A woman from Tolyatti accused of treason was sent to a punishment cell because of a birthday present

Polina Yevtushenko, a 26-year-old resident of Tolyatti (a city on the Volga River), was sent to a punishment cell for 10 days in Samara Penal Colony No. 15. This was reported by SOTA.

The reason was a birthday present: Yevtushenko had passed some cake layers to another prisoner in a neighbouring cell. The cakes were confiscated, and Yevtushenko received a disciplinary penalty.

In June, the management of Penal Colony No. 15 labelled Yevtushenko a “regime violator.” She was forbidden from writing about court hearings in letters, and was told she would be escorted to court hearings under military police escort.

This is not the first time Yevtushenko has been put in a punishment cell: in May 2024, she was sent there for nine days because she turned off the television 10 minutes later than allowed. In September 2024, Yevtushenko reported that while in the pre-trial detention centre she was denied medical assistance—she suspected she had pneumonia. She was later transferred to a prison hospital.

In July 2023, Yevtushenko was arrested on charges of preparing for treason (article 275 of the Criminal Code with the use of part 1 of article 30), accused of allegedly encouraging a Samara man to join the “Freedom of Russia” legion. Later, she was also charged under legislation on calling for terrorism (part 2 of article 205.2 of the Criminal Code)—over posts about the legion. In September, Yevtushenko was additionally accused of funding terrorism (part 1.1 of article 205.1 of the Criminal Code) and calling for extremism online (part 2 of article 280).

In March 2024, the final charges were brought against her: they included articles on spreading “fake news” about the Russian army motivated by hatred (subparagragh “d,” part 2, article 207.3 of the Criminal Code) and rehabilitation of Nazism (part 4, article 354.1).

In May that year it was reported that the case against Yevtushenko began after a tip-off from Nikolay Komarov, a 36-year-old Samara resident whom she met six months before her arrest. The man himself initiated their contact and messaged her on VKontakte. He asked her many questions about the “Freedom of Russia” legion and recorded their conversations.

Yevtushenko’s seven-year-old daughter Alisa remains at liberty.

You can support her by sending a letter via the OVD-Info service “Vestochka.” Or by post to:

443047, Samara, Utevskaya St., 18A, PFRSI, Federal State Institution Penal Colony No. 15, Federal Penitentiary Service Directorate for Samara region,

To: Polina Sergeevna Yevtushenko, born 1998.