Russia sentences LGBTQ activist Yaroslav Sirotkin in absentia to four years in prison

The Kirovsky District Court in Yaroslavl on September 30 sentenced Russian LGBTQ activist Yaroslav Sirotkin in absentia to four years in a general-regime penal colony. According to Mediazona , the court convicted him of failing to comply with the duties imposed on so-called foreign agents and of participating in an organization designated as extremist in Russia.

The court also imposed six months of restricted freedom and barred Sirotkin from administering websites for two years. He was charged under Part 2 of Article 330.1 and Part 2 of Article 282.2 of Russia’s Criminal Code. Sirotkin is outside Russia, and the case was therefore heard in his absence.

Investigators alleged that Sirotkin participated in the “international public LGBTQ movement,” which Russia’s Supreme Court has designated as extremist, by running the Telegram channel “LGBT+ eshnik” from France between April 26, 2024, and October 6, 2025. At least 22 LGBTQ-related posts were treated as key evidence. Investigators said they disseminated information about the movement, promoted a favorable view of it and recruited new participants, First Department reported .

A separate part of the case concerned the foreign-agent status imposed on Sirotkin in April 2022. He did not place the legally required label on his posts or submit mandatory reports. After two administrative fines, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on December 29, 2023.

In April 2026, the Yaroslavl Regional Court separately designated Callisto, an LGBTQ initiative founded by Sirotkin, as extremist. The expert assessment used by the court examined the same Telegram channel. According to First Department’s account, experts identified signs of extremist activity in words including “persecution,” “censorship” and “unprecedented pressure,” as well as in memorial events and the use of terms naming LGBTQ groups. Lawyer Maks Olenichev, who presented the defense position, called the assessment unfounded and the case politically motivated. No public response from the prosecution to that assessment had been reported at publication time.

Sirotkin left Russia in 2022. Before emigrating, he held one-person pickets and other public actions in Yaroslavl and led Callisto. After leaving, he was involved for a time in a shelter for LGBTQ emigrants in Armenia and later moved to France.

Uránia previously reported that Russia’s Justice Ministry added Callisto to its list of extremist organizations .