Moscow’s Lyublinsky District Court sentenced 62-year-old Bauman Moscow State Technical University lecturer Aleksandr Nesterenko to three years in a general-regime penal colony. After serving the term, he was also barred from administering websites for two and a half years.
Before the verdict was announced, Nesterenko delivered his final statement. He said that in the late 1980s and the 1990s he would not have believed that political prisoners would reappear in Russia and that comments could lead to longer sentences than murder. According to him, he has spent nearly two years behind bars because several Ukrainian-language songs were listed in his VK playlist.
“I fully admit my guilt in the fact that, in order to preserve your power, you will resort to any crimes,” Nesterenko told the court.
He recalled that he was initially charged under an article on inciting hatred or enmity, but during the hearings the prosecution dropped that count as “redundant” and kept only the charge of public calls for extremist activity. Nesterenko argued that the songs in question were based on century-old poetry, were not banned, had not been declared extremist, and had been saved by him as part of his academic interests.
According to the publication, five minutes were spent on his final statement, five more on Judge Irina Krasova’s decision, and another five on reading out the sentence. Prosecutors had requested four years in a penal colony. Nesterenko did not admit guilt.
The case concerns songs saved on his public VK page, including “My rostem,” “Batko nash Bandera, Ukraina — maty,” “Zrodylys my velykoi hodyny,” and other audio and video recordings. Nesterenko has been deprived of liberty since September 2024 and is being held in Moscow’s Detention Center No. 4, known as “Medved.”
Several dozen supporters attended the hearing. After the sentence, those present thanked him for his speech, and Nesterenko, already in handcuffs, replied with a smile.