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Nadezhda Rossinskaya, a volunteer from the “Beauty Army,” has complained about worsening health conditions while being held in Belgorod remand prison SIZO-3. This was reported by lawyer Alexei Pryanishnikov.

She reports high blood pressure, heart rhythm disruptions, daily headaches and dizziness. In addition, her eyesight has seriously deteriorated.

Despite her requests, Rossinskaya has not yet had a cardiologist consultation.

Following her sentence, Rossinskaya stopped receiving books from parcels and her cosmetics were confiscated, including being refused the use of a therapeutic facial cream.

Since spring, she has not been allowed outside for walks. She is forbidden from sleeping if she has a fever or acute pain. The 2nd Western District Military Court also denied the volunteer visits with her parents in June, July, and August.

In June, the 2nd Western District Military Court sentenced Rossinskaya to 22 years in a penal colony. She was fined 320,000 rubles (about US$3,500), and additionally handed one and a half years of freedom restriction after serving her term and banned from administering websites. The prosecutor had requested 27 years’ imprisonment.

Rossinskaya was detained on 1 February 2024 in Belgorod (a city near the Ukrainian border in western Russia) on a charge of calling for activities aimed against state security (Part 2, Article 280.4 of the Criminal Code). The next day she was sent to pre-trial detention.

In the summer, a new case was opened against her—on charges of facilitating terrorist activity (Part 4, Article 205.1 of the Criminal Code). Law enforcement claim she called for donations online for the Ukrainian Azov battalion, which Russia has labelled a terrorist organisation. In January 2025, yet another accusation appeared—for treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code).

According to Rossinskaya, all the charges stem from the same Instagram post published in August 2023. The volunteer has stated that she did not own the account in question.

Rossinskaya began to experience health problems in detention. She reported severe headaches, tachycardia, a decline in eyesight and weakness that left her unable to stand. She also developed skin rashes.

  • Nadezhda Rossinskaya, from Belgorod, created the “Beauty Army” volunteer group after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. “For several months, me and my team of volunteers have been helping residents of Kharkiv region. We deliver food, medicines, pet supplies. We evacuate people and animals to Russia and to Europe,” says the group’s VKontakte page.
  • In May 2023, the volunteer left Russia because of “threats and the prospect of arrest.” On 1 February 2024, she returned to the country from Georgia and was immediately detained upon arrival.