A Russian activist, Nadezhda Rossinskaya, also known by her alias Nadin Geisler, has been sentenced to 22 years in prison on charges including treason and financing terrorism. This conviction was confirmed by her lawyer and reported by Russian media on Friday. Rossinskaya is known for her involvement with a volunteer group called "Army of Beauties," which claims to have facilitated the evacuation of thousands of people from Russian-occupied territories. However, these figures have not been independently verified.
The group reported that some of the evacuees managed to reach free Ukraine through the southwestern Belgorod region of Russia, where the last remaining open checkpoint between the two countries was located. In 2023, fearing for her safety, Rossinskaya initially left Russia for Georgia; however, she returned to Belgorod months later to play a pivotal role in coordinating complex evacuations, according to independent Russian news outlets.
In February 2024, Rossinskaya was detained after an Instagram post she made soliciting donations for Ukrainian forces led to her arrest. Both Russian court documents and her lawyer, Alexey Pryanishnikov, confirmed that she faced serious charges of treason and terrorism financing. Rossinskaya has consistently denied any wrongdoing and maintained that she did not author or publish the incriminating post, as stated in a trial transcript by the independent media outlet Mediazona.
Prosecutors sought a notably harsh sentence of 27 years, which Rossinskaya countered during her trial at a military court in Belgorod. In a defiant move, she requested that if found guilty, the court impose a sentence of 27 years and one day, indicating her desire for the maximum penalty that has ever been given to a woman in modern Russia. The record for the longest sentence currently belongs to Darya Trepova, who is serving a 27-year term for her involvement in an attack that killed a pro-war blogger in St. Petersburg in 2023.
Adding to the gravity of the situation, last September, Rossinskaya was listed on Russia's register of "extremists and terrorists" alongside numerous individuals and groups who have openly criticized Russia's military actions, attempted to fundraise for Ukraine, or assisted those affected by the ongoing conflict. This legal crackdown has significantly intensified since the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, leading to a dramatic increase in criminal cases related to treason, espionage, and collaboration with foreign states.
According to the Pervy Otdel, a Russian lawyers' association, at least 792 individuals faced trials on related charges between the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022 and late December 2024, with over 530 convicted. This alarming trend illustrates the severe consequences faced by those opposing the Russian government’s actions and highlights the increasing repression against dissenting voices.
