On April 8, the St. Petersburg City Court handed down sentences to six activists from the youth movement Vesna, Fontanka.ru reported. Judge Irina Furmanova gave the young opposition activists prison terms close to those requested by the prosecution.
Anna Arkhipova, a 28-year-old vegan from Novosibirsk, was sentenced to 12 years in a general-regime penal colony, with an additional seven-year ban on certain activities. The prosecution had asked for 13 years, a 12-year ban on certain activities, and a fine of one million rubles.
Vasily Neustroev, a 30-year-old resident of St. Petersburg and member of the Yabloko party, was sentenced to 10 years in a penal colony, with a seven-year ban on certain activities. The prosecution had requested 12 years in prison, an 11-year ban on certain activities, and a fine of one million rubles.
Yan Ksenzhepolsky, a 25-year-old activist from Tver and a brewing production specialist, was sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony, with a seven-year ban on certain activities. The prosecution had requested 12 years, an 11-year ban on certain activities, and a fine of one million rubles.
Yevgeny Zateev, a 24-year-old resident of St. Petersburg, was sentenced to 6 years and 2 months in a penal colony, with a six-year ban on certain activities. The prosecution had requested 10 years.
Pavel Sinelnikov, a 24-year-old activist from Barnaul, was sentenced to 7.5 years in a penal colony, with a six-year ban on certain activities. The prosecution had requested 10 years in prison and a 10.5-year ban on certain activities.
Valentin Khoroshenin, a 24-year-old resident of St. Petersburg and one of the founders of the Fogel bar, was sentenced to 6 years and 2 months in a penal colony, with a six-year ban on certain activities. The prosecution had requested 8 years in prison and a nine-year ban on certain activities.
Time already spent in pretrial detention will be deducted from the sentences at a rate of one day in detention counting as one and a half days.
The Vesna movement emerged in St. Petersburg in 2013. Many of its members came from the regional branch of Youth Yabloko, which announced its self-dissolution in protest against the expulsion of about two dozen members from Yabloko. The split was triggered by disagreements over the results of the city parliament elections. For nearly ten years, the movement focused on organizing political actions and youth political activism. Serious problems began in 2022 because of protests against the “special military operation” — that is, Russia’s war against Ukraine — and open calls for street demonstrations.
After Vesna announced the campaign “They Did Not Fight for This,” several activists’ homes were searched. A criminal case was opened over the creation of a non-profit organization allegedly infringing on citizens’ rights.
This became the precursor to the larger Vesna case. The movement was designated extremist and labeled a foreign agent in 2022. The case file included numerous social media posts, expert analyses of those posts, the movement’s charter, correspondence among participants, and witness testimony. The court had been hearing the case since the summer of 2024. More than 20 people were charged in the Vesna case overall. Most of them left Russia. They have been placed on the wanted list and added to the register of terrorists and extremists.
The convicted activists were charged under several articles of the Russian Criminal Code, including Article 207.3 (spreading “false information” about the army), Article 212 (involvement in mass riots), Article 354 (public dissemination of information showing clear disrespect for society in relation to Russia’s military glory days and commemorative dates connected with the defense of the Fatherland), Article 280.4 (public calls to carry out activities directed against the security of the Russian Federation), Article 282 (creating an extremist community), and Article 239 (creating a non-profit organization that infringes on the individual and citizens’ rights).
Before the verdict was announced, unknown persons hung a pacifist banner in the courthouse corridor in support of the defendants.
