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

We have learned of 28 sentences issued in February against 33 individuals on charges of involvement in extremist and terrorist groups and organizations whose activities we monitor.

One person was found guilty of participating in the neo-Nazi gang Sparta 88. Three people were convicted of collaborating with Russian Volunteer Corps (Russkiy dobrovolcheskiy korpus, RDK) and three others – for collaborating with the Freedom of Russia Legion (Legion “Svoboda Rossii,” LSR). Two individuals were convicted of financing the Artpodgotovka movement . At least two people were sentenced for their involvement with the AUE criminal subculture. Four defendants were found guilty of participating in the Antifa United community, one of them posthumously. One individual was convicted for participating in the Raspberry Wedge – Independent Kuban (Malinovyy klin — nezavisimaya Kuban) organization, which Russian authorities consider a subdivision of the Free Nations of PostRussia Forum (Forum Svobodnykh Gosudarstv PostRossii) movement.

We consider 13 sentences against 15 people inappropriate. They include the verdict against a Mari activist, who was found guilty of participating in the extremist Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), eight sentences for financing the FBK, and four sentences against six Jehovah's Witnesses for continuing the activities of their banned communities.

The courts sentenced 24 people to imprisonment. Seven convicted offenders faced fines.

We learned that at least 21 new cases (excluding the AUE cases) against 30 individuals were initiated in February. The charges included involvement in the radical Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir; communities of the “citizens of the USSR”, which were banned as extremist organizations; and Jehovah’s Witness communities, as well as financing Artpodgotovka, the FBK, and the Khakassian Falun Dafa organization. Seven additional Jehovah's Witnesses became suspects or defendants in previously opened cases.

Since the beginning of 2026, we have learned of 49 convictions in such cases with punishments imposed on 56 individuals. Of these, we classified 21 convictions against 25 individuals as completely or partially inappropriate. During this period, at least one individual was referred for compulsory treatment, and the court terminated the prosecution of another individual due to the defendant’s death.

We have information on 33 sentences issued in February against 33 individuals under the relevant Criminal Code articles on public speech. We view nine such sentences as inappropriate.

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

• Nine people were convicted for expressing ethnic xenophobia: approving the actions of Nazi criminals during World War II, anti-Semitic statements, and anti-Russian statements made online. Three people were punished for repeatedly displaying their tattoos with Nazi symbols.

• 17 people were convicted for statements regarding the armed conflict with Ukraine. We classified the sentences issued to seven defendants as clearly inappropriate.

• Three people were sentenced for statements deemed by the authorities to be attacks on traditional Russian values and symbols. This group included Igor Ranav, an entrepreneur from Chukotka, punished for an image featuring the St. George ribbon and an obscene word, and comedian Artemy Ostanin punished for a joke about Jesus and a joke about a disabled person.

• Five people faced sanctions for other statements on messaging platforms or social media directed against the authorities in one way or another.

• Two people faced sanctions for displaying AUE symbols.

25 individuals were convicted for statements made online, and seven for statements made offline.

26 defendants were sentenced to imprisonment, one to community service, one to a fine, and four received suspended sentences.

For 18 people sentenced to imprisonment for public speech in February, we are not aware of any specific circumstances that would have led to such sentences.

Since the beginning of 2026, we have learned of 62 convictions for public speech against 62 individuals. Of these, we consider 16 convictions against 16 people to be completely or partially inappropriate. One additional person was acquitted, and one was referred for compulsory psychiatric treatment.

We have information about 22 new criminal cases related to public speech that were opened in February against 26 people under the articles of interest to us.

In February, at least two sentences were issued under the articles of interest to us for attacks on physical objects, committed, as far as we can tell, not on the grounds of ethnic or religious hatred. In St. Petersburg, a group of young people received suspended sentences for taking nude photos at a cemetery. The court classified their actions not only as desecration of a burial site but also as an insult to religious feelings, committed in a place specifically designated for religious services. We view the latter charge as inappropriate.

In Moscow, a verdict was handed down for inflicting damage on cultural heritage sites and hate-motivated vandalism. The vandal had splashed paint on the State Historical Museum and struck the Kremlin wall with a hammer. His actions were apparently deemed motivated by hostility toward officers of the Federal Guard Service (FSO). We believe that the latter do not constitute a vulnerable social group in need of special protection and that, therefore, there was no reason in this case to classify the act as hate-motivated.

In February, we recorded 38 rulings on administrative offenses issued by courts under Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (incitement to hatred or enmity as well as humiliation of human dignity). These primarily involved xenophobic statements posted on VKontakte and Telegram directed at people of Central Asian descent or from the Caucasus, migrants in general, Roma, Jews, Black people, people of color in general, Russians, Muslims (including specifically women wearing hijabs), as well as representatives of law enforcement agencies, and even the Russian president personally.

We consider 11 rulings issued against eight individuals to be clearly inappropriate. Most of them involved harsh language directed at security forces or civil servants but not accompanied by calls for violence. One case involved a religious polemic against Pentecostals, which the court deemed an offense – in our opinion, inappropriately.

Courts imposed fines in 28 of the decisions we reviewed. Administrative arrest was imposed in five cases, and community service in another five.

Since the beginning of the year, we have learned of 89 court decisions under Article 20.3.1 of the CAO, of which we classified 16 as inappropriate.

At least one person was fined in February under Article 20.3.2 Part 2 CAO (public calls on the Internet for violating Russia’s territorial integrity).

We recorded two fines imposed in February under Article 20.29 CAO (mass distribution of extremist materials). Both cases relate to Islamic materials. One of the fines was imposed solely for a non-violent quotation from Tafsir as-Sa’di, the first volume of which has been recognized as extremist material.

The Federal List of Extremist Materials was updated twice in February. On February 18, a video recording titled "Appeal to the Tatar and Bashkir Peoples and All Turkic Peoples. Time to Unite. Idel Ural" was added to the List. It features an address by Tagir Minibaev, who was previously implicated in Hizb ut-Tahrir cases in Bashkortostan and has since fled to Ukraine. Two xenophobic songs by W.C.D. were added to the List on February 25.

In February, an "association" that included Normunds Bomis and Tatyana Prikhodko, the owners of the Riga Bread (Rizhskiy Khleb) holding, was added to the Federal List of Extremist Organizations along with their foreign companies. A court in the Ivanovo Region decided to designate them as an extremist organization in 2025, following a lawsuit filed by the Prosecutor General's Office, which alleged that the owners of Riga Bread were sponsoring the Azov Regiment, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces in general.

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