In 2025, Russian courts handed down 1,776 verdicts under terrorism-related articles of the Criminal Code, from Articles 205 to 205.5. The figures were reported by the human rights project Pervy Otdel and analysts from Parubets Analytics, who compiled data from open sources.
The researchers note that the official statistics of the Judicial Department under the Supreme Court for 2025 have still not been published. They therefore relied on court records, agency press releases, and media reports.
According to their calculations, 2,078 people were convicted in terrorism cases in Russia over the year. The authors say this is the highest figure recorded during the entire period of the current Criminal Code, adopted in 1996. By comparison, in 2024 courts issued 921 verdicts involving 1,021 people.
Among the study’s other findings is the pace of such prosecutions. The authors estimate that in 2025, nine Russian courts, on every working day, delivered more than seven verdicts and convicted more than eight people.
Nearly one in three of those convicted on terrorism charges in 2025, the study says, were Ukrainian citizens. Nearly one in two defendants was charged under Article 205.2, which covers public calls for terrorism, justification of terrorism, or its propaganda.
For 588 people, Article 205.2 was the only charge. The researchers stress that in such cases people were prosecuted solely for their words. The most common punishment was a prison term of 15 to 19 years, imposed on 369 people.
According to the study’s authors, the cases of 929 convicted people, or 45% of the total, showed signs of political persecution. Throughout 2025, courts terminated only three cases: two for lack of a crime and one because the statute of limitations had expired.