The court has recognised the “Transbaikal Left Union” as a terrorist organisation.

The Zabaykalsky Regional Court has declared the “Zabaykalsky Left Association” a terrorist organisation and banned its activities in Russia, reports the court’s press office.

The prosecutor’s office, which brought the case, claims that Chita anarchists Alexander Snezhkov and Lyubov Lizunova, both convicted, were the informal leaders of the movement, having set it up in July 2019. At the time, Lizunova was 13 years old and Snezhkov was 16.

The young people joined the hearing by video link from penal colonies. They disagreed with the position of the prosecutor’s office.

As reported by TASS, Snezhkov said that the “Zabaykalsky Left Association” was not an organisation or movement, did not have a charter, emblem or flag, contrary to statements by law enforcement. The anarchist explained that it was a community on VKontakte and Telegram where he shared his thoughts.

On Telegram, the channel was called 75zlo. Lizunova was also an administrator of it.

At the hearing, the young people emphasised that they were opposed to national and religious hatred and did not intend to create a terrorist organisation.

“The only evidence of the supposed existence of a terrorist association found by the prosecutor’s office and court was a Telegram channel with 90 subscribers,” said lawyer and human rights defender Alexey Pryanishnikov.

The 75zlo channel appeared in summer 2021. Before the war in Ukraine began, the channel posted about leftist activists and their activities, important dates, and also criticised law enforcement. In addition, the channel reported on their actions: community clean-ups, cleaning monuments, painting anti-fascist and anarchist graffiti, and covering up drug shop advertisements. Almost no posts published after the start of the war remain. In October 2022, the channel stopped updating, and according to messages from the messenger’s administrators, its owners lost access to it in 2024.

• In October 2022, Snezhkov and Lizunova, who were 19 and 16 at the time, were detained over the “Death to the regime” graffiti and for administering the Telegram channels 75zlo and “Shugan-25.” Both channels published posts about anti-war protests and guerrilla actions. The anarchists were charged with justification of terrorism (part 2, article 205.2 of the Criminal Code), vandalism (part 2, article 214), and inciting separatism (part 2, article 280).
• In April 2024, Snezhkov was sentenced to six years in a penal colony, and Lizunova to three and a half years.
• In the penal colony, Snezhkov faced pressure. He was held in a punishment cell (SHIZO) for three months, and then transferred to a cell-type facility. In the summer of 2025, a new case was opened against the anarchist. He was accused of justifying terrorism over a conversation with cellmates about his case. In the autumn, the court sentenced Snezhkov to five years’ imprisonment, combining the remaining term with the new one.