Ivan Zyrianov

A resident of the village of Nerchinskiy Zavod (Zabaikalsky region). Because of his participation in the attack on the company, which included a participant in the war in Ukraine, former Wagner Group fighter Mikhail Taskin, a criminal case was opened against Zyrianov not only for causing minor injury and damage to property, but also for discrediting the use of the Armed Forces. He was put on a wanted list and arrested in absentia, but a few days later it was reported that he had been detained.
According to Sibir.Realii, Taskin's beating was not related to his participation in the war in Ukraine. As the publication reports, in 2019, Taskin was found guilty of attempted premeditated murder of two or more people and sentenced to 9 years in a strict regime penal colony, from where he was recruited to the Wagner Group. The former prisoner met one of the people he tried to shoot in a cafe, after which he provoked a fight.

The 43-year-old Zyrianov's legs and right arm have failed, making him unable to move independently, and bailiffs of the Nerchinsko-Zavodsky District Court of the Zabaikalsky region carried him into the building, throwing him over their shoulder. Zyrianov was not given an MRI scan of his spine, the defence lawyer said. Before his arrest, the man was diagnosed with pinched nerves from intervertebral discs, and "as a result of severe stress, his legs were taken away".

On 20 September 2024, Zyryanov was sentenced to six years in a general regime penal colony. On 3 February 2025, the appeal court reduced the sentence by one 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