The Neklinovsky District Court of the Rostov Region sentenced six local residents to real terms of imprisonment from four to seven and a half years on charges of involvement in the "citizens of the USSR" - the "Union of Slavic Forces of Russia" association. This was reported by the court's press service.
Oleg Kolesov, accused of organizing extremist activity (Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code), was sentenced to seven years and six months in a general regime penal colony, followed by a year of restricted freedom and a 10-year ban on engaging in activities related to organizing public associations.
The other defendants in the case were accused of participating in an extremist organization (Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). Aleksandr Akulinichev and Maria Kamenskaya were sentenced to five years in a general regime penal colony, and Elena Akulinicheva, Galina Moreva, and Lidiya Tokhmakhova were sentenced to four years in a penal colony. They were also sentenced to a year of restricted freedom and a ban on activities related to organizing public associations for a period equal to their term in the penal colony.
The case was submitted to the court in September 2023. According to the investigation, Oleg Kolesov joined the "Union of Slavic Forces of Russia" in 2017, which at that time had not yet been recognized as extremist (this happened in 2019). The man allegedly took the position of "Head of the Rostov Region of the RSFSR within the USSR (acting)" and continued the organization's activities. The other defendants, according to the investigation, promoted the ideology of the "Union of Slavic Forces of Russia" and carried out propaganda work among local residents.
As SOTA noted, the arrest of five "USSR citizens" became known on August 22, 2022, and most likely these were the accused. In October 2022, all six defendants were added to the list of terrorists and extremists. According to information from the registry, the oldest of the accused is Lidiya Tokhmakhova, she is 65 years old. The youngest is Alexander Akulinichev, 50 years old.
- "Citizens of the USSR" are adherents of the ideology according to which the Soviet Union continues to exist, and the Russian Federation is a "trading firm". There is no single movement of "Citizens of the USSR", rather we can talk about separate groups, which are not always connected with each other. Some of them refuse any ties with Russia as a state, for example, they do not sign any documents, notify local authorities of the need to vacate their posts. "Citizens of the USSR" face various forms of pressure from the authorities, their regional communities recognize them as "extremist organizations".