Evgenii Chichvarkin
Evgenii Chichvarkin, born 1974, Moscow. Charges: Article 207.3 part 2 item d, Russian Criminal Code (Dissemination of false information about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, government…); Article 330.1 part 2, Russian Criminal Code (Violation of the procedure for activities of a foreign agent, committed by a person after being…); “Evgenii Chichvarkin's case of "fakes" about the Russian Armed Forces and evasion of "foreign agent" duties”. Sentence (February 16, 2026): 9 years' imprisonment in absentia. Status: not in Russia.
In brief
Moscow · Moscow · Entrepreneurs · Anti-war cases, Terrorism cases, Cases against "foreign agents"
Sentence
9 years
imprisonment in absentia
Upheld April 27, 2026
Charges
- Article 205.4 (part unknown), Russian Criminal Code — Organisation of a terrorist community and participation in it
- Article 278, Russian Criminal Code — Violent seizure of power or alteration of the constitutional order
- Article 207.3 part 2 item d, Russian Criminal Code — Dissemination of false information about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, government agencies, or mercenaries (based on political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or on grounds of hatred or enmity in relation to any social group)
- Article 330.1 part 2, Russian Criminal Code — Violation of the procedure for activities of a foreign agent, committed by a person after being persecuted for an administrative offence
Full wording of the charges
According to the prosecution, Chichvarkin publicly posted a screenshot of a statement by the Anti-War Committee of Russia, which contained knowingly false information regarding a missile strike by the Russian Armed Forces on the "Okhmatdyt" children's hospital in Kyiv, along with a commentary on the post.
Latest event
April 27, 2026 — appeal
The court upheld the verdict.
Timeline
· Appeal ruling
upheld
· First-instance verdict
guilty verdict · 9 years
· Added to the Rosfinmonitoring list of “terrorists and extremists”
· Preventive measure: arrest in absentia
· Persecution begins
Evgenii Chichvarkin's case of "fakes" about the Russian Armed Forces and evasion of "foreign agent" duties
· Criminal case opened
The case of Anti-War Committee of Russia
· Added to the register of “foreign agents”
Criminal case
Evgenii Chichvarkin's case of "fakes" about the Russian Armed Forces and evasion of "foreign agent" duties
- Case number
- 01-0564/2025
Thematic group: Anti-war case
The case of Anti-War Committee of Russia
Other defendants in the case
- Sergei Aleksashenko — Not in Russia
- Marat Gelman — Not in Russia
- Leonid Gozman — Not in Russia
- Dmitry Gudkov — Not in Russia
- Sergei Guriev — Not in Russia
- Boris Zimin — Not in Russia
- Vladimir Kara-Murza — Not in Russia
- Garry Kasparov — Not in Russia
- Mikhail Kasianov — Not in Russia
- Evgenii Kiselev — Not in Russia
- Mikhail Kokorich — Not in Russia
- Evgenii Kunin — Not in Russia
- Elena Lukyanova — Not in Russia
- Kirill Martynov — Not in Russia
- Yuri Pivovarov — Not in Russia
- Maxim Reznik — Not in Russia
- Artur Smolianinov — Not in Russia
- Mikhail Khodorkovsky — Not in Russia
- Konstantin Chumakov — Not in Russia
- Anastasia Shevchenko — Not in Russia
- Viktor Shenderovich — Not in Russia
- Ekaterina Shulman — Not in Russia
Thematic group: Anti-war case
Details and sources
Full summary
A businessman, co-founder, and former owner of the "Euroset" mobile phone retail chain. In 2008, following the initiation of a criminal case against company employees regarding the 2003 kidnapping of a former "Euroset" forwarder (who had been accused by the company's security service of stealing mobile phones worth several million roubles), Chichvarkin emigrated to the UK, fearing criminal prosecution. That same year, he sold "Euroset" to businessman Aleksandr Mamut. In exile, Chichvarkin has openly criticised the Russian authorities, described his prosecution as politically motivated, and in 2022 condemned Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
On 2 June 2022, the businessman was added to the register of "foreign agents." Since then, he has been fined at least twice under administrative law for violating "foreign agent" legislation by failing to submit quarterly reports.
Furthermore, in 2023, the "Russian Action Committee," of which Chichvarkin is a co-founder, was designated an "undesirable organisation." The businessman was also fined for participating in an "undesirable organisation" due to his involvement in the "Free Russia Forum."
In July 2025, it was revealed that the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) had placed him on a wanted list. It was later reported that Chichvarkin was charged with spreading "fakes" about the Armed Forces and evading his duties as a "foreign agent." The "fakes" charge was brought against him because of a social media post regarding a Russian missile strike on the "Okhmatdyt" children's hospital in Kyiv. On 16 February 2026, Chichvarkin was sentenced in absentia to nine years in prison in this case.
On 14 October 2025, the FSB (Federal Security Service) reported the initiation of a case against Chichvarkin and other members of the "Anti-War Committee of Russia" for the "forcible seizure of power" and "organising the activities of a terrorist community." The charges were triggered by the adoption of the "Berlin Declaration," which called for a change of government in Russia.
All fields of the record
- Citizenship
- Russia
- Preventive measures
- arrest in absentia
- Persecution episodes
- 2
Other people prosecuted under Article 205.4 (part unknown), Russian Criminal Code
Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.