Silencing the Defense

The BBC's Russian Service has documented how pressure on independent lawyers in Russia is intensifying, with the Justice Ministry increasingly seeking to strip attorneys of their licenses if they leave the country but continue practicing remotely.

In 2023, musician and activist Anatoly Berezikov died in detention in Rostov-on-Don. Before his death, he told his lawyer, Irina Gak, that he had been tortured and threatened by the FSB. Gak documented marks on his body that she said were consistent with electric-shock torture and spoke publicly about the allegations. Days later, security officers searched her home. She left Russia shortly afterward.

In June 2025, the Rostov regional bar association revoked Gak's legal status at the Justice Ministry's request.

A similar fate befell Olga Gnezdilova, a lawyer from Voronezh who spent nearly two decades representing victims of police torture and domestic violence. After receiving anonymous threats against her family, she left Russia prior to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In September 2025, her regional bar association stripped her of her legal status.

Under Russian law, only regional bar associations can revoke a lawyer's license. The Justice Ministry has no formal authority to do so and traditionally could not challenge such decisions in court.

Efforts by the ministry to push bar associations to remove lawyers from their rolls who have left Russia have met some resistance. Bar associations in Moscow and Leningrad Oblast refused requests to revoke the licenses of several prominent attorneys, including Yuliy Tay, founder of the Bartolius law firm, and Yevgeny Smirnov, of the human rights group Pervyi Otdel (First Department), known for defending clients accused of treason and other national security offenses.

After those refusals, the Justice Ministry took an unprecedented step. In April 2026, it challenged the Moscow bar association's decision in court and won. The ruling cited the lawyers' departure from Russia and failure to return.

Critics say the case threatens the independence of the legal profession. Even Svetlana Volodina, head of the traditionally pro-government Federal Chamber of Lawyers, criticized the court action, calling it "an unacceptable precedent of subordinating professional self-governance to the executive branch."

The ruling is under appeal. But lawyers warn that if it stands, the ministry could use courts to remove not only attorneys living abroad but also lawyers inside Russia who take independent positions.

"If 10 or 20 prominent lawyers lose their licenses, everyone else will understand the message," Tay said. "Lawyers who fear their opponents are no longer lawyers."

Lawyers abroad can still represent clients remotely through Russia's electronic court systems, file legal documents online and participate in hearings by videoconference. Many continue to do so, providing consultations and legal assistance from exile.

Gnezdilova argues that the campaign is intended to remove lawyers viewed as insufficiently loyal to the authorities.

Meanwhile, pressure on attorneys inside Russia continues to grow. According to Pervyi Otdel, there were at least 591 documented cases of pressure against lawyers in 2025, ranging from denial of access to clients to criminal prosecution and physical violence. Russian investigators submitted criminal cases against 92 lawyers that year.

In November, the International Association for the Protection of Lawyers warned of a "campaign of mass persecution" targeting attorneys who had spent extended periods outside Russia. The group said the measures undermine citizens' right to choose legal representation regardless of where their lawyer lives.

For many exiled attorneys, losing a Russian license also makes it far harder to practice abroad and assist fellow Russian emigrants. One lawyer told the BBC that the precedent reflects a broader political reality: since 2022, many of Russia's independent lawyers have left the country, often in opposition to government policies.