Ruslan Nurushev
Ruslan Nurushev, born 1973, Volgograd Oblast. Charges: Article 207.3 part 2 item d, Russian Criminal Code (Dissemination of false information about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, government…); “Ruslan Nurushev' case of "fake news" about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation”. Sentence (May 5, 2025): 6 years' imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony with a 3-year prohibition on administering websites. Status: imprisoned; deprived of liberty since November 7, 2024; place of detention: Penal colony No. 12, Volgograd Oblast. Recognition: Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners — recognised as a political prisoner, November 22, 2024.
In brief
Volgograd Oblast · Volgograd · Lawyers · Anti-war cases
Sentence
6 years
imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony with a 3-year prohibition on administering websites
Upheld April 28, 2026
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
The case was initiated because of a VKontakte post about a missile strike on a café in Kharkiv.
Latest event
April 28, 2026 — cassation
The court upheld the verdict.
Recognition by rights defenders
- Recognised as a political prisoner — Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners, November 22, 2024
Timeline
· Cassation ruling
upheld
· First-instance verdict
guilty verdict · 6 years
· Recognised as a political prisoner
Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners
· Preventive measure: pre-trial detention
Pre-trial Detention Centre №1 (SIZO-1) of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russian Federation for Volgograd Oblast
· Preventive measure: placement in a temporary detention facility
· Persecution begins
Ruslan Nurushev' case of "fake news" about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
Criminal case
Ruslan Nurushev' case of "fake news" about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
- Case number
- 1-83/2025
Thematic group: Anti-war case
Write a letter
Facility: Penal colony No. 12, Volgograd Oblast
Address (in Russian, as written on the envelope)
404103, Волгоградская область, г. Волжский, ул. Александрова, 86, ФКУ "ИК № 12 УФСИН России по Волгоградской области", Нурушев Руслан Уразбаевич, 1973 г.р.
Details and sources
Full summary
Resident of Volgograd. Active participant in protests against the results of the 2011 State Duma elections. Since 2014, he had criticised the annexation of Crimea and Russian policy on social media and took part in pickets. He participated in filing a complaint regarding a broadcast on the TV channel "Volgograd-1", which revealed the names of 15 Volgograd residents who laid flowers at a memorial rally for Alexei Navalny from 16 February to 1 March 2024. The Investigative Committee did not pursue a case.
In June 2024, Nurushev was searched as a witness in the case on the dissemination of knowingly false information about the Russian Armed Forces against Yevgeny Kochegin, the former coordinator of Navalny's headquarters in the city.
On 7 November 2024, Nurushev went to the regional department of the Investigative Committee to retrieve the computer seized during the search, but he was detained because a case on "fake news" about the Russian Armed Forces had already been opened against him. On 8 November, he was taken into custody.
Initially, the case was opened under the first, milder part of the article, but after interrogation the charges were increased: Nurushev was accused of spreading knowingly false information about the Russian Armed Forces on the basis of political hatred. On 5 May 2025, Nurushev was sentenced to six 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.