Overview

• In January 2024 a Rostov court convicted 74-year-old Evguénia Maïboroda of spreading “false information” and making an “extremist call” on VK by criticizing the Russian army and sharing a video urging violence against Russians.
• Authorities placed her on the federal terrorism and extremism list in April 2023 before handing down a 5½-year prison sentence that she is serving in a penal colony in the Rostov region.
• Maïboroda’s shift from a pro-Putin online presence in 2018 to vocal anti-war activism in 2022 underscores the Kremlin’s expanding use of disinformation laws to criminalize dissent.
• Recognized by the NGO Memorial as a political prisoner, she remains allowed censored letters and occasional calls and spoke to AFP in early June about her faith-driven opposition to the war.
• Human rights groups cite her case as emblematic of a broader campaign to stifle public discourse and deter political mobilization under President Putin’s regime.