Egor Balazeikin

A resident of St. Petersburg, at the time of the prosecution, he was a 10th grade student, an honours student, engaged in karate and social activism. A Telegram channel dedicated to Balazeikin reports that he initially supported the war, but then changed his position, in part because his uncle died there. The teenager's mother, who managed to speak to him after his detention, recounted his words on TV Rain that he wanted to do something, "seeing how many people were dying".
He was detained on 28 February 2023 because of the attempted arson of the military enlistment office for Kirovsk and Kirovsky district of the Leningrad region. According to the version of the investigation, the young man threw a "Molotov cocktail" at the door of the military enlistment office, but the bottle did not explode. Initially, the case was initiated under the article on intentional destruction or damage to property (Art. 167 of the Criminal Code), but later the article was changed to an attempt to commit a terrorist act (Part 1 of Art. 205 of the Criminal Code with the application of Part 3 of Art. 30 of the Criminal Code). Soon it became known that another case was brought against Balazeikin in connection with an attempt to set fire to the military enlistment office of Krasnogvardeysky district of St. Petersburg. At first, it was also reported as the article on damage to property, but this information was apparently not confirmed. The first written explanations were taken from Balazeikin in the absence of his parents. The teenager was taken into custody.
FSB officers who visited Balazeikin in the pre-trial detention cell said that they could beat him, rape him or send him to a psychiatric hospital. Balazeikin's father was fired from his job.
On 7 August 2023, it was reported that the young man's health was deteriorating in detention: liver fibrosis was progressing on the background of a disease - autoimmune hepatitis.
The court held the first sessions at a fast pace, they lasted many hours, in connection with which the lawyer announced the violation of Balazeikin's rights, as the defence had no opportunity to communicate with him confidentially. On October 25, the court postponed the sessions indefinitely. On 22 November 2023 Balazeikin was sentenced to six years in a juvenile detention centre.
The medical commission refused to recognise him as a person with a disability.
In June 2024, it became known that a letter with the documents necessary for his transfer to an educational colony was missing from the pre-trial detention centre where Balazeikin is being held. Without them, he will also not be able to get permission to make calls, and his parents will not be able to get permission for visits.
Later Balazeikin was transferred to the detention centre. During his transfer to the pre-trial detention centre in Vologda, where he had a long stopover, he was first placed with other prisoners in the basement. There, the former Wagner group soldier promised to kill him. Balazeikin was then transferred to a separate cell with many fleas and bedbugs, and spent six days there without water and with a non-functioning toilet. Throughout the entire transfer, he was never once given medication, which is vital for him.
In August 2024 it was reported that the colony staff let him know that he was a terrorist, provoking him to talk about military actions, telling him about NATO and the banderovites. Balazeikin was forced to write a statement that he did not want to be in a juvenile detention centre until the age of 19 and asked to be transferred to a penal colony, and forbade his lawyer to appeal his decision. In addition, the colony staff drew up a recommendation on the teenager, according to which he regularly violates internal regulations, is prone to terrorist and extremist activities, has a detrimental effect on other prisoners and is dangerous to juvenile prisoners.
In September 2024, the court decided to send Balazeikin to an adult colony, and it turned out that the court was guided by the recommendation from the juvenile detention centre, where the prisoner was described on the positive side (easily found a common language with unfamiliar teenagers, communicated politely with the administration, did not clash with anyone, performed works to improve the colony's territory, emotionally mature, balanced, tidy, kept his sleeping place in order), but in the end it said that he was characterised negatively.
On 25 November 2024 Balazeikin was established the third disability group for 1 year.

You can read more about politically persecuted people in the Telegram channel OVD-Info LIVE and our politically motivated criminal prosecutions in Russia database