Press Release, 23.12.2025

Photo: Maxim Kruglov and his lawyer Natalia Tikhonova in court on 23 December 2025 / Photo: screenshot from the video by the Moscow City Court Press Service

Yabloko Deputy Chairman Maxim Kruglov will remain in detention until 28 February 2026. This decision was made today, 23 December 2025, by the Judge of the Zamoskvoretsky District Court. The court disregarded the defence’s arguments that Kruglov should not be detained at all.

The chronology of proceedings concerning Maxim Kruglov’s measure of restraint is as follows:

• the first hearing took place on 2 October 2025, when the politician was detained for two months;
• the appeal was heard and rejected on 30 October;
• on 25 November, the court extended Kruglov’s detention until 29 December;
• on 23 December, Moscow City Court was due to hear the appeal against the detention order (of 25 November) but postponed the hearing to 25 December;
• on the same day, 23 December, the Zamoskvoretsky District Court, at the prosecution’s request, extended Kruglov’s detention for another two months – until 28 February 2026.

It should be emphasised that both hearings scheduled for 23 December – at the Moscow City Court and the Zamoskvoretsky District Court – were to take place in the Perovsky Court building. The first hearing (the appeal) took place at 12:15. The second (extension of detention) at 17:50.

Many people who came to support Maxim Kruglov, including his mother and sister, we waiting in court from 12 noon. However, the appeal hearing was postponed to 25 December, and by the start of the second hearing – at 18:00 – all members of the public were removed from the court building. Bailiffs explained that by the “closing” of the court.

Nevertheless, the hearing went ahead: in “closed mode” without the public or media present.

As in previous hearings concerning the measure of restraint, the court in the hearings on 23 December disregarded the defence’s arguments. The lawyers – Natalia Tikhonova and Sergei Badamshin – emphasised at all the hearings that not only did the prosecution lacked a single argument in favour of detention, but there were no grounds whatsoever for prosecuting Maxim Kruglov; moreover, the case materials were compiled carelessly, contained gross errors, and the arguments in favour of detention did not comply with Criminal Procedure Code norms.

“None of the defence’s arguments had any effect on the court,” said lawyer Natalia Tikhonova after the 23 December hearing. “The court took no account of the good conduct references, nor of a number of inaccuracies in the investigator’s application to extend Maxim Kruglov’s detention.”

Thus, the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow has decided to continue holding Maxim Kruglov in detention. This decision will be appealed.

It should be noted that Maxim Kruglov has been deprived of liberty since 1 October and officially detained since 2 October on charges of publicly disseminating “fakes” about the army (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Yabloko insists that the charges against Maxim Kruglov have no real basis whatsoever and are part of political pressure on independent voices.