Alexander Belov (Potkin)
Alexander Belov (Potkin), born 1976, Moscow. Charges: Article 280 part 2, Russian Criminal Code (Public calls for extremism (using mass media or the internet)); Article 282.1 part 1, Russian Criminal Code (Creation and leadership of an extremist community); “The case of Alexander Belov (Potkin) on extremism”, opened on January 1, 2015. Sentence (March 27, 2018): The court repeatedly mitigated the punishment to three and a half years in a general regime penal colony. The testimony… Status: at large. Recognition: Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners — recognised as a political prisoner, June 29, 2015.
In brief
Moscow · Moscow · Construction workers · Extremism cases
Sentence
3 years 6 months
The court repeatedly mitigated the punishment to three and a half years in a general regime penal colony. The testimony of three witnesses and the aggravating circumstance - a particularly active role in the commission of the offences - were excluded from the sentence. The court also considered that the charge under paragraph "c" of part 2 of article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code (organised group actions aimed at inciting hatred) was unnecessary.
First instance, August 23, 2016: 7 years 6 months
Charges
- Article 280 part 2, Russian Criminal Code — Public calls for extremism (using mass media or the internet)
- Article 282.1 part 1, Russian Criminal Code — Creation and leadership of an extremist community
- Article 174 part 4 applied with Article 30 part 1, Russian Criminal Code — Preparation for the laundering of illegally obtained funds acquired by other persons (by an organised group or on a particularly large scale)
Full wording of the charges
According to the investigation, he established an extremist group with the aim of overthrowing the regime of Nursultan Nazarbayev. In November 2012, he developed the "Project 'Evil Kazakh'" and an "Outline Plan of Events in Preparation of an Action on 16 December", which were distributed electronically via the internet to the citizens of Kazakhstan for implementation in Kazakhstan. The "Evil Kazakh" project contains information intended to incite national hatred, discord, and the promotion of national hatred, discord, exclusivity, and superiority based on nationality. The texts are capable of instilling the belief in the ineffectiveness of the existing government, the disadvantaged position of Kazakhs in Kazakhstan, the threat of the disappearance of Kazakh culture, and may lead to changes in behavior, including participation in protests and violent actions against representatives of Russian and other nationalities by nationalist-oriented groups. He publicly called for extremist activities.
Latest event
October 20, 2026 — case status changed
Recognition by rights defenders
- Recognised as a political prisoner — Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners, June 29, 2015
Timeline
· Added to the Rosfinmonitoring list of “terrorists and extremists”
· Removed from the Rosfinmonitoring list
· Appeal ruling
guilty verdict
· Persecution ends
· First-instance verdict
guilty verdict · 7 years 6 months
· Recognised as a political prisoner
Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners
· Criminal case opened
The case of Alexander Belov (Potkin) on extremism
· Preventive measure: house arrest
· Persecution begins
The case of Alexander Belov (Potkin) on attempted legalisation of funds
Criminal case
The case of Alexander Belov (Potkin) on extremism
The case of Alexander Belov (Potkin) on attempted legalisation of funds
Details and sources
Full summary
Detained on 15 October 2014 in connection with a criminal case initiated in 2009 against Mukhtar Ablyazov, a Kazakh banker and politician, and a group of individuals associated with him for alleged embezzlement of loan funds from BTA Bank JSC (Republic of Kazakhstan), formerly controlled by Ablyazov; accused of laundering money acquired by others through criminal means; placed under house arrest, but was soon transferred to a pre-trial detention centre due to the fact that the Russian authorities received a case of inciting social, national, tribal, racial or religious hatred from Kazakhstan, but Belov was never charged with the relevant article; in March-April 2015, he underwent an in-patient complex psychological and psychiatric examination at the Serbsky Institute; at that time, the defence was in the process of defending him. In September 2015, he was charged with establishing an extremist community to overthrow the regime of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
On 19 August 2015, it became known that another case was opened against Belov - on calls for extremist activity based on a fragment of the documentary film "Term"; it was later merged with the main case
On 24 August 2016, Belov was sentenced to seven and a half years in a general regime penal colony. On 14 April 2017, the court of appeal reduced the sentence to three and a half years.
The money laundering case was allocated to separate proceedings. On 4 March 2018, the money laundering charge was mitigated: the amount of damage was reduced from 4.9 billion rubles (67 million euros) to 300 million rubles (4 million euros) and the charge was reclassified from money laundering to attempted money laundering.
On 17 January 2018, the case on extremist articles was sent for a new review. On 28 March, the sentence of three and a half years was confirmed. The testimony of three witnesses and the aggravating circumstance - a particularly active role in the commission of the offences - were excluded from the sentence. The court also considered that the charge under paragraph "c" of part 2 of article 282 of the Criminal Code (organised group actions aimed at inciting hatred) was unnecessary.
On 13 April Belov was released after three and a half years of imprisonment. The day before, the court ordered to place him under house arrest on the economic article. In October 2018, the case was returned to the prosecutor's office.
In February 2024, it became known that Belov was put on a wanted list.
All fields of the record
- Citizenship
- Russia
- Persecution episodes
- 2
Other people prosecuted under Article 280 part 2, Russian Criminal Code
Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.