# Moscow court sentences Navalny ally Leonid Volkov in absentia
Event date: 2025-03-13
A court in Moscow has sentenced Leonid Volkov, one of Alexei Navalny’s closest allies, to 18 years in prison in absentia and imposed a fine of 2 million rubles, according to the supplied report.
The sentence is severe even by the standards of Russia’s crackdown on opposition figures. AP’s excerpt says Volkov was convicted on criminal charges including extremism and other allegations that have been used repeatedly against critics of the Kremlin.
Because the case was heard in absentia, Volkov was not present in court. That matters: an in-absentia sentence is both a legal punishment and a political statement, making it clear that the Russian system is prepared to lock in penalties even when the defendant is beyond its reach.
The report also places Volkov inside the circle of Navalny associates who have continued to face legal pressure after Navalny’s death. That context explains why the case is not just about one opposition figure but about the wider dismantling of organized dissent in Russia.
A prison term of 18 years is extreme by any standard and signals that the court treated the allegations as high-level political offences. The fine adds a financial component to the punishment, while the criminal conviction itself deepens the long-term consequences.
The supplied excerpt does not set out the full list of counts or the courtroom reasoning. It does, however, make clear that the charges included extremism-related allegations and that the sentence was handed down by a Moscow court.
That is consistent with a wider pattern in which Russian courts have increasingly used national-security and extremism laws against opposition activists, independent media figures and anti-war critics. Such cases serve not only to punish individuals but also to deter others from organizing or speaking publicly.
Volkov’s position as a Navalny ally gives the ruling added political weight. Navalny’s network was one of the few structured opposition movements in Russia, and pressure on its senior figures has steadily increased. An 18-year sentence in absentia shows that the pressure has not eased.
The case also matters because in-absentia sentencing can help the state maintain a formal legal record against a dissident while avoiding the practical challenge of a live imprisonment. It effectively keeps the defendant under punishment even if he remains outside Russia.
The report excerpt does not indicate where Volkov is currently located or whether any international warrants were issued alongside the sentence. Those details are beyond the supplied evidence and should not be assumed.
What can be said with confidence is that the Moscow court imposed one of the harshest penalties seen in this batch of reports: 18 years in prison, a 2 million ruble fine and a conviction delivered in the defendant’s absence. In practical terms, that leaves Volkov barred from normal political life for the foreseeable future.
For Russia’s opposition, the message is familiar and stark. The courts remain a tool for disabling prominent critics, and the penalties keep growing even when the defendants themselves are out of reach.
