Russian man who turned abandoned water tower into home fined 570,000 rubles for donating to Anti-Corruption Foundation
A court in Tomsk fined Tomsk radio host and IT manager Alexander Lunev 570,000 rubles for donating to the Navalny-founded Anti-Corruption Foundation.
The court convicted Lunev of financing extremist activity after he donated 7,000 rubles to the Anti-Corruption Foundation five years ago, when Russian authorities had already designated the foundation “extremist.”
Lunev pleaded guilty, saying he “hadn’t looked into the status” of the Anti-Corruption Foundation before sending the money. “Five years ago, I transferred seven thousand rubles to people I shouldn’t have sent that money to, people I shouldn’t have trusted in any way. That act eventually landed me in the cage where I am today,” he said in his final statement.
Lunev was released from custody after the verdict.
Alexander Lunev became known after buying a derelict water tower from the city administration in 2012 and turning it into a home. He moved into the tower in 2020 and relocated to the Czech Republic two years later. Lunev was detained and then arrested in August during a short trip to Russia.
Russian authorities declared the Anti-Corruption Foundation and other organizations linked to opposition politician Alexey Navalny “extremist” in June 2021.
By April 2026, Russian authorities had opened at least 225 criminal cases over donations to the Anti-Corruption Foundation, according to an estimate by the independent Russian news outlet Mediazona.
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