Aleksei Grigoriev
Aleksei Grigoriev, born 1997, Orenburg Oblast. Charges: Article 205 part 2 applied with Article 30 part 1, Russian Criminal Code (Preparation for a terrorist attack (by a group or with serious consequences)); Article 205.5 part 2, Russian Criminal Code (Participation in the activities of a terrorist organization); Article 275 applied with Article 30 part 1, Russian Criminal Code (Preparation for treason against the state (preparation for a crime)); “Aleksei Grigoriev's case of arson planning”. Sentence (February 7, 2025): 20 years' imprisonment, the first 5 years in prison, the rest in a strict-regime penal colony. Status: imprisoned; deprived of liberty since May 20, 2023; place of detention: Prison, Chelyabinsk Oblast. Recognition: Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners — recognised as a political prisoner, October 16, 2025.
In brief
Orenburg Oblast · Orsk · Shop assistants · Terrorism cases
Sentence
20 years
imprisonment, the first 5 years in prison, the rest in a strict-regime penal colony
Upheld January 19, 2026
Charges
- Article 205 part 2 applied with Article 30 part 1, Russian Criminal Code — Preparation for a terrorist attack (by a group or with serious consequences)
- Article 205.5 part 2, Russian Criminal Code — Participation in the activities of a terrorist organization
- Article 275 applied with Article 30 part 1, Russian Criminal Code — Preparation for treason against the state (preparation for a crime)
Full wording of the charges
According to the investigation, he planned to set fire to the military recruitment office and the FSB building in Orsk and a railway relay box in Novotroitsk.
Latest event
January 19, 2026 — appeal
The court upheld the verdict.
Recognition by rights defenders
- Recognised as a political prisoner — Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners, October 16, 2025
Timeline
· Appeal ruling
upheld
· Recognised as a political prisoner
Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners
· First-instance verdict
guilty verdict · 20 years
· Added to the Rosfinmonitoring list of “terrorists and extremists”
· Preventive measure: pre-trial detention
Pre-trial Detention Centre №1 (SIZO-1) of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russian Federation for Orenburg Oblast
· Persecution begins
Aleksei Grigoriev's case of arson planning
· Preventive measure: placement in a temporary detention facility
Criminal case
Aleksei Grigoriev's case of arson planning
Write a letter
Facility: Prison, Chelyabinsk Oblast
Address (in Russian, as written on the envelope)
457670, ул. Северная д.1, Челябинская область, г. Верхнеуральск, ФКУ «Тюрьма ГУФСИН России по Челябинской области», Григорьев Алексей Сергеевич, 1997 г.р.
Details and sources
Full summary
A resident of Novotroitsk (Orenburg Oblast), and possibly a cashier at a pawnshop. He was detained on May 20, 2023, and sent to custody on May 22 on charges of preparing to commit a terrorist act. Later, he was also charged with preparation for treason and participation in a terrorist organization. Local media published fragments of alleged correspondence between Grigoriev and a representative of the Ukrainian security services, where they discussed arson on the railway, explosion of buildings, and crossing of the border. Grigoriev later reported that he had conducted correspondence while under the influence of a narcotic substance, after which he refused to commit the crime. At trial, he stated that in April 2023 he got involved with the project "I Want to Live", and began to put up posters with its symbols. Then, Grigoriev stated, he met a man who introduced himself as Maks and who encouraged him to carry out subversive activities. Grigoriev, in his own words, refused to do so, and, as a response, Maks began to urge him to kill Russian military personnel, set fire to cars, and carry out bombings. Grigoriev also told the court that in May 2023, he filled out an application form to join the Freedom of Russia legion. At that time he nevertheless decided to set fire to a railway relay box in order to resist mobilization. He purchased all the necessary materials and was detained after burying them in the forest. In a letter from the pre-trial detention centre, Grigoriev claims that he is being deliberately kept in a damp, cold, and stinky basement with rats, fungus, and mold on the walls. According to him, the staff of the detention centre provoke him, do not hand over or mail his letters, do not allow him to shop, do not provide medical care or bring medicine, and other prisoners threat him with reprisals and murder. Grigoriev also shared that he has a sick grandmother at home. On February 7, 2025, Grigoriev was sentenced to 20 years in a strict regime penal colony.
All fields of the record
- Citizenship
- Russia
Other people prosecuted under Article 205 part 2 applied with Article 30 part 1, Russian Criminal Code
Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.