Andrei Soldatov
Andrei Soldatov, born 1975, Moscow. Charges: Article 284.1 part 1, Russian Criminal Code (Participation in the activities of an undesirable organization); Article 330.1 part 2, Russian Criminal Code (Violation of the procedure for activities of a foreign agent, committed by a person after being…); “Andrei Soldatov's case of participating in the activities of an "undesirable" organisation and violating the "foreign agents" law”, opened on January 1, 2025. Sentence (March 30, 2026): 4 years' imprisonment in absentia, prohibition on administering internet pages for 4 years. Status: not in Russia.
In brief
Moscow · Moscow · Journalists · Anti-war cases, Cases against "foreign agents"
Sentence
4 years
imprisonment in absentia, prohibition on administering internet pages for 4 years
Upheld May 6, 2026
Charges
- Article 284.1 part 1, Russian Criminal Code — Participation in the activities of an undesirable organization
- Article 330.1 part 2, Russian Criminal Code — Violation of the procedure for activities of a foreign agent, committed by a person after being persecuted for an administrative offence
- Article 207.3 part 2, Russian Criminal Code — Dissemination of false information about the RF Armed Forces, government agencies or mercenaries (using official position, by a group of people, falsifying evidence, for selfish reasons or motivated by hatred)
Latest event
May 6, 2026 — appeal
The court upheld the verdict.
Timeline
· Appeal ruling
upheld
· First-instance verdict
guilty verdict · 4 years
· Preventive measure: arrest in absentia
· Criminal case opened
Andrei Soldatov's case of participating in the activities of an "undesirable" organisation and violating the "foreign agents" law
· Added to the register of “foreign agents”
· Persecution begins
Andrei Soldatov's case of "fakes" about the use of Russian Armed Forces on the territory of Ukraine
Criminal case
Andrei Soldatov's case of participating in the activities of an "undesirable" organisation and violating the "foreign agents" law
- Case number
- 01-0231/2026
Andrei Soldatov's case of "fakes" about the use of Russian Armed Forces on the territory of Ukraine
Thematic group: Anti-war case
Details and sources
Full summary
Editor-in-Chief of Agentura.Ru, has been studying the Russian security services for many years. Together with journalist Irina Borogan, he has written several books on the work of the FSB.
On 11 March 2022, just a week before the criminal case on "fakes" appeared, Soldatov and Borogan spoke about the repression that Vladimir Putin launched against the FSB. According to the journalists, after the first two weeks of the war, the leadership of one of the FSB units, the Operational Information and International Relations Service (SOIMS), was placed under house arrest.
The investigation also checked Soldatov under articles on libel (Article 128.1 of the Criminal Code), calls to extremism (Part 2 of Article 280 of the Criminal Code) and incitement to hatred (Part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code), but he was not charged with these offences. Soldatov was put on a wanted list and his property was seized. Interpol refused to fulfil the Russian Federation's extradition request. In February 2023, it became known that the prosecutor's office did not take the case to court and sent it for further investigation. In December 2025, it became known that a case was opened against Soldatov for participation in the activities of an "undesirable" organisation and violation of the law on "foreign agents". On 30 March 2026, he was sentenced in absentia in this case to four years' imprisonment.
All fields of the record
- Citizenship
- Russia
- Preventive measures
- arrest in absentia
- Persecution episodes
- 2
Other people prosecuted under Article 207.3 part 2, Russian Criminal Code
Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.