We are publishing a review of anti-extremist enforcement in July 2026 as it applies to public speech, organized activity, and attacks on physical objects unrelated to xenophobia.

We have learned of 34 court decisions issued in July against 75 individuals, which included the charges of involvement in extremist and terrorist groups and organizations whose activities we monitor:

• Sixteen people were convicted of involvement in far-right organizations; twelve of them were members of the group Paragraph-88;

• Seven people were punished for collaborating with Ukrainian organizations designated as terrorist in Russia. One of them was convicted of involvement with the Russian Volunteer Corps (Russkiy dobrovolcheskiy korpus, RDK), one for involvement with both the RDK and the Freedom of Russia Legion (Legion "Svoboda Rossii," LSR), one for involvement with the Azov Regiment, and four for involvement with unnamed Ukrainian organizations.

• Seven people faced punishment for financing the Artpodgotovka movement.

• Six people were convicted for involvement with Sergei Taraskin's “USSR.” However, we doubt whether the activist convicted in Dagestan and, even more so, the five "Citizens of the USSR" convicted in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug belonged to that particular organization.

• 25 people were convicted of involvement in the AUE criminal subculture, which is considered an extremist organization; additionally, one person was absolved from responsibility after voluntary terminating his participation in this “organization.”

• We classified the following 11 sentences (out of 34) against 11 individuals as clearly inappropriate:

• At least seven people were convicted for transferring money to the Anti-Corruption Foundation (Fond borby s korruptsiyey, FBK) after it was designated an extremist organization;

• An activist from Nizhny Novgorod was convicted as a member of the banned FBK and Navalny's Headquarters in connection with her social media posts;

• A former warehouse employee of the Popcorn Books publishers was sentenced for involvement in the “international social movement LGBT”;

• Two Jehovah's Witnesses were convicted for continuing the activities of their religious communities.

At least 61 people were sentenced to imprisonment, seven received suspended sentences, three were fined, and one was sentenced to compulsory labor.

At least 22 new cases against 87 individuals (not counting the AUE-related cases) were opened in July. These included 66 individuals accused of involvement with the At-Takfir wal-Hijra movement in Karachay-Cherkessia; Jehovah's Witnesses from various regions (in July, several more believers became defendants in previously opened cases); individuals accused of involvement with the RDK and LSR; and donors to Artpodgotovka and the FBK.

Since the beginning of 2026, we have learned of 280 court decisions in such cases against 404 individuals. Of these, the courts referred two individuals for compulsory psychiatric treatment, the prosecution of two defendants was terminated due to their deaths, and one was released from punishment due to active repentance. We consider 125 of these decisions against 160 individuals completely or partially inappropriate.

We have information on 54 verdicts against 59 individuals handed down in July under the relevant Criminal Code articles on public speech. Additionally, two individuals were referred for compulsory psychiatric treatment. We regard 11 decisions against 11 individuals as completely or partially inappropriate.

The July decisions can be grouped into the following partly overlapping categories based on the statements’ targets:

• 19 people were convicted for expressing ethnic xenophobia. These individuals were punished for their online posts and comments calling for violence against people from the Caucasus or Central Asia, Jews, Indians, Russians, non-Russians, and non-Slavs, as well as for approving Adolf Hitler's actions during World War II. One person was punished for repeatedly displaying a tattoo with Nazi symbols. This category also includes the members of the far-right group Paragraph-88 and another far-right group from Novosibirsk, whose charges included both violent crimes and disseminating xenophobic propaganda (they posted videos of their attacks online).

• One person was convicted for speech motivated by religious xenophobia - specifically, for comments calling for “violent actions against ‘Wahhabis from Uzbekistan’.”

• Two people were sentenced for statements or actions that the authorities deemed an attack on traditional Russian symbols and values: a resident of Khakassia for posting about the St. George ribbon on social media, and an engineer from the Irkutsk region who wrote messages about pobedobesie (“victory frenzy”) in a work chat. Additionally, a man who attended a religious procession wearing a Satan mask was referred for compulsory psychiatric treatment. We classified all these charges as inappropriate.

• Courts have issued rulings against 26 individuals for statements regarding the armed conflict with Ukraine. We view at least six of these rulings as completely or partially inappropriate.

• Four people were convicted for other statements made in instant messaging apps and on social media that were directed against the authorities in one way or another.

• One person, human rights activist Alexei Sokolov, was punished for links with the Facebook logo in posts on his Telegram channel, “Human Rights Defenders of the Urals.” We consider this decision inappropriate.

Four people were punished for their offline speech, one for both offline and online statements, and 56 for online speech only.

37 people were sentenced to imprisonment, nine faced suspended sentences, seven were sentenced to fines, three to compulsory labor, and one to community service. In addition, two individuals were referred for compulsory psychiatric treatment.

For 21 people sentenced to imprisonment for public speech in July, we are not aware of any specific circumstances that would have led to such sentences.

Since the beginning of 2026, we have learned of 377 court decisions against 398 individuals in cases involving public speech. One person was acquitted, six were referred for compulsory psychiatric treatment, one case was dismissed due to the defendant’s death, and the rest faced other forms of punishment. We classified 85 court decisions against 93 individuals completely or partially inappropriate.

We also have information about 42 new criminal cases opened in July against 42 people for public speech under the Criminal Code articles of interest to us.

In July, at least three people were convicted under the articles of interest to us for attacks on property, in cases where we lack sufficient grounds to conclude that these attacks were motivated by national or religious hatred. We regard two of these convictions — for desecrating the St. George's Ribbon displayed on a public building, and for lighting a cigarette from the Eternal Flame — as inappropriate. The third individual was punished for graffiti on a bus-stop shelter that called for extremist activity against law enforcement officers.

Since the beginning of the year, we have learned of 19 sentences against 31 people convicted of attacks against property, excluding those convicted of attacks motivated by national or religious hatred. One additional individual was referred for compulsory psychiatric treatment.

In July, we recorded 19 rulings on administrative offenses issued by courts under Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (CAO) for incitement to hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity. These rulings pertained to xenophobic statements posted on VKontakte or Telegram, including those targeting natives of Central Asia and the Caucasus, residents of India, ethnic Russians, and non-Russians. Additionally, at least one individual was punished for statements condoning violence against government officials.

We view at least four decisions issued in July as inappropriate. These include a fine imposed on Damir Mukhetdinov, deputy chairman of the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of the Russian Federation, for historically themed paintings that decorated his office; two fines imposed on an activist from Oryol for comments about security forces (the court had previously dismissed these cases on the grounds of the activist’s mental incapacity, but these decisions were overturned); and the arrest of an activist from Voronezh for a comment about supporters of the United Russia party and Vladimir Putin.

Of the 19 rulings, two resulted in administrative arrest, one in community service, and the remaining sentences imposed monetary fines. One case was dismissed due to the absence of the elements of the offense — a ruling we welcome.

In 2026, we reviewed 514 court decisions under Article 20.3.1 CAO and classified 77 cases as inappropriate. In the overwhelming majority of the reviewed cases, the courts imposed penalties. However, two cases were dismissed to prevent double punishment, three due to absence of the elements of the offense or on mental health grounds, and at least one because the statute of limitations had expired.

We learned of only one case of punishment under Article 20.29 CAO (mass distribution of extremist materials) in July. Konstantin Larionov, former head of the “Candidates' Headquarters” project, was arrested in Kaluga for posts made after Alexei Navalny's death; we consider this decision inappropriate.

Since the beginning of the year, we have learned of 52 cases of sanctions imposed under Article 20.29 CAO, of which we view 17 as clearly inappropriate.

The Federal List of Extremist Materials was updated twice in July (July 10 and 31), adding entries 5502 through 5505. These additions included the xenophobic song “Russia for Caucasians” by someone under the nickname Rusnya (a slur for Russians), the anti-Semitic song “Mgloy Velimor” by the far-right metal band Velimor, the song “RuZZskiy Mir” by the pro-Ukrainian performer Levan, and the brochure The Last Recruitment of People to Jehovah: From All Satanic Faiths and Nations published by Yehowist-Ilyinites. We classified the latter decision as inappropriate.

The Federal List of Extremist Organizations added six new entries in July, including three far-right organizations: White Boys from Ryazan, 375 CREW from Rostov-on-Don, and Balkenkreuz from Ulyanovsk.

Two LGBT organizations also appeared on the list: the Callisto initiative from Yaroslavl and the LGBT Resource Center from Yekaterinburg.

Another organization added to the Federal List of Extremist Organizations was Group 24, a movement of Tajik opposition émigrés. According to law enforcement claims upheld by the Oktyabrsky District Court of Ivanovo in May, the leaders of Group 24 not only trained foreigners in methods of countering law enforcement but also attempted to destabilize the situation in Moscow by organizing rallies without proper permits. Furthermore, according to the FSB, they distributed Azov and Right Sector publications via their website, raised money for Ukrainian forces, and one of its leaders was convicted of espionage for collecting data on special military operation participants. Another leader was sentenced in absentia for disseminating “fakes” about the actions of the Russian army.

In July, two groups were added to the List of Terrorist Organizations: the far-right straight-edge community SxE Fellow Fighters From Ufa (SxE Soratniki s Ufy) and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI, Ichkeria, Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Abroad, Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in Exile), along with its subdivisions. The latter structure, essentially a successor to the separatist entity that existed in the 1990s, is listed as an “international organization created in the form of a social movement.” The government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in exile had previously been included on the List of Terrorist Organizations as a subdivision of the Free Nations of PostRussia Forum.

Sanctions for hate-motivated crimes against the person or property are reviewed separately.