Olga Menshikh
Olga Menshikh, born 1964, 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…); “Olga Menshikh's case of "fakes" about the RF Armed Forces”. Sentence (October 3, 2024): 8 years' of imprisonment in a general regime colony, with a ban on administering Internet resources for 3 years. Status: imprisoned; deprived of liberty since April 8, 2024; place of detention: Penal colony No. 3, Kostroma Oblast. Recognition: Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners — recognised as a political prisoner, April 9, 2024.
In brief
Moscow · Moscow · Medical workers · Anti-war cases
Sentence
8 years
of imprisonment in a general regime colony, with a ban on administering Internet resources for 3 years
Upheld December 23, 2025
Charges
- 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)
Full wording of the charges
Authorities brought charges against her over two VKontakte posts about events in the Ukrainian cities of Vinnytsia and Bucha.
Latest event
December 23, 2025 — cassation
The court upheld the verdict.
Recognition by rights defenders
- Recognised as a political prisoner — Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners, April 9, 2024
Timeline
· Cassation ruling
upheld
· First-instance verdict
guilty verdict · 8 years
· Preventive measure: house arrest
· Recognised as a political prisoner
Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners
· Persecution begins
Olga Menshikh's case of "fakes" about the RF Armed Forces
· Preventive measure: placement in a temporary detention facility
Criminal case
Olga Menshikh's case of "fakes" about the RF Armed Forces
- Case number
- 01-0347/2024
Thematic group: Anti-war case
Write a letter
Facility: Penal colony No. 3, Kostroma Oblast
Address (in Russian, as written on the envelope)
156511, Костромская обл., Костромской район, пос. Прибрежный, ул. Мира, 1, ФКУ «ИК № 3 УФСИН России по Костромской области», Меньших Ольга Сергеевна, 1964 г.р.
Details and sources
Full summary
Olga Menshikh, a nurse and resident of Moscow, was first detained on February 24, 2022 — the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Authorities accused her of organizing an unauthorized protest, claiming she had called on people to join rallies via the social network VKontakte. She was arrested the next day and jailed for nine days.
On April 8, 2024, law enforcement officers raided her home. According to acquaintances, they "turned everything upside down," kept Menshikh in handcuffs, and did not allow her to drink water. They also refused to let her English tutor leave the apartment.
On April 9, the court placed her under house arrest. Initially, she was charged under Part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code. However, in May — when the case was handed over to court — the charge was reclassified to dissemination of so-called "fake news" about the Russian military, allegedly motivated by hatred or enmity (Clause "d", Part 2, Article 207.3).
On September 12, 2024, she was transferred from house arrest to pre-trial detention because she went to visit a dentist.
On October 3, 2024, Menshikh was sentenced to eight years in a general-regime penal colony.
All fields of the record
- Citizenship
- Russia
Other people prosecuted under Article 207.3 part 2 item d, Russian Criminal Code
Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.