Russia's Criminal Cases Against Lawyers More Than Double
The number of criminal cases against lawyers in Russia over five years has grown by more than 50 percent. In 2025, 133 lawyers became defendants in criminal cases in Russia, compared to 80 defenders in 2020, according to calculations by 'Novaya Gazeta Europe'.
Consensus
- The number of criminal cases against lawyers in Russia increased by more than 1.5 times over five years.
- In 2025, 133 lawyers were involved in criminal cases in Russia.
- More than half of the cases against lawyers involve charges of fraud.
- In 45% of these cases, lawyers are charged with attempted crimes.
- In 2025, there were 13 politically motivated criminal cases against lawyers, six of which were conducted in absentia.
- The number of politically motivated prosecutions against lawyers, excluding in absentia cases, nearly doubled compared to 2023–2024.
- The actions of defense lawyers for Alexei Navalny—Vadim Kobzey, Alexei Lipstser, and Igor Sergunin—were deemed participation in an extremist group by the court.
- The court's decision in the Navalny case was based largely on intercepted communications between lawyers and their client, which are protected under attorney-client privilege.
- In 2024, the number of lawyers deprived of their status increased by 42% compared to 2021.
- The number of disciplinary cases against lawyers increased by 12% over the same period.
- The Ministry of Justice has successfully obtained court rulings to revoke lawyers' licenses despite opposition from bar associations.
- The Federal Bar has called the court's decision to override bar associations' rulings a 'dangerous precedent' of executive overreach.
Points of divergence
- In May 2026, the Ministry of Justice obtained a court ruling to revoke the licenses of three Moscow-based lawyers—Yulia Tae, Dmitry Provodin, and Alexei Basistov—despite the Moscow Bar Association's rejection of the request. — novaya_eu
- Maria Bonzler, who defended anti-war defendants, is charged with treason for allegedly collecting and transmitting information about Russian security forces and criminal cases to a 'hostile state'. — novaya_eu
- The case of Navalny's defense lawyers involved the transmission of letters and messages from Navalny to his associates, which the court classified as participation in an extremist group. — tg_tvrain
Coverage (2 sources)
- Number of criminal cases against lawyers in Russia has grown by more than 50 percent over five years — Дождь (Telegram)
- Attempt on defense. In five years, the number of criminal cases against lawyers in Russia has grown by 1.5 times. The state increasingly sees them as 'accomplices' to crimes — Новая газета Европа