordinary citizens face imprisonment, forced labor, or hefty fines.

After serving their sentence, many of them disappear from social media, abandon their previous views, and alter their opinions and behavior towards the authorities.

To explore the reasons behind the low political engagement of Russians, REM presents an abridged translation of the 7x7 article that addresses the trauma resulting from political repressions.

“I consider the country lost. I relinquish my responsibility for it”

In December 2023, a court in Nizhny Novgorod fined Ilya Myaskovsky, an activist and former history teacher, 250,000 rubles (2,500 EUR). He was found guilty under the law prohibiting repeated discrediting of the Russian Armed Forces. His ‘crime’ was sharing posts with photos of anti-war posters and graffiti in a VKontakte (Russian social media) group.

On 4 October 2022, following the initiation of a criminal case against Myaskovsky, his apartment was raided.

“My whole life was split into before and after 4 October. Naturally, I found myself questioning all my actions and choices. Let's say I violated a ban of some kind, but for what purpose? What difference an anti-war message scrawled on a fence make in the world? Most people will stick to their beliefs anyway, whereas I will end up in jail”, says Myaskovsky.

Myaskovsky has been detained multiple times participating in protests. For example, in April 2022 he was involved in the action #Mariupol5000 organized by Feminist Anti-War Resistance. To commemorate 5,000 civilians killed in Mariupol, activists all over Russia placed homemade crosses with signs stating that these people were killed by the Russian military.

The price of criticizing the Russian government has risen dramatically in the last few years, assures Myaskovsky. He recalls the first time he faced repressions in 2011 during a public rally. Back then, one could have been taken to the police station for unfurling a banner with a political slogan; and the court would have imposed a fine of 1,000 rubles (25 EUR at the 2011 exchange rate).

“There have been repressions before, but nearly not as bad. Now, the same action would result in several years in a penal colony. Putin has dramatically raised the stakes by asking: “Well, are you still ready to rush to the barricades?”. And everyone replied, 'No!'”, the activist argues.

During the court hearing, the prosecutor asked to sentence Myaskovskyto 3.5 years in a penal colony. The court ruled to impose a fine.

“The protest movement in Nizhny Novgorod is almost dead. I know people who are lying low, I know those who are afraid, and the “loudest” ones have gone abroad. And I am well aware that the authorities could grab hold of me at any moment”.

After the verdict, Ilya wrote on his social networks that his views remained the same. But from now on he is ready to share his thoughts and talk openly with people only in a one-on-one conversation.

“My lawyer told me that it is possible to be useful [to society] without doing anything that could get you in jail. I agree with him. In general, I consider the country lost. I relinquish my responsibility for it. Its authorities threatened to put me in jail. I can’t be responsible for the “rag tags” who can't be stirred up to anything. I will focus on helping some specific individuals“.

Ilya Myaskovsky is currently volunteering at Nizhny Novgorod Political Red Cross. He fundraises for those who suffered from repressions and their families and attends ‘political’ trials.

Olga (asked not to be identified), a psychologist who works for the Without Prejudice project, names the depletion of internal resources as one of the main reasons for giving up the anti-war activities after being subjected to repressions. People cannot withstand the pressure. At the same time, the efforts of activists have little effect: the political regime remains unchanged, the war does not stop, and the war supporters do not change their opinion.

According to Polina Grundmane, founder of Without Prejudice, another reason why activists cannot continue to fight for their ideals is the lack of support within society. A number of landmark political cases are covered by the media each year. These cases receive a lot of attention, letters of support for the defendants, and highly experienced lawyers working on their behalf. However, countless repressed individuals in different parts of the country get mentioned in several media publications at best, only to then fade from the news entirely.

Grundmane's words are sadly confirmed by the case of Pavel Kushnir. The 39-year-old anti-war activist and musician died on 27 July 2024 in a detention center in Birobidzhan during a dry hunger strike. The media became aware of his death only on 3 August. Kushnir was arrested for criticizing Putin on a YouTube channel with five subscribers and was charged with making public calls for terrorist activity.

“I became disappointed with the liberal intelligentsia”

Sergey Drugov, a 26-year-old journalist from Petrozavodsk, has spent several years promoting his hometown and its history. He also organized educational events and support groups for people with mental disorders and wrote texts on socio-political topics.On 24 February 2022, Drugov joined an anti-war action and subsequently launched a Telegram channel “War is a Cringe” where he published a petition against the invasion of Ukraine. As a result, he drew the interest of law enforcement agencies. In July 2023, Sergei was sentenced to two years of forced labor.

Even before the trial began, he deleted the channel, pleaded guilty and made a full confession. His views have also changed; he has become disillusioned and no longer wants to support any political force.

“Two years ago, I was naive because I believed in the liberal discourse. I am deeply disappointed with our liberal intelligentsia and people who left Russia but keep on writing nasty things [about Russians] and imposing the idea of collective guilt”.

Drugov now believes that any political conflict should be viewed from a broader perspective. Now he sees going to jail for slogans as an act of suicide, not heroism.

The journalist is still working on public and educational projects. His team publishes a city guide as well as materials on the architecture and history of Petrozavodsk. He doesn't think about politics anymore and doesn't even follow the news.

According to the surveys conducted by the Without Prejudice project, over 80% of repressed activists have not only abandoned their activities but also lost faith in their beliefs. The majority of repressed activists speak of being disappointed, says Polina Grundmane. “Every activist seeks support. While activists are volunteers, they still need to see results; they require some sort of reaction to their actions. Without feedback, it feels like a one-way street – no one can sustain that for long”, she notes.

At the same time, support from outside is crucial. When repressions escalate, having someone around to prevent activists from taking excessive risks is paramount.

“Media and public figures urged people to fight, highlighting heroic deeds accomplished by others. And many activists followed this path. The problem is that we failed to convey to them that choosing not to act is also a valid option. It's important that there’s someone around who can say, 'Not taking action [against the war] does not make you a less of a person'”, explains Grundmane. She thinks this is the main reason why many activists have burned out so quickly.

“This number will be forever etched in my memory”

On 23 May 2023, activist Andrei Borovikov from Arkhangelsk was released from the penal colony. Three days later he wrote on his VKontakte page: “Freedom... Thanks to everyone who believed in me. I did not let you down. The long-awaited day has come. I am beginning to believe it's not just a dream”.

He spent more than two years in prison for posting a Rammstein music video on his VKontakte page in April 2021. Although the video was not prohibited and was not on any ban list, he was still charged with distributing pornography.

Borovikov himself believes he was repressed because of his political activities. Previously, he was the coordinator of Navalny’s regional headquarters in Arkhangelsk and was one of the protest leaders opposing the construction of a landfill for waste from Moscow at Shies station in Arkhangelsk region.

After his release, Borovikov has no plans to return to political activity. “Being involved in any kind of activity in this country is suicide; those who do it end up behind bars. I've been to prison, and I don't want to go back. I spent two years and 23 days in jail. This number will be forever etched in my memory”.

Borovikov believes that only those who have not been truly intimidated continue to express their opinion openly in Russia. He himself was one of them before his imprisonment. “I just want to live”, Borovikov says.

The former activist admits that keeping quiet during the ongoing war is difficult. He recalls that five years ago it was still possible to be somewhat active, and the law provided some means of protecting one's rights.

Borovikov has a young son growing up. He was finally able to hold his son in his arms for the first time when the child was a year and ten months old. Now family photos are the only type of content that Borovikov shares on his VKontakte page.

Olga, a psychologist with the Without Prejudice team, notes that a prison term inevitably causes psychological trauma. Inmates face unrelenting violence and are deprived of essential needs – most importantly, security. This experience can lead to a profound sense of defeat in their fight against the authorities.

“People see how political prisoners get convicted and know about the tragic fate of Alexei Navalny. Paying such a high price for unsuccessful attempts to engage in politics in Russia is perceived as unjustified”, Olga adds.

“I don’t want to be involved in journalism or opposition at all”

In July 2022, 27-year-old Sergei Komandirov, an activist from Smolensk, was sentenced to 6.5 years in a penal colony. The court found him guilty of justifying terrorism. The reason was a repost of a video featuring a staged “trial” of representatives of the Russian authorities. In less than a year, he apologized for this video to Putin, Kadyrov, Sechin and Peskov.

In 2017-2018, Sergei Komandirov was a volunteer and photojournalist at Navalny regional headquarters in Smolensk. On his Telegram channel “We Demand Answers. Russia”, he criticized the government, published journalistic investigations by independent media, shared information on court cases, posted photos and videos from rallies.

Since his imprisonment, Komandirov has repeatedly tried to challenge the court's decision. At the last court hearing on 18 May 2023, the activist publicly renounced his former views:

“I don't want to engage in journalism or opposition work anymore – not even close. There are more important things worth devoting my life to. My family, for example. Since I have been charged with multiple offences, [lt]…[gt] I feel it is necessary to apologize to Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Mr. Sechin, and Kadyrov. I did not realize how bad it all was”, said Komandirov.

The Supreme Court decided to uphold Komandirov's sentence.

After a year and a half in the colony, Komandirov admitted to experiencing depression, neurosis and suicidal thoughts: “I look at this number – 6.5 years, at this sentence which is not only unfair, [lt]...[gt] but also inhuman, and I realize that it leaves me with no motivation whatsoever. There is no reason to survive. I constantly contemplate committing suicide. It's killing me”.

From the outside, Sergei Komandirov's public renunciation of his former views may seem like a “volte-face”, may cause bewilderment or indignation. However, Olga, a psychologist with the Without Prejudice team, notes that those without experience of imprisonment cannot fully grasp the challenges faced by prisoners.

Often, the physical or psychological torment is so unbearable that inmates may go to any lengths to put an end to it. Betraying one's own values always leaves a mark, which is why the depression and suicidal thoughts mentioned by Sergei are predictable consequences.

“One just finds no excuse; the psyche struggles to cope and literally ‘splits’. Unable to accept the reality, individuals may begin to view suicide as the only salvation, the only way to escape the suffering”, Olga notes.

A warning to others

Public renouncement is precisely what the Russian authorities pursue. A convicted activist serves as a warning to others, aiming to silence dissent. The methods employed to achieve this goal are similar those used by the Soviet authorities half a century ago.

According to Alexander Cherkasov, former Chair of the Council of the Memorial Human Rights Center, the Soviet punitive agencies used the same mechanism to influence society in the 1960s and 1980s.

“Mass terror in the USSR ceased after Stalin's death, but the underlying logic of the system persisted: almost everyone who caught the attention of the punitive machine eventually faced arrest and conviction. The number of repressed persons remained alarmingly high”, says Alexander Cherkasov.

Nikolai Mironov, head of the KGB department for Leningrad and its region, who later became the chief law enforcer in the USSR, came up with the idea of “prevention”: to imprison one person out of a hundred and make his life in jail so difficult that it would instill fear in everyone else. In the meantime, others experienced extrajudicial punishment, such as expulsion from the university or the Komsomol, forced conscription into the army, and interrogations. Mironov’s strategy proved effective.

Alexander Cherkasov believes that a similar situation is unfolding in modern Russia, where criminal repression acts as a threat to those facing penalties under administrative law.

“It turns out that it’s not necessary to imprison everyone to control people; intimidation alone can silence dissent. Fear becomes the major deterrent”, explains the expert. “Except that the repression today is much more intense than during the Soviet period. In modern Russia, these tactics no longer merely preserve the system; they aim to reshape society. Such state terror during the ongoing war will inevitably lead to negative transformations in society”.