An activist from Saratov who collaborated with Navalny’s underground headquarters was sentenced in absentia to four and a half years in prison

A 42-year-old resident of Saratov was sentenced in absentia to four and a half years in a general regime colony on charges of involvement in an extremist organization. This was reported by the regional department of the Investigative Committee.

The Saratov resident was found guilty of involvement in the activities of an extremist organization and participation in one (parts 1.1 and 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). According to investigators, from August 2021 to May 2023, the accused published videos on the Internet promoting the activities of a banned organization of which he was a member.

As the SOVA Center found out , the press release from the Investigative Committee refers to Saratov activist Konstantin Leifer. On May 21, the Oktyabrsky District Court of Saratov announced the verdict in his case - the card on the court’s website contains the same articles as in the message of the Investigative Committee. SOVA suggests that Leifer is accused of involvement in the headquarters of Alexei Navalny, which were declared extremist in June 2021. This decision came into force in August of the same year.

Leifer himself, according to data on his social networks, supported the Anti-Corruption Foundation and Navalny’s team, and also opposed the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and in support of the LGBT community. In one of his posts in 2025, he also reasoned that because of his support for the views of Navalny’s supporters, he could be prosecuted under extremist charges.

In a video dated May 21, 2023, a Saratov resident said on his YouTube channel that he was helping Navalny’s team as a volunteer. “I carry out tasks related to content creation, data analysis, and activities on social networks,” Leifer reported then. In addition, he invited the audience to join Navalny’s headquarters and called on them to “resist the dictatorship.”

Probably, the video was about underground headquarters created at the end of 2022 by the politician’s associates. As Navalny’s team argued, anyone can join the headquarters on condition of anonymity and receive a task on the platform running via Tor , for example, posting leaflets and drawing graffiti.

Leifer was added to the Rosfinmonitoring list of extremists and terrorists on January 14, at the same time that the former head of Navalny’s Saratov headquarters, Dmitry Tsibirev, was on the list. On January 23, the publication Glush Media, with reference to the Investigative Committee, reported that a case was opened against Leifer under parts 1.1 and 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code. In July 2025, the activist was arrested in absentia .