‘Preemptive intimidation’ A Russian pensioner spent nearly three years in prison after protesting the war. She returned to a home damaged by arsonists.
In early March, 62-year-old Natalia Filonova was released from prison, where she’d spent two years and 10 months on charges of attacking police after she was arrested at an anti-war protest. When she returned to her home in Russia’s Zabaykalsky Krai, she found it partially destroyed by a fire. It wasn’t the first time Natalia had been targeted by arsonists, she told journalists from the outlet People of Baikal — it was the fourth. Meduza shares a translation of Natalia’s story.
Charred ruins where her chicken coop once stood, and the blackened walls of her dacha and bathhouse — this was the sight that greeted former Russian political prisoner Natalia Filonova when she returned home from prison. Released on March 4, she reached the village of Novopavlovka in Russia’s far-eastern Zabaykalsky Krai two days later. Only then did she learn that unknown perpetrators had set fire to her buildings nearly a year earlier.
The fire destroyed her chicken coop, killing the hens inside, and consumed her garage along with a motorcycle, three bicycles, a washing machine, and tools. Neighbors called firefighters, who managed to save the house itself.
“This is the fourth time my house has been set on fire,” Natalia says. The first three incidents happened while she was publishing Against All Odds, an independent newspaper focused on defending civil rights, exposing police abuses, and analyzing news from the Buryatia and the Transbaikal region. She printed 999 copies of each issue at her own expense and distributed them herself.
“First, they threatened me. Then, they started setting fires. No one ever looked for the culprits — it was a direct order from [Russia’s ruling political party] United Russia,” Natalia asserts. “We managed to put the fires out in time. The fence, a wall of an outbuilding, and the gate were burned.”
Natalia’s activism went beyond journalism. She took part in rallies supporting Alexey Navalny, commemorating Boris Nemtsov, and protesting the war. The authorities repeatedly fined her for these demonstrations, deducting the penalties from her pension. She worked as a tutor at a special needs school, where her adopted son Volodya, who has a disability, was a student. When she was sent to pretrial detention, he was placed in an orphanage.
Natalia was arrested in September 2022 during a protest against mobilization. She was accused of attacking four police officers. Investigators claimed that during her arrest, she hit and scratched them, broke one officer’s fingers, and injured another with a ballpoint pen.
For “using violence” against law enforcement, the court sentenced Natalia to two years and 10 months in prison. The human rights organization Memorial recognized her as a political prisoner. “I see this arson as the authorities’ way of making sure I have nowhere to return to, no place to rest my head. It’s preemptive intimidation,” Natalia said. When she spoke to investigators, they acknowledged the fire was deliberate, but they’ve refused to issue any official findings.
While Natalia was in prison, her husband, Sergey, who had already survived two heart attacks, was left to cope on his own. When Volodya turned 18, he was brought back from the orphanage. Despite his disability, he helps around the house as much as he can.
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Natalia’s older sons replaced the roofs on the outbuildings and the fence, but the rest is up to her to rebuild. The garage fire destroyed many items that were essential for life in their village. “I’m an old woman with a limp, and without a bicycle, I can’t get around my enormous village. Now I have nothing to ride. And Volodya’s bike burned, too. A lot of things burned,” she told People of Baikal.
While she was in prison, activists raised 10,000 rubles ($117) for her and launched another fundraiser. “Nobody should take a hit from the system for their beliefs, for their good deeds, for their volunteer work — and then end up with everything burned to the ground. Supporting Natalia is the right thing to do,” said Yelena Rokhlina, who organized the campaign.
Natalia initially wanted to give the money to someone in greater need, but Yelena managed to convince her that people had donated specifically to help her. She urged her to accept the modest sum, saying it was more about solidarity than the amount itself.
Natalia is currently saving for a new bicycle for Volodya. If the donations come through, she’ll be able to buy one for him. She’s grateful to everyone who supported her — both while she was in prison and now that she’s free.
“My legs, my knees, my blood pressure — it’s all acting up. That’s me complaining like an old grandma,” she says when asked how she’s feeling. “But overall, I’m doing okay.”
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