October 17, 2023

Repression Impacts Lawyers


Repression Impacts Lawyers
Alexei Navalny in court in Moscow, February 20, 2021. Evgeny Feldman, Wikimedia Commons.

Vadim Kobzev, Alexey Liptser, and Igor Sergunin, all of whom have previously defended the opposition politician Alexei Navalny in court, were placed in pre-trial detention. The lawyers have been charged with being part of an "extremist community," a criminal offense that carries a prison sentence of up to six years.

Kobzev was apprehended in Kovrov, where he was expected to attend proceedings related to two of Navalny's claims against the nearby prison where Navalny is serving his sentence. Navalny received news of the arrests during the trial.

"The situation appears reminiscent of Soviet-era repression, with not only political activists facing persecution and imprisonment but also their legal representatives," said Navalny.

The charges against the lawyers stem from letters allegedly sent by Alexei Navalny from his place of detention. This information is derived from case material excerpts published by Ivan Zhdanov, a key figure in Navalny's anti-corruption foundation, FBK.

Authorities assert that Kobzev, Liptser, and Sergunin, by leveraging their legal roles to access Correctional Colony № 6, where Navalny is incarcerated, facilitated the regular transmission of information between FBK and Navalny's associates. This purportedly allowed them to "continue to perform the functions of leaders and facilitators of the extremist community by devising, preparing, facilitating, and engaging in extremist activities."

Perviy Otdel ("The First Department"), a Russian human rights organization, has issued an open appeal to halt the state pressure on lawyers. The statement emphasizes that "defense is not collaboration" and underscores that lawyers are not co-conspirators but rather providers of legal defense, a right enshrined in the Russian Constitution. This appeal has garnered support from over a thousand individuals and organizations.

Tatyana Felgengauer, a Russian journalist, had previously voiced concerns that the authorities in Russia were targeting lawyers. She argued that the authorities' objective is to dismantle the independent legal profession, akin to what transpired in Belarus. From 2020 to 2023, 550 lawyers in Belarus were compelled to cease their legal work due to repression imposed by the Lukashenko regime.

You Might Also Like

Undesirable News
  • June 28, 2023

Undesirable News

The Russian Prosecutor General's has declared Novaya Gazeta Europe "undesirable" due to its independent reporting.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

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.

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

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.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

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.

Fearful Majesty
July 01, 2014

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

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.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, 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