September 03, 2024

Another Russian Teenager Sentenced


Another Russian Teenager Sentenced
A penitential center in Moscow.  Senate of Russian Federation, Flickr.

In Khabarovsk Krai, a 15-year-old boy has been sentenced to 4.5 years in a correctional colony for participating in a "terrorist organization."

According to the independent publication Mediazona, the case against the boy was based on his correspondence with a secret witness and a video filmed by the same witness, which shows teenagers throwing a Molotov cocktail at the wall of an abandoned building.

The arrest of then-14-year-old Valery Zaitsev was made public in October 2023. Zaitsev was apprehended at a tuberculosis dispensary in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where he had been receiving treatment for several months. The prosecution alleged that Zaitsev had “sought instructions on working with explosives and preparing Molotov cocktails,” “conducted tests and prepared incendiary devices,” and “tested them in deserted locations, posting the results in a Telegram group.” Mediazona reported that his arrest may have been prompted by a video, later posted to his Telegram channel, which shows three teenagers throwing Molotov cocktails at the wall of an abandoned building.

Zaitsev’s grandmother said the teenager was deeply troubled by Russia's War on Ukraine. “He said he was against the war,” she told Mediazona. According to his grandmother, Zaitsev posted something about the war on the internet.

The trial was held behind closed doors. Zaitsev’s grandmother said a secret witness testified against her grandson, and that formed the basis of the charges. She recalled previously seeing this man during a confrontation in which she was present as her grandson’s legal representative. In court, the "witness" testified via video conference with the camera turned off, but Zaitsev’s grandmother recognized his voice. She believes her grandson was “provoked” and “set up.”

Zaitsev’s grandmother also claimed a provocateur filmed the video featuring the Molotov cocktail. “The provocateurs brought this gasoline, showed how to do everything, and Valery posted it,” she told the journalist. She suspects this provocateur may have been working for the FSB.

The case of Valery Zaitsev is not the first in which FSB-affiliated provocateurs have been mentioned. In particular, an FSB provocateur was involved in the case of Valeria Zotova, who was accused of attempting to set fire to a government building.

Zaitsev is also not the only Russian teenager with anti-war views to be imprisoned. According to journalists from Novaya Gazeta Evropa, at least nine teenagers who spoke out against the war are currently serving sentences in correctional colonies, with sentences ranging from 3.5 to 6 years.

You Might Also Like

Fabricating a Terrorist
  • August 28, 2024

Fabricating a Terrorist

A Ukrainian refugee in Russia received threatening messages from a Telegram account. Then she was arrested for terrorism.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955