October 20, 2026, 7:31 PMRSSRU

Leonid Razvozzhayev

At largeChecked October 18, 2026

Leonid Razvozzhayev, born 1973, Moscow. Charges: Article 212 part 1, Russian Criminal Code (Organization of mass riots); Article 212 part 1 applied with Article 30 part 1, Russian Criminal Code (Preparation to organize mass riots); “The case of Sergei Udaltsov and Leonid Razvozzhaev”. Sentence (March 17, 2015): to cancel the decision of the Moscow City Court in the part of the fine in the amount of 150 thousand roubles due to the… Status: at large. Recognition: Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners — recognised as a political prisoner, September 30, 2015; Memorial Human Rights Centre — recognised as a political prisoner, January 31, 2013.

In brief

Moscow · Moscow · Writers · Cases related to mass actions

Sentence

4 years 6 months

to cancel the decision of the Moscow City Court in the part of the fine in the amount of 150 thousand roubles due to the expiration of the statute of limitations; in the rest part to leave the decision of the Moscow City Court unchanged

Sentence changed March 17, 2015

First instance, July 23, 2014: 4 years 6 months

Charges

Full wording of the charges

organised mass riots on Bolotnaya Square on 6 May 2012, prepared to organise mass riots in other cities, illegally crossed the border with Ukraine

Latest event

April 7, 2017 — imprisonment ends

Checked October 18, 2026 · no changes since October 15

Recognition by rights defenders

Timeline

  1. · Imprisonment ends

  2. · Persecution ends

  3. · Recognised as a political prisoner

    Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners

  4. · Appeal ruling

    sentence changed · 4 years 6 months

  5. · First-instance verdict

    guilty verdict · 4 years 6 months

  6. · Recognised as a political prisoner

    Memorial Human Rights Centre

Criminal case

The case of Sergei Udaltsov and Leonid Razvozzhaev

Other defendants in the case

Thematic group: Bolotnaya case; The "Anatomy of a Protest" case

Details and sources

Full summary

According to OVD-Info

Leonid Razvozzhayev was an aide to Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev and a member of the Left Front Council. In October 2012, a case was opened against him for preparing to organise mass riots following the NTV film Anatomy of Protest-2, which alleged that he, together with Sergei Udaltsov and Konstantin Lebedev, had discussed the financing of mass riots in Russia in June 2012 with Georgi Targamadze, head of the Georgian Parliament's Committee on Defence and Security. The film included video footage allegedly showing a meeting between Udaltsov and Targamadze, but the origin of the video is unknown. According to the investigation, Udaltsov and Razvozzhayev, together with Lebedev, organised training camps for participants in future mass riots in various regions of the country. In October 2012, Razvozzhayev tried to seek political asylum in Kiev, but on 19 October he was taken away from there in a car by unknown persons, after which he ended up in Moscow in the Investigative Committee, where, according to the Investigative Committee, he wrote an affidavit of guilt that he participated in the organisation of mass riots that allegedly took place on Bolotnaya Square on 6 May 2012, and preparations for the organisation of mass riots on the territory of Russia. On 22 October, the court at a closed session issued a ruling on Razvozzhayev's arrest. Later, Razvozzhayev retracted his confession, saying that he gave it under torture. On 21 November he was charged with robbery - allegedly in 1997 in Angarsk Razvozzhayev and his comrades attacked a local businessman and robbed him of a video camera and 500 fur hats. The case was merged with a case of preparation to organise mass riots. On 4 December, a case of illegal border crossing was opened against Razvozzhayev - according to the investigation, he travelled to Kiev using someone else's passport. The case of his kidnapping from Kiev was rejected. In December 2012, Razvozzhayev was transferred to Angarsk in a robbery case. On 18 January 2013, a case of false denunciation was opened against Razvozzhayev on the basis of his statement in court - on 12 December, at the hearing to extend his detention, he pointed to investigator Dmitry Pleshivtsev, who was present in the room, and said that this man was among those who tortured him. On 24 January, the robbery case was dismissed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. In January 2013, the Investigative Committee announced the merger of the Anatomy of Protest-2 case and the Bolotnaya case into a joint proceeding; Udaltsov, according to the investigation, is one of the organisers of the mass riots that allegedly took place on Bolotnaya Square on 6 May 2012, and he also organised them with Targamadze's money. On 18 March 2013, Razvozzhayev was returned to Moscow. On 19 June 2013, Razvozzhayev was officially charged with organising mass riots on Bolotnaya Square. The case of illegal border crossing was also merged with the mass riot cases into a general proceeding. On 24 July 2014, the Moscow City Court sentenced him to four and a half years' imprisonment in a general regime colony and a fine of 150,000 rubles. On 18 March 2015, the Supreme Court overturned the decision on the fine for illegal border crossing due to the expiration of the statute of limitations; the rest of the Moscow City Court's decision remained in force.

He was released on 7 April 2017.

All fields of the record
Citizenship
Russia
Sources (2)

Other people prosecuted under Article 212 part 1, Russian Criminal Code

Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.

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