What happens to Russia’s political prisoners now that OVD-Info, a leading human rights group, has been declared ‘extremist’?

The independent human rights project OVD-Info has been added to the registry of terrorists and extremists managed by Rosfinmonitoring, Russia’s financial intelligence agency — along with Memorial and dozens of organizations affiliated with it. The cultural venue Revolt Center and the museum Perm-36 were also added to the list. Why these institutions — and OVD-Info — were included in the registry is unclear. But anyone who’s supported them now faces legal jeopardy.

Under Russian law, before an organization can be added to Rosfinmonitoring’s lists, a court must first declare it extremist, and that ruling must take effect. Only then can the registry be updated.

In April, Russia’s Supreme Court — acting on a lawsuit filed by the Justice Ministry — declared Memorial and its structural subdivisions extremist. The trial was held behind closed doors, so it is impossible to say with certainty what was designated a “structural subdivision.” Legally, no organization called “Memorial” exists; all affiliated projects are registered in different countries and under different legal entities.

The Russian authorities apparently also linked OVD-Info, Revolt Center, and Perm-36 to Memorial. At any rate, there is no record of separate court proceedings having been held against these organizations.

OVD-Info is, in fact, an independent project. It was founded in December 2011, when Daniil Beilinson and Grigory Okhotin began searching police precincts for protesters in custody, with more and more volunteers joining them as time went on. After 2013, the Memorial Human Rights Center served as the project’s general partner. Here is how OVD-Info described that arrangement on its own website:

But OVD-Info was not part of Memorial’s organizational structure.

OVD-Info runs a wide range of human rights projects:

It is not yet known what will happen to each part of this critically important work in Russia today. Human rights groups are used to adapting to constantly changing circumstances. But the work will undoubtedly become harder, and not all the listed projects will survive.

An extremist designation triggers criminal liability not only for those directly connected to OVD-Info — employees and listed founders — but potentially for anyone who “participated” in the activities of such an organization, under the logic applied by Russian authorities. That means donations to OVD-Info count as criminal acts, as do consultations provided to the project or through its initiatives, any form of assistance (a term the law does not define), and even a supportive comment on social media. Thousands of people are at risk.

Here are the penalties OVD-Info supporters now face under Russia’s extremism laws after the project was added to Rosfinmonitoring’s list:

At greatest risk are people who donated to the project from inside Russia or may travel there in the future, along with those who openly worked with it — lawyers, legal professionals, and volunteers. People who actively supported OVD-Info on social media could also attract the attention of law enforcement.

Under Russian law, financial contributions, “informational support,” and participation in OVD-Info’s activities conducted before the organization’s formal extremist designation do not constitute criminal offenses or administrative violations.

Hundreds of political prisoners remain incarcerated in Russia, with hundreds more still in court. Now, any involvement in defending those people — if it takes place under the OVD-Info brand, or if law enforcement can establish a connection to the project — could result in criminal prosecution.

Yes, because OVD-Info didn’t have any special status that exposed its partners to criminal charges, even though it was labeled a “foreign agent” in September 2021. That label primarily creates bureaucratic headaches and prosecution risks for the “foreign agent” itself. Cooperating with OVD-Info and donating money to it remained legal, until now.

In late November 2025, however, Russian payment platforms cut off the project from their systems, depriving it of its main source of support — recurring donations from 12,000 people. OVD-Info later clawed back roughly half of its donor base but could no longer count on its previous level of financial support. Now that it has been declared “extremist,” raising donations becomes an even greater challenge.

If you live in Russia, travel there regularly, plan to visit in the future, or cannot be certain that you won’t, you should take into account the new risks tied to any public or private expression of support for OVD-Info.

For safety, people in this situation should:

It also makes sense to review your old social media posts for any links, symbols, or other content related to the project. In theory, anything posted before April 9 — the presumed date of the hearing where OVD-Info was labeled extremist — should be safe. But how Russian courts apply extremism laws remains highly unpredictable, so it’s safest to be as cautious as possible.

If you don’t plan to travel to Russia, you can still support the project by sharing information about it or making a donation. The team has already published a statement saying it will continue its work. You can make a donation at this hyperlink.

First, we don’t yet know what OVD-Info will do with its legal aid project for political prisoners. It’s quite possible the organization will offer some alternative to people who had been counting on its support. Meduza will track OVD-Info’s statements and will report on whatever decision the team makes.

Second, other initiatives providing this kind of assistance continue to operate in Russia.