68-year-old dissident Aleksandr Skobov was sent to a punishment cell because of his beard.

On 13 January, publicist Aleksandr Skobov was sentenced to 14 days in a punishment cell, reports his support group.

The reason was the length of the convicted man’s beard, which the Federal Penitentiary Service staff deemed a “violation of personal hygiene rules.”

Since August, Skobov has been held in Yelets prison, in the Lipetsk region, central Russia. In November and December, he was placed in the punishment cell three times. He received one penalty for removing his outer clothing while doing gymnastic exercises. The other two were for not using the “correct” form of address. Skobov insists on introducing himself as “political prisoner Skobov Aleksandr Valeryevich.”

According to the convicted man, prison staff told him that “people in Moscow” were displeased with his writings and threatened him with new criminal charges if he continued to make “negative remarks about the special military operation.”

• Skobov has been in detention since spring 2024. In March 2025, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison on charges of justifying terrorism (Part 2, Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code) and participation in the activities of a terrorist organisation (Part 2, Article 205.4 of the Criminal Code). He was also fined 300,000 roubles (approximately US$3,300).
• The first charge relates to Skobov’s posts about the Crimea bridge explosion, in which he supported Darya Trepova. The second count stems from his participation in the “Free Russia Forum”—a discussion platform established abroad by Russian opposition activists.
• Skobov was a dissident during the Soviet era. He was first arrested in 1978. After Skobov refused exile from the USSR, he was placed in a psychiatric hospital. In 1982, Skobov was arrested again and sent for compulsory treatment after he had covered central Leningrad’s walls with slogans supporting political prisoners. He was released from hospital only in 1987.