My Russia Behind Bars: The Best Courtroom Reports
Обновлено: 8 ноября 2025
A collection of court reports, videos, and transcripts from independent Russian media.
It features direct recordings from trials and related events — verdicts, defendants’ speeches, hearing chronicles, and documentary footage.
Covering the years 2005–2024, the materials span major political cases such as Yukos, Pussy Riot, Bolotnaya, the Network case, the trials of Alexei Navalny, the liquidation of Memorial, and many others.
В подборке 38 материалов
Yukos Case (2005–2010)
Novaya Gazeta
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05.04.2010Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Indications. First day
Khamovniki Court of Moscow. April 6, 2010 TESTIMONY OF M.B. KHODORKOVSKY “I consider the trial politically and corruptly motivated, caused by the fears of opponents of my release. Politically motivated is like not accepting my support for an independent... TESTIMONY OF M.B. KHODORKOVSKY “I consider the trial politically and corruptly motivated, caused by the fears of opponents of my release.
Novaya Gazeta
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07.04.2010Khamovnichesky court. Second day of Khodorkovsky's testimony
Your Honor, I ended my testimony yesterday by listing four of the prosecution's allegations with which I could not agree. 1. daughters' oil is gone; 2. The oil produced was equal to the prices in Rotterdam and in Augusta. 3. what Yukos and his ... Your Honor, I ended my testimony yesterday by listing four of the prosecution's allegations with which I could not agree. 1. daughters' oil is gone; 2. The oil produced was equal to the prices in Rotterdam and in Augusta. 3.
Вера Челищева
Hermitage Capital Management Case (2010)
Radio.Svoboda
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15.11.2010Butyrka: a report from cameras where Magnitsky was sitting

Butyrka changed after the death of Sergei Magnitsky. The thoughts of those who have embodied changes to life, apparently, remained the same On the anniversary of death in the Butyrsky pre -trial detention center of the tax and legal consultant of the Hermitage Capital Freedom Freedom Freedom Freedom Fiber Freedom prepared a special video report. A year ago, on November 16 , a lawyer of the Hermitage Foundation Sergei Magnitsky died in a pre -trial detention center.
Елена Власенко; Никита Татарский
Pussy Riot Case (2012)
Pussy Riot Trial: Day by Day
Radio.Svoboda
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30.07.2012Trial over Pussy Riot: the first day

In support of Pussy Riot - near the Hamovnic Court building, July 30 On July 30, at 11 o’clock, hearing on the merits of the Pussy Riot case began in the Khamovniki court of Moscow. Nadezhda Tolokonnikov, Maria Alekhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich are judged for participating in the so-called punk-gold "Theotokos, Putin of the run", which in February of this year was arranged by girls in masks in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. The defendants face up to 7 years in prison .
Марьяна Торочешникова
Radio.Svoboda
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31.07.2012Court over Pussy Riot: Second Day
The Pussy Riot group Mary Alekhina, in the course of the process, apologized to one of the victims. On July 31, the Khamovnican Court of Moscow continued to consider the case of Punch Riot punk groups . Famous people continue to express support to the members of the group. The British actor and writer Stephen Fry called for the release of girls from Pussy Riot. The first meeting on the merits of the case of the members of the Pussy Riot group ended on July 30 at about 22.00 Moscow time.
Наталья Джанполадова
Radio.Svoboda
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01.08.2012Court over Pussy Riot: Third Day
Participants in Pussy Riot Punch group in the Hamovnic Court. From left to right: Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Ekaterina Samutsevich, Maria Alekhina. In the Khamovnichesky Court of Moscow on August 1 - the third day of the hearings in the case of Pussy Riot . At the meeting on July 31, the testimonies of the victims were heard .
Татьяна Скоробогатько
Radio.Svoboda
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02.08.2012Trial over Pussy Riot: Day fourth
At the building of the Khamovnichesky Court. Possy Riot, August 2 Poster In the Khamovnichesky Court of Moscow on August 2 - the fourth day of hearings in the Pussy Riot case. As soon as having managed to begin, the meeting was interrupted by the message that a bomb was laid in the building. On the eve of August 1, an ambulance had to call the court twice: the accused became ill.
Наталья Джанполадова; Татьяна Скоробогатько; Алексей Моргун
Public Post
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03.08.2012Trial over Pussy Riot: day fifth
Photo: ITAR-TASS On Friday, August 3, the Khamovnican Court of Moscow continued the hearing on the merits of the criminal case of the Pussy Riot punk group-Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich, who are accused of hooliganism after the campaign in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The hearings will continue on Monday.
Public Post
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06.08.2012Court over Pussy Riot: Sixth Day

Photo: ITAR-TASS On Monday, August 6, the Khamovnican Court of Moscow continued the hearing on the merits of the criminal case of the participants in the punk group Pussy Riot-Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich, who are accused of hooliganism after the campaign in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
Алексей Сочнев
Radio.Svoboda
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07.08.2012Pussy Riot: Seventh Day
Pussy Riot participants Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Ekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alekhina (left to right) in court on July 30, 2012 On August 7, the Khamovnican Court of Moscow moved to the debate of the parties in the case of the members of the Pussy Riot group . The prosecutor demanded for them punishment of imprisonment - 3 years in a general regime colony. Radio Correspondents Freedom continue to transfer the court from the hall.
Татьяна Скоробогатько
Novaya Gazeta
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10.10.2012Ekaterina Samutsevich released in the courtroom
On October 10, a cassation appeal was held in the Pussy Riot case. Irina Khrunova represented Ekaterina Samutsevich instead of Violetta Volkova. She focused on the fact that Samutsevich did not actually participate in the punk prayer service because she was detained by private security officers almost immediately. As a result, Samutsevich received a two-year suspended sentence and was released in the courtroom.
Bolotnaya Square Case (2013–2014)
Rain
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19.02.2014Bolotnaya case. Sentence
The verdict in the swamp case will be pronounced on February 21. Watch on Friday all day long live on the Dozhd TV channel. And on Saturday, February 22, the defendants in the swamp case, who are at large, are in Dozhd’s studio. Direct line with viewers at 15:00 Watch us on VKontakte - http://vk.com/tvrain Official website - http://tvrain.ru/ We are in Odnoklassniki - http://odnoklassniki.ru/group/50889498296402
Alexei Navalny — Kirovles Case (2013)
New Times
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05.07.2013"None of us now have the right to neutrality"

The New Times from Kirov Six years of colony of general regime and a million rubles of a fine for Navalny, and five years in a colony with a million rubles a fine for officer - the prosecutors asked for the defendants in the Kirovles case. From left to right: Lawyer Svetlana Davydova, Alexey Navalny, lawyers Olga Mikhailova and Vadim Kobzev None of those present in the courtroom of surprise expressed such requirements, but many looked depressed.
Alexei Navalny — Yves Rocher Case (2014–2021)
Meduza
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02.02.2021The day when Navalny was sent to the colony
What happened in the Moscow City Court and around it - by minute What: The court considered the FSIN's application for the abolition of conditional punishment to Alexei Navalny and replacing it with a real term of imprisonment. Navalny was sent to the colony for 2 years and 8 months Where: Moscow City Court When: the meeting began at 11:00 Moscow time February 2. At 14:00 a two -hour break was announced. At 17:30, the court retired to make a decision.
Meduza
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20.02.2021Two vessels in the same day went over Navalny. How it was
The results of the meetings - two and a half years of the colony in the case of Yves Rocher and a fine of 850 thousand rubles in the case of "slander for a veteran" What: Consideration of the appeal with the decision to replace Alexei Navalny as a conditional term in the Yves Rocher case with the real one. A meeting in the case of "slander for a veteran." Where: both meetings took place in the Grandmother's District Court of Moscow. What was remembered: Navalny spoke with the last word twice.
Meduza
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12.02.2021The trial of Navalny in the case of "slander for a veteran." The second part. How it was
"Medusa" all day followed what was happening in the Grandmother's Court What this time: the second meeting in the case of slander. The defendant is Alexey Navalny. He is accused of slander for a participant in the Great Patriotic War Ignat Artemenko, who appeared in the agitation video of RT for amendments to the Constitution. Where: Babushkinsky District Court of Moscow. The meeting lasted almost nine hours with several breaks.
The Insider
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02.02.20213.5 years of a general regime colony. Report from the court over Navalny
Policy 3.5 years of a general regime colony. Report from the court over Navalny Anastasia Mikhailova February 2, 2021 On February 2, the Simonovsky court of Moscow changed the conditional punishment for 3.5 years of a general regime colony. About ten months that the opposition spent under house arrest will be deducted from this period. The decision enters into legal force only after the appeal that lawyers will submit.
Анастасия Михайлова
Navalny — New Cases (2022)
The Insider
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15.02.2022“I'm not afraid and I urge you not to be afraid” - a report from the trial of Navalny
Policy “I'm not afraid and I urge you not to be afraid” - a report from the trial of Navalny The Insider February 15, 2022 In Pokrov, the trial of the founder of the FBK Alexei Navalny began. He is accused of especially large -scale fraud - according to the investigation, he misled those who donated FBC money.
Radio.Svoboda
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24.05.2022Navalny will be sent to a maximum security colony. Full text of his speech in court
The Moscow City Court on Tuesday rejected the appeal of oppositionist Alexei Navalny in a sentence in the fraud and disrespect for the court. The sentence - 9 years in prison - was left unchanged and entered into force. Now Navalny must be transferred to a maximum security colony. The politician who is now in the Vladimir region of the colony of the general regime in another case, he performed at the meeting on the video.
New Greatness Case (2018–2021)
OVD-Info
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30.10.2019“A child’s game inspired by a provocateur”: records from the trials in the “New Greatness” case
In June 2019, the court began considering the case of New Greatness, an organization created with the active participation of infiltrated intelligence officers. According to the investigation, the defendants in the case were planning a coup d'état. Publicist Anna Narinskaya tells on Facebook what is happening at the hearings on the case. OVD-Info publishes her posts. The material is being updated.
Rain
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06.08.2020Announcement of the verdict in the "New Greatness" case. Live broadcast on Dozhd
The Lyublinsky District Court of Moscow found seven members of "New Greatness" guilty of creating an extremist community. The participants in the case will be sentenced in the near future. The movement's participants were arrested back in March 2018 for, according to investigators, wanting to overthrow the government in Russia. Among those in pretrial detention were Anna Pavlikova, then 17, and Maria Dubovik, 18. There are many nuances in this case.
Network Case (2019–2021)
MBKH Media
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10.02.2020The case of the "network". The day before the sentence. Reportage

The seven defendants in the case of the “Network” this morning were sentenced to terms from 6 to 18 years of colony. The verdict was passed in the Volga District Military Court at a visiting meeting in Penza. Our correspondent Anastasia Olshanskaya, who is now there, spent the day before all day in the company of parents and friends of defendants. "I'm already afraid to speak" At ten in the morning of the ninth of February in Penza is Solny and Frosty - on the street minus 20.
Анастасия Ольшанская
Novaya Gazeta
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10.02.202086 years for all. Verdict in the "Network" case
The Volga District Military Court in the building of the Penza Regional Court sentenced the defendants in the "Network"* case to inhuman terms. From 6 to 18 years in prison for organizing and participating in a terrorist group. What evidence the court took into account and why it decided to give such huge terms remains a mystery.
7x7 | Gorizontal'naia Rossiia
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29.04.2021Case of "Network"*: The last conversation with Russian justice
On April 27, the Supreme Court examined the cassation complaints of the defendants in the case of the “network”* and left the sentence in force. About how this happened and what arguments told the court - in the report of the correspondent "7x7" Evgeny Malyshev.
Евгений Малышев
Moscow Case (2019)
Meduza
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03.09.2019The first courts over the defendants in Moscow case. How it was
What: Consideration of the cases of the defendants in Moscow case. Where: the courts of Moscow. Sentences: Vladislav Sinitsa - 5 years in colony , Ivan Podkopaev - 3 years in colony , Danil Rogent - 2 years of colony . The accusations were removed: Sergey Abanichev, Daniil Konon, Valery Kostenok, Vladislav Barabanov and Dmitry Vasiliev. The consideration of cases continues: Evgeny Kovalenko, Konstantin Kotov, Kirill Zhukov.
Ivan Golunov's Case (2019–2021)
Rain
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08.06.2019The trial of Ivan Golunov
In Moscow, the police detained Ivan Golunov, a correspondent for Meduza's investigations department. The publication writes about this with reference to his lawyer Dmitry Dzhulai. The journalist stated that an unknown substance was planted on him. Golunov was detained on June 6 near the Tsvetnoy Bulvar metro station when he was on his way to meet a source, the BBC Russian Service reports, citing lawyer Dmitry Dzhulai.
Meduza
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08.06.2019How was the trial day of Ivan Golunov. Chronicle
The Nikulinsky court of Moscow on the evening of June 8 sent Medusa specialist in the house of Medusa by Ivan Golunov. Despite the measure of restraint, the mild premium, the matter is not closed, Ivan still threatens up to 20 years in prison-he is accused of attempting to sell drugs. During the break of the court session, Golunov said that he was thrown by the drugs due to the investigation of the funeral business. The Medusa editors are confident in the innocence of Ivan.
Memorial Case (2021)
Meduza
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28.12.2021Happy New Year? With a new liquidation!

As the Supreme Court decided to close the "International Memorial". Report "Medusa" David Frenkel Lawyers Henry Reznik and Maria Aismont, as well as human rights activist Tatyana Glushkova from the Memorial after the meeting (from left to right). December 28, 2021 The Supreme Court decided to eliminate the International Memorial .
Светлана Рейтер
Ezhednevnyi Zhurnal
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24.11.2021Liquidation of conscience
The struggle for the "memorial" continues. The fate of the international memorial will be decided tomorrow, the Moscow City Court extended the pre -trial consideration of the case of the liquidation of the Memorial human rights center until November 29. What exactly do they want to eliminate? The Abakan court of Khakassia banned the book “A Woman in Berlin. Diary - from April 20 to June 22, 1945. " What is next in line?
ИГОРЬ ЯКОВЕНКО
Yulia Tsvetkova's Case
Mediazona
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29.06.2020Department for Combating "Non -traditional relationships." Chronicle of the persecution of the artist Julia Tsvetkova
Julia Tsvetkova. Photo: from personal page on Facebook The acceleration of the children's theater, calls to the police, threats of murder, administrative cases for “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” and criminal-due to Vulva's drawings in the public “VKontakte”. The Mediazone recalls how the artist Julia Tsvetkova from Komsomolsk-on-Amur is persecuted.
Анна Козкина
OVD-Info
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14.02.2022Drawings of vulvas and pictures of same-sex families: how the trial of Yulia Tsvetkova developed
The trial of artist and activist from Komsomolsk-on-Amur Yulia Tsvetkova has been going on for three years. A criminal case has been opened against her for distributing pornography (clause “b”, part 3 of Article 242 of the Criminal Code) due to drawings of vulvas in the public page “Vagina Monologues”, as well as four administrative cases of promoting non-traditional sexual relationships among minors due to pictures with same-sex families. We tell you how the artist is being persecuted.
Ivan Safronov's Case
Mediazona
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04.04.2022Journalist Ivan Safronov began to judge the Stateizer - what we know about the case
Ivan Safronov in 2020. Photo: Evgenia Novozhenina / Reuters The Lefortovo District Court began to listen to the case of Ivan Safronov, a former journalist of Kommersant and an adviser to the head of Roscosmos, who is accused of treason. "Mediazona" says that it is known about this case, in which, according to tradition, almost all materials are classified.
Максим Литаврин
Evgenia Berkovich and Svetlana Petriychuk's Case
Novaya Gazeta
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07.09.2023Interview Evgenia Berkovich and Svetlana Petriychuk in court
Their arrest was again extended - until November 4, 2023 The Khamovnichesky District Court of Moscow extended until November 4 the arrest of the director Zhenya Berkovich and screenwriter Svetlana Petriychuk, who are accused of justifying terrorism due to the play “Finist Yasny Falcon”. See the report of Vasily Polonsky from the court Berkovich and Petriychuk were detained on May 5.
Василий Полонский
Meduza
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06.06.2024“Good performance. I would like to see him again "

At the process of Zhenya Berkovich and Svetlana Petriychuk, Veniamin Smekhov, Ksenia Rappoport and an employee of the EE center performed. This is what they told Ilya Talev / satellite / Imago Images / Scanpix / Leta In Moscow, the process continues in the case of the director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk, who are accused of “justification and promotion of terrorism” because of their play “Finist Yasny Falcon”.