Press Release, 27.04.2026

Photo: Konstantin Smirnov / Photo by Vidsboku

The lawyer representing Konstantin Smirnov, Chairman of Yabloko in Ryazan and editor-in-chief of the local media Vidsboku, has filed an appeal against the decision to extend his client’s remand in custody. Konstantin Smirnov has been held in a remand prison since January 2025. Last week, on 22 April, the Sovetsky District Court of Ryazan extended his remand by several months, until 26 August 2026.

Smirnov is held in a remand prison on charges of alleged “extortion” targeting Alexei Rogotovsky, acting director-general of the capital repairs fund. Smironov has maintained his innocence from the outset. Smirnov was arrested at a time when, as a Yabloko deputy of the Dubrovichy rural settlement, he was opposing the so-called “municipal reform”, which led to liquidation of rural settlements as separate municipal bodies and their deputies’ councils, and informing residents about public hearings on the dissolution of rural settlements.

Letters of surety for Konstantin Smirnov, requesting that his custodial measure be changed, were submitted to the court by Eva Merkacheva, a member of the Presidential Council for Human Rights, and by Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov. The court accepted them into the case file but left the custodial measure unchanged.

In its ruling, the court cited only the gravity of the offence with which Konstantin Smirnov is charged — a ground that cannot, at this stage of the criminal proceedings, serve as the sole basis for extending remand, defence lawyer Alexei Alexeyev noted in the appeal. The defence requested that the court replace Smirnov’s custodial measure with house arrest, noting that all documents necessary for such a decision had been submitted to the court.

Smirnov stated in court on an earlier occasion that his continued detention in the remand prison was a means of pressure “aimed at forcing him to admit guilt that cannot be proved, because there is none”.