Artem Konstantinov

A Murmansk resident and student, Konstantinov reported in November 2022 that FSB officers threatened to open a criminal case against him for inciting separatism due to several YouTube videos, as well as for discrediting the Russian military and, presumably, inciting hatred. The young man was detained on June 3, 2022, when he arrived at university to take an exam. He claims they put a bag over his head and put him in a minivan, where they forced him to unlock his phone and began beating him, demanding that he confess to working for the SBU. Afterward, security forces conducted a search of his apartment, which was formally an "inspection of the premises," and issued him an "official warning" about the inadmissibility of treason. Konstantinov was then taken to the FSB for questioning, where he was asked about his correspondence with a friend in Ukraine. On March 20, 2023, a friend of Konstantinov's told OVD-Info that Konstantinov had not been in touch for two months. It was later revealed that the student was charged with treason. According to investigators, he had contacted Ukrainian intelligence agencies and carried out their orders. On October 1, 2024, Konstantinov was sentenced to 13 years in a maximum-security penal colony.