Vadim Shtepa
- Criminal Code
- Article 205.4 (part unknown), Russian Criminal Code
- Case category
- Terrorism casesCases against "foreign agents"
Case summary
Editor-in-chief of the magazine "Region.Expert" and a columnist for "Radio Liberty". He left Russia in 2015 following threats from law enforcement and comments by the then-head of Karelia, Aleksandr Khudilainen, who stated that Shtepa "would have no freedom" in the republic.
In 2024, the journalist was fined 5,000 roubles under an administrative protocol for participating in the activities of an "undesirable organisation" (Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The protocol was based on the journalist's appearance at a press conference for the "Free Nations of Post-Russia Forum" — an organisation that had been declared "undesirable" in the spring of 2023.
In May 2025, it was revealed that a criminal case had been initiated against Shtepa for participating in the activities of a terrorist community.
Others charged under Article 205.4 (part unknown), Russian Criminal Code
What we write about political persecution
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Source: this person’s record in the OVD-Info political persecution database
Published under CC BY 3.0. The criteria for treating a person as politically persecuted belong to OVD-Info; FACTUM relays their assessment and makes none of its own.
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