Political prisoners in Russia: where to find the lists and how to read them correctly
There is no unified state list of political prisoners in Russia — the concept itself is not defined in law. Lists are maintained by non-governmental human rights projects, primarily Memorial (resource blocked in Russia) and initiatives connected to it. They apply international criteria and publish a justification for each case.
It is important to understand the differences between a “political prisoner,” a “persecuted person,” and a “foreign agent,” because these are different legal and factual statuses. Foreign agent status is an administrative label under Russian law. Persecution is a broad description of pressure, not necessarily involving imprisonment. Political prisoner is a status assigned by a human rights organization based on specific criteria, most often derived from the 2012 declaration of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Below is who maintains the lists, what criteria are used for inclusion, and how to read these lists in the context of Russian risk registers.
In brief
- There is no state list of political prisoners in Russia — the status is assigned by human rights defenders.
- The main source is Memorial (resource blocked in Russia, read via mirrors and archives).
- The inclusion criteria are based on PACE Resolution 1900 (2012).
- “Political prisoner,” “persecuted person,” and “foreign agent” are three different concepts.
- The lists are updated regularly: new names are added, and the status of people already included may be clarified.
Who maintains the lists and under what criteria
Human rights projects apply a common set of criteria, but publish separate lists — this is not duplication, but mutual cross-checking.
Memorial and its successors
The historical core is the “Support for Political Prisoners” program, which Memorial ran until its liquidation in 2021–2022. The work is now continued by initiatives connected to Memorial (memopzk.org (resource blocked in Russia) and others). The lists are not only full names and Criminal Code articles, but also the reasoning for why a case is recognized as politically motivated.
OVD-Info
It documents detentions, persecutions, and administrative cases. It does not maintain a classic “list of political prisoners,” but it collects a body of cases that human rights structures use when deciding whether to include people in the lists. Detailed legal analyses of articles on “extremism” are published by OVD-Info (resource blocked in Russia).
Inclusion criteria (under PACE Resolution 1900)
A person is recognized as a political prisoner if: the deprivation of liberty took place in violation of rights guaranteed by the European Convention; the detention is connected to political motives and is not connected to a real crime; or the term or conditions of detention are clearly disproportionate to the alleged act; or the proceedings are discriminatory in nature.
How the statuses differ
| Status | Who assigns it | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Political prisoner | Human rights organizations | Deprivation of liberty recognized as politically motivated under PACE criteria |
| Persecuted person | Human rights organizations, media | Pressure of any kind — interrogations, restrictions, searches, without mandatory imprisonment |
| Foreign agent | Russian Ministry of Justice | Administrative labeling; not the same as criminal status, but it entails restrictions |
| Participant in an “undesirable” organization | Russian Prosecutor General’s Office | Administrative/criminal risk under Article 284.1 of the Criminal Code |
| Wanted under a political article | Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs | A card in the wanted database under Articles 275, 280.3, 207.3, and others |
How to check right now
Wanted Radar shows the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs wanted database — this is a search for criminal prosecution. In parallel, it is worth checking the foreign agents register on minjust.gov.ru (administrative status) and the list of terrorists and extremists on fedsfm.ru (financial restrictions). Lists of political prisoners are maintained separately — on the websites of Memorial (resource blocked in Russia) and related initiatives; in Russia, read them through a VPN or web archives.
If this concerns a specific person who is already under arrest or in a pre-trial detention center, the lawyer handling the case will have the most complete picture. The mere fact of inclusion in a political prisoners list is a public assessment, not a procedural document.
Check a full name in the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs wanted register
Warning signs vs false alarm
A warning sign is a match by full name and date of birth with a wanted card under a “political” Criminal Code article, combined with a mention in OVD-Info or Memorial materials. This is a marker that the case is already within the field of view of human rights defenders, and the chances of receiving legal support are higher if you contact them directly.
A false alarm is a mention of a full name in the news without a Criminal Code article and without procedural details. In the Russian media space, the concepts “political prisoner,” “persecuted person,” and “foreign agent” are often used as synonyms, although they mean different things.
What to do next
- Distinguish between sources: state registers (Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Rosfinmonitoring) and human rights lists are different databases with different criteria.
- If someone close to you has been arrested, contact OVD-Info and lawyer networks; they help in the early stages of detention.
- Keep all procedural documents: summonses, rulings, protocols.
- Do not share details of the case on public social networks until you have agreed this with a lawyer.
- Check whether the person close to you is in the foreign agents register and the list of terrorists and extremists — this is important for the financial side.
- Follow updates to the lists: the status of “political prisoner” is sometimes assigned only after the first sentence.
Disclaimer: this material is informational and is not legal advice. For a specific situation, contact a lawyer. The concept of “political prisoner” is not defined in Russian legislation and is applied by human rights organizations according to their own criteria.
Conclusion
Lists of political prisoners are a human rights tool, not a state register. They complement the picture provided by the official databases of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and Rosfinmonitoring, and make it possible to separate politically motivated cases from ordinary criminal cases. For a specific person, this assessment is important as context, but procedural strategy is determined by a lawyer, not by public status.