Russian Student Activist Receives 3 Year Suspended Sentence in Politically Motivated Case

In a case that’s drawn public attention in Russia, Moscow Higher School of Economics student Yegor Zhukov received only a 3-year suspended sentence on charges of ‘promoting extremism online’. The sentence is much lighter than the 4-year prison term sought by prosecutors – but Zhukov’s defenders say that the case itself was a farce.

Zhukov was initially charged with participating in protests that gripped the Russian capital over the summer, in connection to restrictive new policies for independent candidates. But his case became a cause célèbre in Russia, drawing attention to the student – and his fiercely critical anti-Putin beliefs.

His Youtube channel has more than a hundred thousand views, and his outspoken videos against repression in Russia have been widely shared on social media. As a result, his sentence includes a ban from using the internet for two years.