In late January, the Zabaykalsky Regional Court declared the “Transbaikal Left Association” a terrorist community. The prosecution identified Alexander Snezkov and Lyubov Lizunova as its leaders, linking the group to a Telegram channel with about 100 subscribers. Both are already serving sentences in a case involving vandalism and public calls for extremism and terrorism.
In April 2024, the 1st Eastern District Military Court sentenced Snezkov to six years in prison and Lizunova to three and a half years. Prosecutors based the case on the graffiti “Death to the regime,” anti-war posts, and publications in the channels “Shugan-25” and “75zlo,” where the teenagers wrote about politics, local deputies, clean-up drives, pickets in support of political prisoners, and painting over drug dealers’ tags.
Snezkov and Lizunova met online while still in school, played in a punk band, and were part of a small anarchist circle. In October 2022, they were detained in Chita after a graffiti action. Later, while the investigation was ongoing, the authorities tightened their pretrial restrictions: Snezkov was placed in pretrial detention, and Lizunova was eventually sent there as well.
In the summer of 2025, a new criminal case was opened against Snezkov. Investigators claimed that while imprisoned he had “inspired extremism” among cellmates by discussing his case and reading out a fragment from one of the posts. The court partially added the new sentence to the old one and gave him five more years in prison.
According to the support group, labeling ZLO a terrorist organization could expose not only the convicted pair but also witnesses and acquaintances to further prosecution. Activists stress that the channel in question has not been updated since 2022 and say the defendants never planned any terrorist attacks.
In a letter, Lizunova said that after the January hearing, at which the organization was declared terrorist, she was able for the first time in a long while to speak with Snezkov by video link and still hopes for the best.
Snezkov, his supporters say, continues to follow Lizunova’s fate closely. In letters, he writes that she passed the Unified State Exam and plans to enter university after her release.