‘Navalny’s death wasn’t enough’ Colleagues of Alexey Navalny’s former lawyers comment on prison sentences for acting as his attorney

On Friday, a court in Russia’s Vladimir region issued sentences against three former lawyers of Alexey Navalny, convicting the attorneys of participation in the late opposition leader’s “extremist organization.” Vadim Kobzev was sentenced to five years and six months in prison, Alexey Liptser to five years, and Igor Sergunin to three years and six months (in the spring of 2024, Sergunin confessed to the charges and began cooperating with investigators). According to prosecutors, the three lawyers “ensured the regular transfer of information between the leaders and members of an extremist organization [the Anti-Corruption Foundation]” by transmitting Navalny’s prison letters to his associates — a supposed abuse of the attorneys’ “professional status.” In the wake of the ruling, Russian bar associations have offered no defense of their colleagues. Meduza asked several lawyers who have left Russia what Friday’s verdict means for the future of their profession back home.

‘A senseless, absurd, and cruel verdict for faithfully upholding their professional duties’

Olga Mikhailova

The verdict against these lawyers is utterly senseless, absurd, and cruel, punishing them for nothing more than faithfully upholding their professional duties. They’ve decided to punish them for defending their client well, properly, and competently.

I followed the trial as much as I could. They named me in similar charges, so I understand the fundamental nature of the case. All the accusations boil down to claiming that we, as Navalny’s lawyers, became participants in Navalny’s extremist organization and assisted him in attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.

What did I feel during the trial? Apologies, but I won’t get into that. The guys are incredible, of course — I love them dearly. Kobzev, Liptser — they all conducted themselves with dignity. I’m grateful to have spent many years alongside them, knowing them and working with them. What’s happened is deeply personal and tragic for me.

Lives, futures, families — all shattered. They all have young children. It’s unbearably hard for everyone, and I know them all. The Russian language is rich, but I can’t describe just how difficult this is for me — both morally and physically. The entire situation we’re in is utterly insane. And yet, despite my years in the legal profession and my life experience, until this morning, I’d still hoped for some kind of miracle. Once again, it didn’t happen.

We were the first to be crushed in this grinder. Lawyers haven’t faced this kind of treatment since the Stalinist era ended. They were not prosecuted for criminal cases involving their clients solely for political reasons. It did happen before. It’s not just legally absurd — it’s a clear and brutal attack on the entire legal profession as an institution. There have always been few willing to take on political cases, and this trial vividly demonstrates what will happen to those who dare to defend people who cause trouble for the authorities.

Still, as far as I can see, despite being in Russia, my colleagues continue to defend others bravely. I have profound respect for these people.

I’d make another point: Two years ago, police arrested Vadim Kobzev and me near the prison in Pokrov, where Alexey was being held at the time. While we were in custody at the police department, almost the entire legal community mobilized in response. They convened a special meeting at the bar association; the legal elite rallied to our defense within seconds of our detention. It was loud, and we were quickly released — with apologies.

There’s none of that now. The Moscow Bar Association and the Federal Chamber are both well aware of what’s happening. They know this verdict could impact not just defense attorneys in political cases but the entire legal profession. Yet, the chambers’ leadership is doing everything it can not to comment on this case. I believe this is a grave mistake that could lead to irreversible consequences for everyone.

We’ve seen this pattern in Navalny’s cases: First, the authorities test tactics on him, and then they apply the same methods widely. The bar associations’ leadership says nothing, despite knowing that they wiretapped us and transcribed our confidential conversations with Alexey. Any intelligence agency would dream of eavesdropping on lawyers’ conversations with clients — it’s incredibly convenient [for investigations]. Yet, even though these recordings formed the basis of the criminal case, they still found nothing against us.

The legal profession has always been considered hallowed and inviolable. Today [in Russia], it’s not just violated but faced with outright repression.

I regret that four years ago, on January 17, 2021, I allowed us to return from Berlin to Moscow with Navalny. It was a profoundly tragic decision for everyone, leading to a great tragedy for all. And for the authorities — it’s obvious — Navalny’s death wasn’t enough. They’re still brutally punishing the lawyers who stood by him.

‘An atmosphere of endless fear set in’

Valeria Vetoshkina

I’ll never forget the morning the news broke about police raids at the homes of Alexey Navalny’s lawyers — and how many of my colleagues who remain in Russia began frantically deleting their message histories. After that, they started sharing information and procedural documents with peers even less frequently. An atmosphere of endless fear set in. The state is erasing legal boundaries and norms — it’s unclear now what could land a person in prison.

The decision to bring this case shocked me. I thought about it a lot and grieved, and when the sentences were announced… Saying I was upset wouldn’t capture the full range of emotions. There simply shouldn’t be verdicts like this.

It’s important to distinguish between the sentences handed down to [Alexey] Liptser and [Vadim] Kobzev and the one given to [Igor] Sergunin. From what we know from open sources, Sergunin either simply confessed or struck a deal with investigators and got a shorter sentence than his colleagues. Still, a year and a half is a significant difference. I guess the deal worked. I don’t know how to feel about this. On one hand, it’s a relief to know that someone will be released sooner. On the other hand, we don’t know if the deal required him to incriminate someone, confirm what the operatives needed, or what.

My colleagues at [the human rights legal group] First Department have analyzed the persecution of lawyers in Russia. According to their data, in 2023 alone, at least 174 lawyers in Russia faced persecution. Lawyers are prosecuted under anti-war and extremist felony statutes and charged with misdemeanor offenses. Even before the war, lawyers were targeted — under charges of fraud or using violence against law enforcement officers. The legal profession has long been a targeted group that causes problems for the authorities. It’s a high-risk line of work.

It’s important to grasp that the legal community as an institution has ceased to exist in Russia. I may sound too dystopian, but the state has dismantled the legal profession. What we’re witnessing now are remnants of the institution. Lawyers can no longer unite, defend themselves, or stand up for one another. And I am complicit in this myself. I won’t stand here acting superior and say I know best — especially since I left the country.

The legal community as an institution has disappeared in Russia. All that’s left are the individuals who remain committed to their oath as attorneys, who continue to work despite the risks and dangers. But they are a minority. Most lawyers toe the line and go along with the investigators. A legal profession like that has no future.

The legal profession is a microcosm of Russia. Within it, there are elected bodies of professional self-governance. And these legal “officials” have clung to their power, barring young people with democratic views from entering these self-governing bodies. The presidents of bar associations have become entrenched, as Advokatskaya Ulitsa once wrote. They’ve held their positions for years, and nothing changes. It’s truly Russia in miniature.

I worry deeply about my colleagues who continue working in Russia despite the ever-increasing risks. The state redraws its red lines every day. Lawyers in modern Russia are heroes because fulfilling their professional duties under such conditions is both incredibly difficult and truly terrifying.

Have lawyers become more frightened? Yes. Is it harder to find them? Yes, but we still manage. And those who continue fulfilling their professional duties are still working. People still have lawyers. They are not left defenseless.

‘Judicial proceedings revolve around ceremony rather than the law’

Evgeny Smirnov

What has happened to Navalny’s lawyers burns me up inside. It’s just the latest step in stifling the legal profession’s independence in Russia. This has been building gradually. At first, it was just small attempts to push the legal community aside. Then, the state began flexing its muscles more boldly, targeting more and more people for honoring their professional duty. And now we’ve reached this point. It’s terrifying. This verdict is a personal tragedy for me.

Navalny’s lawyers weren’t accused of leaking any classified documents — they were convicted simply for informing Alexey’s relatives about his health and explaining the legal offenses committed against him. This is something every lawyer who visits a detention center does. When news of the case broke, all criminal defense lawyers remembered how often they’d done the same. And they realized they are now at risk. 

After all, these kinds of legal “innovations” inevitably trickle down to ordinary, routine cases. For example, in some regions, lawyers have already faced misdemeanor charges for handing their clients a pen. And these aren’t even political cases.

The danger zone now encompasses all of Russia. Lawyers are being persecuted in various ways. The state initiates criminal cases, jails lawyers for 15 days, and uses bar associations as tools of repression. The Justice Ministry files complaints with the associations, which then subject the lawyers to disciplinary measures. In regions where the associations have caved to the security services — Crimea, the Jewish Autonomous Region, Khabarovsk Krai, and frontline areas — our honest colleagues simply have no way to defend themselves.

In Russia, there’s a push to transform the legal profession into a state-controlled system modeled on Belarus. Under this system, the head of the bar is a Justice Ministry official who decides who can join the profession and who gets disbarred. This system would make it easy to purge all the genuine lawyers from the profession.

For instance, even now, a Justice Ministry official decides which lawyers can leave the country and who is barred from travel — citing, for example, a lawyer’s access to state secrets in a case. This is direct state interference in the work of lawyers.

In Russia today, judicial proceedings revolve around ceremony rather than the rule of law, where process and procedures are paramount. You still need lawyers — not to defend the accused but to perform a formal role in court. The state wants to reduce lawyers to mere “props” in the courtroom. They will be present, address the judge as “Your Honor,” and recite the required phrases at the appropriate moments — but in reality, they will do nothing actually to defend anyone.

‘It’s an act of intimidation’

Ivan Pavlov

I’m in many lawyer group chats, and right now, an atmosphere of fear dominates all of them. It’s a direct result of how the authorities treat lawyers. Today’s verdict is a vivid illustration of that.

The lengths of the sentences are a secondary thing. Obviously, any day in prison for an innocent person is too much. Would we have been satisfied if they’d all gotten just a year or two? No, we wouldn’t. Even probation would have been unacceptable. Any conviction in a case like this is inherently unjust. And even an acquittal wouldn’t erase the injustice of holding people in detention for more than a year. This verdict is a slap in the face, and it will have a chilling effect on part of the legal community. But only on part — there will still be lawyers who continue to fulfill their professional duties honestly.

Lawyers were targeted even before the war began, but the situation has worsened dramatically since then. The legal community has stopped commenting publicly on cases. Only those who have left the country speak out. Those still working in Russia have abandoned contact with the media almost entirely. That’s the chilling effect in action.

After all, the code of professional ethics dictates that lawyers must defend their clients using all available lawful means. Appealing to the media is one such method, especially when legal avenues for defense fail. But using these other methods isn’t allowed [anymore] — they punish lawyers for that, sometimes criminally, sometimes through disciplinary measures.

Even before, Russians didn’t have many options for exercising their right to legal defense — and now, some lawyers will simply be too scared by this verdict. This is an act of intimidation! And it will have an impact on some in the legal community.

But there are still lawyers in Russia — not many, but they exist. They continue to work on anti-war cases, human rights cases, and political cases. We worry about them, support them, and pass on some of the experience we’ve gained — for example, there’s currently a high demand for expertise in cases related to national security crimes. Such cases were rare before, but they’ve become more common.

We’re still optimistic about the future, knowing that things must change. The gloom we face today is, in the end, only temporary. Rehabilitation will begin in time, and lawyers will be needed. For now, what matters is just preserving the profession. The new legal community we will build will rest on the foundation of those lawyers who, during this difficult and dangerous time, continued to work and defend people.