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Political scientist Aleksandr Kynev ended up in the Matrosskaya Tishina pre-trial detention centre hospital with two fractured tibiae after his arrest. This was reported by the “Slovo Zashchite” project, citing a source in the medical unit No. 77 of the Federal Penitentiary Service.
According to the project’s contact, Kynev’s injuries were sustained as a result of torture during his detention. A cast was put on him, and his condition is described as of moderate severity.
Kynev was detained with the involvement of FSB officers. On 25 September, Perovsky District Court in Moscow sent him to pre-trial detention for two months, Mediazona reported. The political scientist has been charged with attempted large-scale drug distribution (para. “g,” part 4, Article 228.1 of the Criminal Code), which carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years’ imprisonment. Kynev does not admit guilt. His defence has already appealed the arrest.
Aleksandr Kynev is a political scientist and an expert on Russian elections and regional politics. He has spent many years analysing election campaigns and violations at elections. In February 2026, the Ministry of Justice added him to the register of “foreign agents.”
Shortly before his detention, Kynev was analysing the recent State Duma elections and writing about possible falsifications and other violations. ‘Verstka,’ citing sources close to the presidential administration, reported that the political scientist’s detention came as a surprise to the Kremlin’s domestic policy bloc. One of the publication’s interlocutors suggested that the prosecution of Kynev might be linked to his unofficial collaboration with the “New People” party.