Vitalina Prening, a 16-year-old Russian schoolgirl, was recently charged with planning a terrorist attack, membership in a terrorist organization, and undergoing terrorist training, according to Russian media.
From the city of Novosibirsk, Prening was added to Russia’s terrorist blacklist on August 10, although details of the charges against her remain unclear.
On social media, those who know Prening have portrayed her as an accomplished youth who drew, sang, practiced ballroom dancing, and participated in state-sponsored public events.
Prening is not alone. Hundreds of Russian teenagers have been charged with terrorism, sabotage, extremism, or treason since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Human rights campaigners say the arrest and jailing of teenagers is part of an intensifying campaign to stifle dissent during wartime.
‘Greater Repressive Activity’
Department One, an exiled legal and human rights organization that defends Russians accused of treason and espionage, said in a July report that at least 779 minors are on Russia’s terrorist and extremist registry. Nearly 97 percent of them were added after 2022.
The list includes not only those who have been convicted of crimes but also people formally named as suspects or facing active charges.
The banned human rights group Memorial said at least 124 minors are currently facing criminal charges in Russia for political reasons.
Rights groups say an increasing number of minors are being prosecuted under controversial terrorism and extremism laws, with trials frequently held behind closed doors.
The cases range from anti-war activism and online criticism of the authorities to allegations that the teenagers were recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services through social media to carry out acts of sabotage and terrorism on Russian soil.
Sergei Davidis, head of Memorial’s political prisoner support project, told RFE/RL that the war has intensified political repression in Russia.
“The state exhibits far greater repressive activity in a war situation,” Davidis said.
Arrested For Distributing Leaflets
Among the minors who have been caught up in the crackdown is Arseny Turbin, who was 15 when he was arrested in 2023.
Turbin had distributed leaflets criticizing President Vladimir Putin, created a Telegram channel called Free Russia, and photographed himself with a white-blue-white flag used by Russian anti-war protesters.
His mother, Irina Turbina, said her son openly told investigators that he believed Russia was the aggressor in the war.
In 2024, a Russian court sentenced Turbin to five years in prison during a closed trial. Two years later, the authorities opened another case against the teenager, accusing him of participating in unrest at his penal colony.
The youngest teenager currently on Russia’s terrorist and extremist registry is believed to be Ivan Maltsev, 14, who was accused of attempting to set fire to a police car. His father has denied the charges against his son.
Maltsev, a resident of the Siberian city of Barnaul, turned 14 in June, the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Russia for serious crimes, including terrorism.
‘Atmosphere Of Fear’
Rights campaigners have accused Russian security agencies of using provocative tactics against minors.
“They push young people to create some kind of group, write some harsh statements, provoke them, for example, they write something in the comments so that you are practically compelled to respond,” Dmitry Zair-Bek, head of Department One, told RFE/RL.
Security officials, Zair-Bek said, would then “lead” vulnerable young people to committing an act that could be formally defined as a crime, allowing operatives to open a criminal case against them.
“What’s monstrous is that children and teenagers are being persecuted for things they shouldn’t be persecuted for at all,” Zair-Bek said, citing “careless jokes” on social media, messages in school forums, and discussions in computer games.
Olga Romanova, head of the civil rights group Russia Behind Bars, told RFE/RL that the secrecy surrounding terrorism cases allows Russian security agencies to increase their conviction rates.
“Terrorism cases — the investigations and trials are completely closed,” Romanova said. “It’s supposedly classified information, so there’s no need to prove anything.”
Zair-Bek said the growing number of cases also serves a broader purpose: creating a climate of fear.
“The whole atmosphere of fear that is created, including through the mass initiation of terrorism and extremism cases, is connected to the fact that repression works in our time, in the 21st century, only when it is constantly increasing,” he said.
