Already since the beginning of 2026, this is at least the seventh death of a political prisoner in Russia. And each new case looks less and less like a tragic coincidence and more and more like the consequence of a system where disagreement with the authorities becomes a deadly “crime.”
On the night of May 6–7, political prisoner Vladimir Yarotsky died in Penal Colony No. 9 in the city of Khadyzhensk, Krasnodar Krai. According to prisoners from the colony, he was found hanged in a large refrigerator inside the prison cafeteria. At the same time, Yarotsky was registered under special supervision, which meant that under the colony’s internal regulations, he was not allowed to work at night. How he ended up in the cafeteria during the night remains a major unanswered question.
While still alive, Yarotsky told other inmates that prison administration employees had “repeatedly pressured, humiliated, and persecuted” him. Against the backdrop of these testimonies, the version of “suicide” raises more and more questions, especially considering the numerous reports of abuse and pressure against prisoners in IK-9. Human rights activists and inmates had repeatedly spoken about problems in this colony before. Political prisoners Alexander Nozdrinov, Alexander Somryakov, Alexey Shchus, and Mikhail Lyakh are currently being held there as well.
The particular cynicism of this story lies in the fact that Yarotsky was not a murderer, terrorist, or organizer of violence. In June 2023, he was added to the Russian financial monitoring agency’s list of “terrorists and extremists” over internet publications. One of the reasons was his statement that the killing of Vladimir Putin would lead to the end of the war in Ukraine. Later, he was fined 350,000 rubles for “calls to terrorism.”
Another episode involved a satirical image posted on VKontakte: a street artist draws Vladimir Putin with a St. George ribbon around his neck, but the drawing turns into an obscene image. That alone was enough to open a criminal case for the “desecration of a symbol of military glory” and send a man to prison.
But even that was apparently not enough for the system. Later, security forces added another charge — spreading “military fakes.” According to investigators, Yarotsky had published “unconfirmed information” about dead and missing Russian soldiers in Ukraine. In May 2025, he was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison.
Vladimir Yarotsky turned 41 on April 18.
Today in Russia, a person can be labeled a terrorist not for murders or bombings, but for words, drawings, political opinions, and criticism of the authorities. For satire — prison. For an opinion — humiliation and pressure. And sometimes, as is happening more and more often in Russian prisons, — death.
Against this background, the policy of the state looks especially monstrous: at the same time that it recruits convicted criminals with serious offenses for the war, promising them money and freedom, it destroys people whose only “crime” was words and publications on the internet.
Since the beginning of 2026, political prisoners Roman Sidorkin, Oleg Tyryshkin, Alexander Dotsenko, Vladimir Osipov, Andrey Akuzin, and Vegan Khristolyub Bozhiy have already been found dead in Russian prisons and detention centers. Now the name of Vladimir Yarotsky has been added to this list.
And every new such case sounds less like an isolated tragedy and more like an indictment of the entire system, where state cruelty, humiliation, and fear are becoming the norm.
Source: Telegram channel “Politzek-Info”
Politzek-Info