Terrorism verdicts in Russia triple since 2021, reaching 94 per month

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Since 2022, Russia has seen a sharp increase in the number of terrorism-related cases tried in its courts. By 2023, the number of convictions had already doubled compared to 2021. The age of those convicted is also decreasing, and human rights groups report political motives in at least one-third of such cases, according to an analysis by a data research center led by Kirill Parubets, conducted for The Insider.

A surge in terrorism cases

In 2021, Russian military courts issued verdicts in 321 cases involving terrorism-related charges. That number rose to 454 in 2022, 623 in 2023, and 916 in 2024.

According to data from the data research center run by Parubets, the trend is continuing in 2025. In the first five months of this year alone, courts handed down 469 terrorism-related verdicts — nearly 94 per month, or three per day. By comparison, the monthly average in 2024 was around 76, and in 2021 it was fewer than 27.

“Justification of terrorism” still in the lead, with “terrorist act” convictions on the rise

The Russian Criminal Code includes six terrorism-related articles:

• Article 205: Terrorist act
• Article 205.1: Assisting terrorist activities
• Article 205.2: Public calls to commit terrorism, justification of terrorism, or terrorist propaganda
• Article 205.3: Training to carry out terrorist activity
• Article 205.4: Organization and participation in a terrorist community
• Article 205.5: Organization and participation in a terrorist organization

The rulings continue to be dominated by Article 205.2 (“justification or propaganda of terrorism”), but the share of terrorism-related verdicts handed down under this statute is shrinking. In 2022, it accounted for over half of all terrorism-related convictions (53%), but by 2025 it had dropped to around 42%.

Meanwhile, the use of Article 205 (“terrorist act”), has surged, rising from just 2.5% in 2022 to 16.3% in 2025. Convictions under Article 205.4 (“organizing a terrorist community”), have also risen significantly.

Those convicted under Article 205.2 include theater director Yevgeniya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriichuk, who received six-year sentences for their play Finist, the Brave Falcon, which told the story of women who left Russia to join militants in Syria. Prominent sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky was also convicted under the same article for a public comment he made about an explosion on the Kerch Strait Bridge, which links mainland Russia to Russian-occupied Crimea.

The article on terrorist acts is often used against individuals who protest against Russia’s war in Ukraine by setting fire to military recruitment offices or administrative buildings. One of the first such cases was that of Kirill Butylin, who was sentenced to 13 years after he set fire to a recruitment office just days after the full-scale invasion began. The fire was lit at night when the building was empty.

“Terrorism” and “state treason”

Until 2023, no cases had combined terrorism charges with accusations of treason or espionage.

That changed in 2023, with 12 defendants facing such a collection of charges (a total of around 1% of those facing “terrorism” charges). In 2024, that number skyrocketed to 104 — nearly 9% of all terrorism-related defendants — and the trend continues in 2025, with such cases now accounting for 11% of the total.

Yevgeny Smirnov, an attorney with the human rights group Perviy Otdel (lit. “Department One”), told The Insider that this shift was not driven by legislative changes but by internal political decisions at Russia’s security agencies.

“Until 2023, the fourth form of treason — 'providing other assistance' — was rarely applied. But at the turn of the year, authorities decided to expand enforcement and began classifying actions carried out in Ukraine’s interest as both terrorism and treason. That’s why we’re seeing this explosion in such cases from late 2023 and through 2024. Typically, it takes about a year to 18 months from the start of a case until sentencing.”

One of the most telling examples of this combined charge was the case of Ilya Baburin, a resident of Novosibirsk. He was convicted of both terrorism and treason after discussing plans to burn down a military recruitment office at the behest of Ukraine’s Azov Brigade. As The Insider previously reported, the arson itself was staged by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), which set fire to an abandoned building bearing a “military recruitment office” sign and presented the video as evidence. Despite the fact that no military recruitment office was damaged, Baburin was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

No less than a third of “terrorism” cases have a political motive

The human rights project Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial has identified approximately 1,190 individuals charged under terrorism-related articles in Russia since 2022 whose cases show signs of political motivation. This accounts for roughly one-third of all defendants in such cases. The group notes, however, that this figure is incomplete, as details about many cases remain unavailable.

Sergei Davidis, head of the Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial project, told The Insider how the group determines which cases are included in its database of politically motivated prosecutions:

“We include only those cases for which there is information in the public domain or which are reported to us directly. We add only cases with indicators of political motivation. Without a detailed analysis, those indicators can, of course, be identified only through a rough and approximate evaluation.

On the one hand, we rely on categorizing types of cases. For example, we include all cases linked to anti-war, pro-Ukrainian activities, and any protest against government policy. We also include all cases against Ukrainian prisoners of war and all charges under Articles 205.2 and 205.5, unless there is strong reason to believe the charges reflect actual criminal behavior. Even when elements of a crime exist on paper, political motivation is still present in these types of cases.

On the other hand, the combination of criminal charges matters. If terrorism charges are combined with charges involving weapons, explosives, or especially violence against individuals, we’re less likely to include that case. Finally, if very serious charges are accompanied by credible doubts about their legitimacy, that’s also grounds for inclusion.”

Younger defendants, harsher sentences

From 2021 to 2025, the average age of individuals charged under terrorism-related articles has steadily declined, indicating a growing number of young and even underage defendants. A marked rise in charges against defendants aged 14 to 18 has been recorded in 2024 and 2025.

One of the most widely publicized cases involved 15-year-old Arseny Turbin from the Oryol Region, who was sentenced to five years in prison for distributing anti-war leaflets. State investigators claimed the schoolboy had joined the Freedom of Russia Legion, which Russia has labeled a terrorist organization. Turbin denied the allegation and said he acted on his personal convictions.

The average prison term imposed by courts has varied year to year: in 2020-2022, it was roughly 12 years. In 2023–2024, that figure dropped to 9 years. But in 2025, the average has risen again, to 11 years. At the same time, the number of defendants receiving especially harsh sentences — 15 years or more — is increasing. According to OVD-Info, at least 17 individuals in politically motivated terrorism cases received sentences of 15 years or more in 2023. In 2024, that number rose to at least 25, and in the first five months of 2025 alone, 16 people received such sentences.

Each year, the record for the longest terrorism sentence is broken. In May 2025, dual Russian-Italian national Ruslan Sidiki was sentenced to 29 years in prison for sabotaging railway infrastructure and attempting to damage military aircraft at the Dyagilevo air base. His actions caused no casualties, and Sidiki repeatedly stressed that he had planned his activities carefully in order to avoid causing deaths or injuries. And yet, his sentence is several times longer than what is typically handed down in Russia for murder.