Russian courts convicted at least 1,234 people on terrorism-related charges in the first half of 2026, a 38% increase from the same period last year, according to a joint study by the First Department project and the Parubets Analytics research center. Courts issued an average of about ten verdicts per day. The total for all of 2024 was 24% lower than the figure for the first six months of 2026.

The growth was driven primarily by Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code, which criminalizes public calls for terrorism, its justification, or propaganda. Under this article, 487 people were convicted — more than half of all verdicts involving a single charge. A total of 357 people, or 29% of all defendants, were convicted exclusively under this article, without any accusations of violent acts.

The share of convictions directly for preparing or committing a terrorist attack (Article 205) nearly halved year-on-year, from 38.3% to 20.6%. The number of people convicted under it fell from 292 to 187. Convictions for aiding terrorist activity and participating in a terrorist organization rose, from 61 to 97 and from 55 to 99 people, respectively.

According to the Memorial human rights group's Support for Political Prisoners project, at least 427 people (35% of all those convicted) are involved in cases with clear signs of political persecution. The study's authors call this estimate conservative — courts withheld the names of nearly two-thirds of those convicted (795 of 1,234 people).

At least 243 of those convicted are Ukrainian citizens, including prisoners of war — among them fighters from the Azov regiment and the Aidar battalion — as well as civilians from occupied territories.

The overwhelming majority of those convicted are men (91.6%). The youngest was 16 at the time of sentencing, the oldest 71. The average sentence was 13 years; the maximum, combining multiple cases, was 29 years in a penal colony.

Four courts issued 86.3% of all verdicts: the Southern District Military Court (425 verdicts), the 2nd Western District Military Court (286), the Central District Military Court (156), and the 2nd Eastern District Military Court (121).

The researchers note that 2026 will be the most prolific year for terrorism-related convictions in the history of the modern criminal code. "Terrorism" articles have finally ceased to be associated with violent crimes: among defendants facing a single charge, 53.8% were convicted for statements, posts, and comments.