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Last week, lawyer Sven Nordin, who was convicted for “rehabilitation of Nazism” (Part 4, Article 354.1 of the Russian Criminal Code), was released from Correctional Colony No. 8 in Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave on the Baltic Sea. This was reported to OVD-Info by a source familiar with the situation.

Earlier this summer, Nordin reported that he was subjected to pressure in the colony because of his homosexuality. On one occasion, other inmates beat him and broke his nose. The facility’s staff did not hold those responsible to account. Instead, they forbade Nordin from submitting complaints, threatening him with further abuse and more beatings. Before that, he had been sent to solitary confinement at least twice already.

The lawyer also spoke about harsh working conditions and his mental state as a result of the situation in the colony:

“They made me clean the entire barracks, the stairs, the service rooms, the whole yard. I physically and mentally can’t bear all this. My condition is critical: apathy, hopelessness.”

  • In 2024, Nordin was sentenced to two years in a general-regime colony over a social media post in which he compared Soviet border guard colonel Nikita Karatsupa to the serial killer Andrei Chikatilo. Investigators claimed the lawyer was a supporter of “the ideology of German Nazism,” and that by making the post he was “fostering a positive attitude toward the actions of Adolf Hitler” and insulting the late Karatsupa. The FSB submitted a report stating that the colonel had “taken part in the suppression of the nationalist underground in the Byelorussian SSR from 1944–1949,” and could therefore be considered a veteran of the Great Patriotic War.
  • The criminal case was initiated back in 2022. In August, officers searched Nordin’s home; according to his account, they beat him and used a stun gun during the search. Investigators refused to open a criminal case against the officers involved.
  • Before the criminal prosecution, the lawyer took part in solitary pickets against globalism, Zionism, censorship, and for freedom of speech. He described himself as a “Swedish nationalist” and demanded to be stripped of Russian citizenship. On his social media pages he published antisemitic and misogynist statements, and criticised the Russian authorities.