October 20, 2026, 10:54 AMRSSRU

Evgenii Vitishko

At largeChecked October 18, 2026

Evgenii Vitishko, born 1973, Krasnodar Krai. Charges: Article 167 (part unknown), Russian Criminal Code (Intentional destruction of or damage to property); “Evgenii Vitishko's case of fence tampering”. Sentence (November 9, 2015): replace the unexecuted part of the sentence with restriction of liberty. Status: at large. Recognition: Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners — recognised as a political prisoner, December 21, 2015; Memorial Human Rights Centre — recognised as a political prisoner, March 5, 2014.

In brief

Krasnodar Krai · Tuapse · Environmentalists

Sentence

3 years

replace the unexecuted part of the sentence with restriction of liberty

Sentence changed November 9, 2015

First instance, June 19, 2012: 3 years

Charges

Full wording of the charges

together with unidentified persons, "put inscriptions on the back surface of the metal fence: "Sanya is a thief", "Toad", "This is our forest", "This is our land", "Party of thieves", ten stencil images of a bear with the inscription "Enough", as well as put inscriptions on the front surface of the metal fence: "Tkachev, go away", "Crook and Thief", "Enough VIP Dachas!", and bent two sections of the metal fence, thereby deforming the fence" of the cottage of Krasnodar Region Governor Alexandr Tkachev, which is being built illegally on the territory of a protected forest area.

Latest event

January 1, 2016 — persecution ends

Checked October 18, 2026 · no changes since October 15

Recognition by rights defenders

Timeline

  1. · Persecution ends

  2. · Imprisonment ends

  3. · Recognised as a political prisoner

    Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners

  4. · Court ruling

    sentence changed · 3 years

  5. · Recognised as a political prisoner

    Memorial Human Rights Centre

  6. · Recognised as a prisoner of conscience

    Amnesty International

Criminal case

Evgenii Vitishko's case of fence tampering

There are no other defendants in this case in the database.

Thematic group: The case of the fence at Tkachev's dacha (summer residence)

Details and sources

Full summary

According to OVD-Info

Evgenii Vitishko is a well-known environmentalist in the Krasnodar region, one of the leaders of the Environmental Watch for the North Caucasus, and has run for Yabloko in various elections. In 2011, he took part in a series of actions against the Agrocomplex recreation centre. Environmentalists believed that its construction involved the squatting of territories of the forest fund and the Black Sea coastal strip. According to them, the base is actually a holiday home of the governor of the region, Alexander Tkachev. The actions against "Tkachev's dacha" in 2011 repeatedly ended in detentions and administrative prosecution of activists. Environmentalists Suren Gazaryan and Evgenii Vitishko were criminally prosecuted for putting inscriptions on the fence of Tkachev's dacha and slightly damaging it.

On 20 June 2012, both were sentenced to three years of probation. Suren Gazaryan left Russia and is in Estonia. Vitishko continued his public activities in Krasnodar Krai. In early 2014, on the application of the penal inspection on non-compliance with the regime, his suspended sentence was changed to a penal colony. On 8 October, it became known that Vitishko was transferred from a penal colony to a general regime colony for three penalties, but later this information was not confirmed. Vitishko was denied parole, but on 10 November 2015, part of the term in the penal colony was changed to restriction of freedom. The prosecutor's office challenged this decision the day before Vitishko was due to leave the colony, but on 22 December the court of second instance upheld the decision and Vitishko was released; on 20 January, Vitishko was fitted with an electronic bracelet at the penal inspection office

All fields of the record
Citizenship
Russia
Sources (4)

Other people prosecuted under Article 167 (part unknown), Russian Criminal Code

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

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