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On 21 July, the Central District Military Court in Yekaterinburg sentenced 63-year-old elderly man from Izhevsk, Sergei Silantyev, to 15 years in prison in a case concerning distributing leaflets from the “Freedom of Russia” Legion. He has been released from punishment due to health reasons. This was reported by Mediazona.
Silantyev was found guilty of state treason (Art. 275 of the Criminal Code), justifying terrorism (Part 1 of Art. 205.2), participating in a terrorist organisation (Part 2 of Art. 205.5), and calling for activity against the security of Russia (Points “v” and “d” Part 2 of Art. 280.4). He was also banned from administering websites on the Internet for two years. The court left in force only this ban.
The prosecutor had requested 25 years in prison for the elderly man.
Silantyev was classified as a Group 1 disabled person due to kidney problems in 2018. Despite this, since 19 December 2024, he was held in a pre-trial detention facility. During the hearings, the defendant said they were taken from the detention centre to the regional hospital three times a week for dialysis procedures.
According to the investigation, Silantyev filled out an application to join the “Freedom of Russia” Legion, and in January 2024 received leaflet templates from a curator using the nickname “Semyon.” The leaflet depicted Vladimir Putin with a bloodied mouth, the Legion’s symbol, QR codes leading to the organisation’s website and social media, and the phrase: “If not for him, I would be alive, stop the war!” Afterwards, the elderly man printed six of these leaflets and put them up on the graves of Russian soldiers at the Southern Cemetery in Izhevsk, a city in the Urals.
The case materials include a report signed by the acting chief of staff of the Central Military District, explaining why Silantyev was charged with state treason. The document said the anti-war leaflets posted on memorials of dead Russian soldiers were distributed “in the interests of foreign intelligence services of Ukraine,” and so could harm the Russian army and Russia’s security. According to the official, the leaflets could be used to stimulate “negative social processes, manipulation in the information sphere and involvement of young people in unlawful activities.”
Silantyev was charged with calling for activity against the security of Russia because of a comment they left on 15 October 2022. According to the prosecution, it called for people to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Silantyev was arrested on 24 April 2024. Police identified them by tracing sweat traces left on the leaflets. Initially, the elderly man was placed under house arrest, but in December the measure was changed to pre-trial detention for violating house arrest rules. The case was sent to court in April this year and was considered in five hearings, with three postponed due to non-attendance or failure to bring the defendant to court.
Additionally, case materials revealed that another man, Andrey Durnovtsev, was detained for a similar action at the Southern Cemetery in Izhevsk. In February 2024, a criminal case for justifying terrorism was opened against him.
In 2012, Silantyev took part in protests for fair elections. At the time, he drove around Izhevsk in a lorry bought on credit, which he covered in posters with anti-Putin slogans and calls to join rallies.