Press Release, 14 December 2025

On 11 December, the Moscow branch of Yabloko held a pre-New Year event of writing letters to political prisoners. This is a regular monthly event of support and solidarity that takes place not only in Moscow but also in other cities across Russia. Typically, around 70 people in Moscow participate in the letter-writing event each month, with approximately 300 letters being sent after each event. However, this time the event was timed to coincide with the New Year, and so the number of cards and letters sent to people in detention reached a record 695.

Opening the event, member of the party’s Federal Bureau Andrei Morev urged attendees to write as many letters as possible to brighten the upcoming holidays for political prisoners. Morev drew particular attention to the cases of Yabloko members Mikhail Afanasyev, Vladimir Yefimov, Konstantin Smirnov, Vasily Neustroyev, and party Deputy Chairs Lev Shlosberg and Maxim Kruglov, who actively respond to letters even from custody and remain Russian politicians, continuing to carry the ideals of peace and freedom even from prison cells.

It should be noted that on 8 December, a court in Ryazan rejected Konstantin Smirnov’s appeal against his detention – he will remain in a remand centre until the end of January 2026. Several days later, on 12 December, a court in Pskov acted in a similar fashion, upholding Lev Shlosberg’s detention, who is now being persecuted under his third criminal case. Maxim Kruglov in Moscow is awaiting consideration of his detention appeal on 23 December.

The organiser of the letter-writing event in Moscow, Anna Shatunovskaya-Byurno, reminded attendees about political prisoners from whom particularly alarming news came in recent months – denial of medical assistance, placement in punishment cells, suicide attempts – Alexei Gorinov, Maria Ponomarenko, Antonina Zimina, and Alexander Shestun. Many prisoners try to maintain optimism in their letters, but everyone understands that the conditions in Russian remand centres and prison colonies alone represent a form of torture, Anna Shatunovskaya-Byurno emphasised in her address.

The outcome of the evening was a record number of letters and cards – 695! They were addressed to 164 political prisoners – all of whom have today been convicted or are still awaiting trial on politically motivated criminal charges, brought about through persecution for their words, thoughts, or conscientious work.

As of 14 December, according to human rights defenders, there are 1,238 political prisoners in Russia. In 2026, Yabloko will continue its actions of writing letters to political prisoners – in Moscow and across Russia.