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In Novosibirsk, a criminal case was opened for repeated “discrediting” of the army against Sergey Krupenko, an activist from the Russian Communist Party (Internationalists). On 7 November, security officers searched his home, seized his devices and took him to the Investigative Committee. His associate, Oleg Metzler, who is a witness in the case, reported that security officers tortured him, demanding passwords to his phone and computer. The party itself reported this.
Why Krupenko is being prosecuted
Sergey Krupenko is charged under part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code. He says the case was initiated on 17 June 2026 over a speech at the May Day rally. During the search on 7 November, two phones and his computer’s hard drives were seized. The activist refused to give the passwords to his devices, citing Article 51 of the Constitution. After questioning, Krupenko was released under a travel restriction. He faces up to five years in prison.
The criminal proceedings are linked to Krupenko’s speech on 1 May 2026 at a permitted rally in the “Luchisty” park in Novosibirsk, a major city in Siberia. Initially, the organisers had planned to hold the event in Narymsky Park, but the city authorities refused to provide that venue.
In his speech, Krupenko criticised the war in Ukraine, corruption and social inequality. In particular, he spoke about students being encouraged to sign contracts with the army and asked why the children of high-ranking Russian officials are not sent to the front. It is currently unknown which specific statements investigators consider to be “discrediting” the army.
This is already the second prosecution of the communist for a May Day speech. In July 2025, the Central District Court of Novosibirsk fined Krupenko 30,000 rubles (about US$330) under the administrative article for “discrediting” the army (part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). At that time, the activist also spoke at a permitted rally on 1 May 2025. He discussed the fascisation of the political regime in Russia, nationalism and the involvement of far-right groups in the war in Ukraine on the side of the Russian army.
Torture of Metzler
According to Krupenko’s associate, Oleg Metzler, security officers threatened to break down the door to his flat. When they entered, the activist demanded to be allowed to call a lawyer, but was refused. After he repeated his request, Metzler says he was handcuffed, thrown to the floor and his arms and legs twisted.
“They knelt on my spine, trying to force me to give the password to my computer and smartphone. I said I couldn’t remember. I began to shout for help, hoping the neighbours would hear me,” the activist said in a video message posted by the RCP (I).
According to the activist, after this the security officers began to block his mouth and nose, preventing him from breathing. Metzler claims this happened three times: each time he was held for about 30–50 seconds before being allowed to breathe.
After his detention, Metzler was taken to the Investigative Committee. As he was being taken out of the police car, he managed to tell lawyer Olga Nechaeva about the torture. As reported by the RCP (I), the officers who brought him claimed to the lawyer that he had allegedly threatened them. Metzler himself clarified that he is a witness in the Krupenko case and has signed a non-disclosure agreement regarding the investigation.
What is the Russian Communist Party (Internationalists)?
The Russian Communist Party (Internationalists), or RCP (I), is an unregistered leftist political group founded in June 2024 by people from other communist organisations. It is not organisationally connected to the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF).
The RCP (I) adheres to Marxist-Leninist views, opposes the war in Ukraine and criticises Russian communist organisations that support the invasion. The party has regional branches and its own information resources, including the YouTube channel “Krasny Povorot” (“Red Turn”), where Krupenko regularly hosts broadcasts.
According to the RCP (I), they suspect the timing of the raids and detentions on 7 November may have been an attempt to intimidate party activists. However, the criminal case against Krupenko was initiated back in June, and the court issued the search warrant in October.
Other cases of persecution against communists and left-wing activists
In recent months, security officers have repeatedly detained communists and left-wing activists, opened criminal cases against them and subjected them to administrative prosecution.
On 19 September, in Novorossiysk, a port city on the Black Sea, a member of the territorial election commission from the CPRF, Djemali Gogoli, was jailed for ten days. He was prosecuted on a case dating back two years. The party links the prosecution to his work defending fair elections.
On 2 October, in Izhevsk—the capital of Udmurtia in the Volga region—left-wing activist Dmitry Morozov was detained after campaigning for a rally against violations at the State Duma elections. A criminal case was opened against him for drug possession and he was sent to a pre-trial detention centre (SIZO). Later, his girlfriend, Darya Bagina, said that during his arrest Morozov was beaten, electroshocked, hung upside down in handcuffs and had a bag put over his head. According to her, security officers tried to make him confess to funding Ukraine and banned organisations.
On 4 October in Moscow, security officers detained around 60 people after a permitted CPRF rally commemorating those killed during the storming of the Russian White House in 1993. Participants marched to a memorial in an unauthorised procession, chanting slogans against political repression and in support of political prisoners. Later, the courts fined nine detained individuals and gave another four administrative arrests.
On 21 October in Moscow, former State Duma deputy from the CPRF Oleg Mikhailov, who leads the party’s branch in Komi (a region in north-western Russia), was detained. He was sent to a pre-trial detention centre under allegations of “public justification of terrorism” (part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code). The CPRF believes the prosecution is linked to a 2024 publication about sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky. Later, Mikhailov was added to Rosfinmonitoring’s list of “terrorists and extremists.”
On 29 October, news emerged of the arrest of 76-year-old Gennady Stepakhno, former deputy chair of the Murmansk Regional Duma and head of the CPRF faction. He was sent to a pre-trial detention centre for two months on charges of treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code). According to the FSB, Stepakhno allegedly passed documents on the Murmansk Regional Government and information about engineering sites to Ukrainian intelligence. Shortly before his arrest, the regional CPRF branch had called for his expulsion from the party.