In 2025, Russian authorities opened politically motivated criminal cases against at least 13 lawyers, with six of them being prosecuted in absentia, according to a report by the Political Prisoners Support project of the human rights group Memorial. By comparison, in 2023 and 2024, excluding prosecutions in absentia, three to four such cases were opened each year. Therefore, without in absentia cases, the number of such prosecutions roughly doubled.
Memorial wrote that the persecution of independent lawyers has worsened significantly since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and especially sharply in 2025. The rights group said lawyers, above all those working on politically motivated cases, have become one of the groups targeted by the state’s repressive apparatus. The report’s authors link this to the fact that legal work remains one of the few lawful ways to oppose the state, defend critics of the authorities, and publicize human rights violations.
The report says criminal cases against lawyers are opened on a wide range of charges, from “financial” offenses to treason and terrorism. Aside from criminal prosecution, the Russian authorities use other forms of pressure, including unlawful searches and operational measures, administrative cases, disciplinary proceedings aimed at stripping lawyers of their status, designation as “foreign agents,” and travel bans.
Among the examples Memorial cites is the case of Alexei Navalny’s lawyers. Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser, and Alexei Sergunin were sentenced in January 2025 to prison terms ranging from three years to 5.5 years on charges of participating in an “extremist community.” Prosecutors claimed their alleged participation consisted of passing information from Navalny in prison to his associates. Two other Navalny’s attorneys, Olga Mikhailova and Alexander Fedulov, are currently abroad. They were arrested in absentia and placed on a wanted list.
The report also details the case of Kaliningrad lawyer Maria Bontsler. In 2022, she faced administrative charges of “discrediting” the Russian army over statements she made in court while defending activists prosecuted under the same law. In May 2025, authorities searched Bontsler’s home and detained her in a criminal case. She was first accused of confidential cooperation with a foreign state, but the charge was later changed to treason. Bontsler remains in pretrial detention.
Memorial also described the prosecution of lawyer Igor Popovsky as politically motivated. Popovsky was detained in Moscow on May 21, 2026, on suspicion of fraud. The report notes that Popovsky had for many years specialized in politically motivated cases: he represented Oleg Arkhipenkov, a defendant in the Bolotnaya case; anti-fascist Yury Mikheyev; anarchist partisan Ruslan Sidiki; and other political prisoners. Memorial says the case may be aimed at ending Popovsky’s professional and human rights work.
Another category of prosecutions, according to the report, is connected to lawyers’ personal anti-war stance. Former Udmurtia Bar Association President Dmitry Talantov was sentenced to six years and 10 months in prison in a case involving “false information” about the Russian army and “inciting hatred” over comments about the killing of civilians in Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, and Kharkiv, as well as criticism of Vladimir Putin. Lawyer Nikolai Polozov was sentenced in absentia to 8.5years in prison in a “fake news” case over an interview about the killing of civilians in Bucha.
Memorial also points to growing administrative pressure on the legal profession. According to the report, 12 lawyers have been added to Russia’s “foreign agents” registry, and all were forced to leave the country. In addition, according to the Pervy Otdel (lit. “Department One”) legal rights project, more than 200 lawyers working on cases involving state secrets have been barred from leaving Russia since October 2024, and that number continues to grow.
The report concludes that Russia’s independent legal profession is facing growing pressure from the state, along with other civil society institutions and safeguards of the rule of law. Lawyers who continue to take on politically motivated criminal cases are being targeted for their work and their civic views.
