Report on Human Rights Violations in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic
Human rights activist Khava Beshtoeva
November 2025
The results of independent human rights monitoring in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic for November 2025, based on an analysis of open source information, demonstrate a persistent pattern of violations by government authorities and law enforcement agencies against citizens in this regard. These violations primarily involve the criminalization of activism, persecution of citizens for political and human rights activities, pressure on relatives and lawyers, repression and judicial falsifications, the imposition of denunciation practices, and violations of the right to a fair trial, and general militarization tendencies. The documented incidents underscore the urgency of further efforts to protect human rights in the Republic.
Illegal refusal to initiate a case of abduction and torture by security forces of Kazbek Emkuzhev
In November, lawyers called illegal the refusal to investigate the kidnapping of a 19-year-old student from Nalchik, Kazbek Emkuzhev, who was abducted from his home by security forces on April 9, 2024, pushed into a car and taken to an unknown destination. Kazbek Emkuzhev was “discovered” almost a month after the abduction, on May 3, for questioning in the investigator’s office, where he was charged. The father of the victim, a former policeman from Nalchik, Aslan Emkuzhev, appealed to the chairman of the SC and the general prosecutor with a request to pay attention to his son’s case. The parents even managed to get a video recording of the abduction – the investigation and the court refused to investigate this fact.
Kazbek Emkuzhev is charged with participation in a terrorist organization. In total, seven persons involved in the case, three of whom – Kazbek Emkuzhev, 19-year-old Tamirlan Chepchikov and 26-year-old Ratmir Murachaev – were abducted by unknown persons, beaten and subjected to electric torture. On April 12, 2024, the security forces announced that Chepchikov and Murachaev were “liquidated” in the course of a counter-terrorist operation, and there was no investigation into their deaths. Lawyer Ramzan Uzuev called Kazbek Emkuzhev’s case falsified in order to improve the accountability of the security forces. Now the case of Emkuzhev and five other accused is being considered in the Southern District Military Court.
https://memorialcenter.org/stories/delo-kazbeka-emkuzheva
Despite the fact that the court ultimately added the video of the abduction to the case, Kazbek Emkuzhev’s relatives and defense have so far failed to initiate a criminal case on this matter. Lawyers submitted many petitions and the case was violated, including a petition to return the case to the prosecutor in connection with the violation of the right to defense.
At the request of the publication “Caucasian Knot”, the situation with Kazbek Emkuzhev’s case was commented on by lawyer Timur Filippov and lawyer “Team Against Torture” Alexander Isaenko, who are not involved in the case.
Kidnapping (Article 126 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) is a serious crime. “In such cases, the victim’s statement is not required for initiation. The investigator is obliged to act independently of the applicant’s wishes. Thus, the presence of a video recording showing the signs of abduction (forcible displacement, detention, etc.) is a direct basis for initiating a case,” said Timur Filippov.
Timur Filippov believes that the refusal to initiate a criminal case for exceeding the authority of law enforcement officers is illegal. “There is no statute of limitations for filing an application in the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, there is only a statute of limitations for attracting (Article 78 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). In case of theft, the statute of limitations is up to 10 years. “Lately submitted application” is not grounds for refusal. The indistinctness of persons/numbers [on video] does not cancel the signs of a crime, and the investigator receives a salary for finding out all the circumstances. Ignoring one’s duties in case of abduction of a person by unidentified persons is a criminal act,” he emphasized.
In turn, Alexandra Isaenko noted that everything depends on the specific circumstances of the case. “The creation of artificial grounds for bringing a person to criminal responsibility, as well as the forgery of evidence, can be qualified under several articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. For example, Article 303 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishes a penalty for falsification of evidence, which can be expressed, in particular, in the intentional addition of knowingly fake documents to the case materials or the introduction of knowingly false information into the procedural acts (for example, in the protocols of various investigative actions). At the same time, if the investigator, on the basis of these falsified evidences, brings to criminal responsibility an obviously innocent person, his actions may be considered a crime under Art. 299 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which establishes criminal responsibility for bringing a knowingly innocent person to criminal responsibility or illegally initiating a criminal case. In addition, the actions of the security forces may be seen as exceeding official powers, if the detention of a person and deprivation of his freedom was of an illegal nature,” she said.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417629
Human rights activists reported the dismissal of the investigator in the Yemkuzhev case
The investigator who opened a criminal case of involvement in a terrorist organization against Kazbek Emkuzhev, a 19-year-old resident of Nalka, has been dismissed from the FSB Directorate for Kabardino-Balkaria.
Lawyer Ramzan Uzuev called Kazbek Emkuzhev’s case falsified by security forces to improve reporting. Now the case of Emkuzhev and 5 other accused is being considered in the Southern District Military Court. The senior criminal investigator, who opened a criminal case against Kazbek Emkuzhev in 2024, was fired from the FSB command in Kabardino-Balkaria “due to a loss of trust,” the Memorial Human Rights Protection Center reported on November 10.
Human rights activists note that their materials about the fabricated case against the Nalchik resident were “seen by millions of people.” “We cannot know what exactly caused the investigator’s dismissal, but it is likely that wide publicity influenced the situation,” Memorial reported on its Telegram channel.
The circumstances of Emkuzhev’s detention are not reflected in the materials of the criminal case. Kazbek Emkuzhev stated that after the kidnapping on the street in April 2024 and before the first official interrogation as a suspect on May 3, he was detained and interrogated together with two other accused, Tamyrlan Chipchikov and Ratmir Murachaev. According to Emkuzhev, they were also questioned with electricity. They were subsequently separated; security forces announced that Chipchikov and Murachaev were killed during a special operation on April 12, there was no investigation into their deaths.
Commenting on the refusal of the investigation to initiate a criminal case of abuse of authority against the investigator who conducted both criminal cases, lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov emphasizes that it is “irrelevant” to analyze it from the point of view of Russian law, since Russia has crossed the line, beyond which it is possible to “seriously discuss issues of legality or responsibility of employees for committing similar actions.”
“From the point of view of international law, this situation qualifies as enforced disappearance. The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances states that if this is not an isolated case, but a widely and systematically applied practice, then such actions qualify as a crime against humanity. This practice is used systematically and widely enough in Russia. Every day, citizens of Russia and Ukraine become victims of enforced disappearances,” says Dmitry Zakhvatov, answering the questions of Kavkaz.Realii journalists.
https://www.kavkazr.com/a/ochenj-redkoe-yavlenie-uvoljnenie-sledovatelya-fsb-v-naljchike-posle-pohischeniya-studenta-pod-kamerami/33597981.html
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417090
For the 34th time, investigators refused to open a case about the torture of Timur Zhambekov.
In November, the Investigative Committee for the 34th time issued a resolution refusing to open a criminal case about the torture of Timur Zhambekov, a resident of Nalchik. He has already served his term in the case, the confession in which was obtained after being beaten by security forces and electrocuted.
Timur Zhambekov has been trying to initiate a case on torture for seven years — since 2018, the “Team Against Torture” reported.
In 2018, Zhambekov was detained by security forces. According to a resident of Nalchik, he was put in a car, where he was beaten, including hitting his head with a fire extinguisher, asked with an electric current, and also put a bag on his head. Torture continued in the Department of Criminal Investigation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kabardino-Balkaria, where the detainee was brought. A few hours later, he gave a confessional statement.
In 2021, the European Court of Human Rights satisfied the complaint of Timur Zhambekov, a resident of Nalchik, who was physically abused by the police. A forensic medical examination confirmed that Timur Zhambekov had a rib fracture, bruises and abrasions on his chest, arms and legs, abrasions on his arms, chest and back. The expert determined that the victim suffered moderate damage.
https://newdosh.media/news/zitelu-kbr-podvergsemusa-pytkam-v-policii-34-raza-otkazyvali-v-vozbuzdenii-ugolovnogo-dela?categoryAlias
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417056
A resident of Kabardino-Balkaria has been charged with failure to report in connection with an attack on security forces in Nalchik
In November, a 20-year-old resident of the Urvan district of Kabardino-Balkaria was arrested, who, according to the investigation, was familiar with the participants in the July attack on the security forces in Nalchik and knew about their plans, but did not notify the law enforcement authorities. Operatives of the “E” center accused him of not making a report.
In mid-September, a teenager was arrested, whom the security forces consider to be the second participant in the attack on the DPS outfit in Nalchik, and at the end of October, the Investigative Committee referred his case to court. According to the investigation, the slain participant of the attack organized a separate unit of one of the terrorist groups in Kabardino-Balkaria in 2024, and the survivor joined him and tried to recruit residents of the Urvan district into the cell.
The attack on police officers took place on July 4 at the corner of Nogmova Street and Lenina Avenue in Nalchik. The DPS team stopped a taxi that ran a red light, a man jumped out of the car with a knife in his hand and attacked one of the employees. One assailant was shot, and the second turned out to be a minor, he managed to escape. Later, he claimed that the attack happened unexpectedly for him, and he ran away in fear.
The investigator for Kabardino-Balkaria reported on his official channel that investigative actions are continuing in the case of the absence of a report. Security forces in the North Caucasus use the article on prematurity to scare relatives and acquaintances of alleged militants, although its legal application is possible only under certain conditions. These conditions are not always observed in practice: for example, the accused must have reliable and concrete information about the crime and concrete facts of criminal activity, and abstract rumors, assumptions or everyday conversations do not fall under the article.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417476
A Nalchik resident was fined for failing to report a planned act of sabotage
In Kabardino-Balkaria, the court imposed a fine on a local resident for not reporting a crime – he did not report that an acquaintance of his had entered into correspondence with an alleged representative of the Ukrainian special services and was going to set fire to a locomotive at a railway station for money.
The acquaintance received the coordinates of the target, after which he purchased everything necessary for the manufacture of the incendiary mixture. In a conversation with Kardanov, he admitted that he agreed to commit sabotage, but Kardanov did not report this to the law enforcement authorities, writes RIA Novosti.
Kardanov was charged with failure to report a terrorist, extremist, subversion or other crime, and his friend was charged with preparation for sabotage. The verdict was handed down by the city court of Nalchik. Murat Kardanov was fined 30,000 rubles.
https://ria.ru/20251111/shtraf-2054066097.html
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417084
Lawyer Diana Tsypinova was again found not guilty of assaulting a security officer.
IIn November 2025, the Urvan District Court of Kabardino-Balkaria, which re-examined the case of Diana Tsypinova’s lawyer, again acquitted her of the charge of using violence against a police officer.
The lawyer of the Bar Association of Kabardino-Balkaria, Diana Tsypinova, in May 2020, along with other lawyers, tried to get into the police department to provide legal assistance to her colleague Ratmyr Zhilokov. As a result, Tsypynova was detained by security forces for 48 hours and charged with violence against a police officer (Part 1 of Article 318 of the Criminal Code of Russia). The prosecutor asked to sentence Tsypinova to 2.5 years in a colony-settlement.
On July 7, 2023, the Urvan district court did not find any crime in the actions of the lawyer from Kabardino-Balkaria, Diana Tsypinova, accused of attacking a security officer, and acquitted her. On November 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria refused to satisfy the prosecutor’s appeal and upheld Tsypinova’s acquittal. The Court of Cassation in Pyatigorsk satisfied the demands of the prosecutor’s office and overturned the acquittal.
The guilty verdict in Tsypinova’s case affected the entire legal community, Tsypinova’s colleagues expressed their fears that the law enforcement officers might regard it as permission to obstruct the work of lawyers. Dozens of their colleagues from Kabardino-Balkaria and other regions came out in defense of Tsypinova and Zhilokov: they called the use of force by law enforcement officers against lawyers and their subsequent criminal prosecution as extraordinary, although not an isolated case. More than 50 of their colleagues came to support the lawyers at the court hearing. Acquittals are rare in Russia, in the case of Diana Tsypinova, the second acquittal on charges of violence against a police officer was the result of an active position of the legal community.
Tsypinova’s case is a marker of the degree of permissiveness of the security forces of the republic, the projection of which they tried to transfer to a new level of the social vertical, intending to sow fear in the ranks of the legal community by means of a “public whipping” of their colleague who dared to stand up to police brutality.
https://stav.aif.ru/society/person/dvazhdy-opravdali
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417694
Zalina Marshenkulova, a journalist from Kabardino-Balkaria who is accused in absentia of justifying terrorism, has been declared wanted in Russia, again.
On April 17, 2024, the journalist from Kabardino-Balkaria, Zalyna Marshenkulova, was declared a federal wanted person; On May 17, 2024, she was put on the international wanted list – according to TASS, she is accused of publicly justifying the terrorist attack in which the blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed.
Some sources claimed that the reason for the criminal case against Marshenkulova were statements about the death of blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, who died in an explosion in a St. Petersburg cafe on April 2, 2023. However, according to the investigation, Marshenkulova posted the publication justifying terrorism in Telegram no later than March 3, 2023, that is, a month before Tatarsky’s death. The investigation was initiated under part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (justification of terrorism using the Internet).
In the fall of 2024, the Ministry of Justice entered Zalina Marshenkulova into the register of foreign agents, and Rosfinmonitoring – into the list of terrorists and extremists.
In November 2025, Zalyna Marshenkulova was again declared wanted in Russia, Kommersant reports. “According to the data in the database of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, she is wanted in connection with the investigation of a criminal case, however, the article in the card is not specified,” the publication says.
Marshenkulova herself, who lives in Germany, considered the accusation to be absurd and connected the persecution with her political position.
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/8248078
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417661
The pressure on the signatories of the petition in defense of Larisa Tuptsokova continues
Security forces, posing as employees of the “E” Center, continue to put pressure on the signatories of an appeal to the head of Adygea living in Kabardino-Balkaria in defense of the Circassian activist Larisa Tuptsokova. The Human Rights Center of the CBR considered the actions of the security forces as another attempt to prevent legal public activity and exert psychological pressure on the signatories.
The signatories of the appeal noted Larisa Tuptsokova’s significant contribution to the preservation of the native language and indicated that the case against her could become a precedent for the prosecution of other people who once collaborated with the cultural center in Tbilisi.
“In accordance with Article 33 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, citizens of the Russian Federation have the right to apply personally, as well as direct individual and collective applications to state and local self-government bodies. According to article 6 of the federal law of 02.05.2006 No. 59-FZ “On the order of consideration of appeals by citizens of the Russian Federation”, a number of guarantees of the citizen’s safety in connection with his appeal are established, including “it is prohibited to prosecute a citizen in connection with his appeal to a state body, a local self-government body or an official with criticism of the activities of the specified bodies or an official or for the purpose of restoring or protecting one’s rights, freedoms and legal interests or rights, freedoms and the legitimate interests of others,” the Human Rights Center said.
“It is difficult to speak about the law where criminal cases are initiated only for the open expression of one’s own opinion,” Larisa Tuptsokova herself commented on the situation.
https://memorialcenter.org/ru/news/v-kabardino-balkarii-siloviki-davyat
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417036
A Nalchik resident was fined for funding the Anti-Corruption Foundation
In Nalchik, a Syrian citizen was fined 400,000 rubles for donating 900 rubles to Fund to Fight Corruption, found her guilty of financing extremist activities. According to the ruling on the court’s website, 26-year-old Haya Besh, who has two citizenships – Russia and Syria – in August 2021 transferred 900 rubles to an account in the Wells Fargo bank belonging to the “Fund to Fight Corruption”.
Based on the case materials, in August 2021, the woman followed a link under one of the videos on YouTube, after which she transferred 900 rubles to the FFC account. The defendant admitted the fact of the transfer, but stated that she “never understood politics”, and she learned about the existence of Alexei Navalny and FFC from operatives after the arrest.
In her testimony at the investigation, she claimed that she had paid for electronic air tickets to Turkey and, perhaps, accidentally clicked on the link. The Nalchik city court did not agree with this version of events and fined Besh 400,000 rubles, as well as confiscated her iPhone 14 Pro Max phone.
https://zona.media/news/2025/11/24/hayabesh
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417258
A resident of Kabardino-Balkaria is accused of justifying terrorism
The investigation department of the Chegem district completed the investigation of the criminal case against a resident of the republic born in 1994. He is accused of publicly justifying terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), informs the Investigative Committee of the Republic in his Telegram channel.
According to the investigation, in December 2023, a man posted a text in his account on one of the social networks, which contained statements justifying the ideology of terrorism.
A resident of Kabardino-Balkaria will be tried for justifying terrorism at a rally
A resident of Kabardino-Balkaria is accused of publicly justifying terrorism during a rally. The deputy prosecutor of the republic approved the indictment and sent it to court.
“According to the investigation, at the beginning of 2018, the accused, being at a rally in Nalchik and addressing the participants of the rally, delivered a speech, deliberately using in his speech statements justifying the legality and justifying the terrorist activities of the leaders and participants of illegal armed groups operating on the territory of the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria and committing crimes of a terrorist nature,” TASS reported.
The charges are brought under part 1 of article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Public justification of terrorism”) and part 2 of article 228 (“Illegal possession of narcotic drugs”). The criminal case will be heard in the North Caucasus District Military Court.
https://tass.ru/proisshestviya/5857919
The sentence against the developer in Kabardino-Balkaria did not affect the waiting period for housing for orphans
“The court, which stiffened the sentence of the developer in the case of fraud with housing for orphans, did not oblige him to return the stolen advance to the budget, while orphans in Kabardino-Balkaria have been waiting for apartments for ten years or more,” reports “Kavkazsky Uzel”.
On November 21, the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria toughened the sentence of the developer, replacing him with a suspended sentence of two years and ten months in prison for embezzlement of almost 50 million rubles. The convict was taken into custody in the courtroom.
The head of LLC “Nedvizhimost-Nalchik” was accused of fraud on a large scale. According to the version of the investigation, the accused concluded 45 state contracts with the Ministry of Education of Kabardino-Balkaria in March 2022. According to these contracts, he had to provide the department with well-furnished living quarters for the needs of orphans by December 15, 2022. The total amount of contracts was 55 million rubles. He managed to receive an advance of 49 million rubles, which he spent at his own discretion.
The prosecutor’s office, which succeeded in stiffening the punishment for the general director of LLC “Nedvizhimost-Nalchik” Rajab Aikham Kamal, an immigrant from Syria, did not say whether the developer was obliged by the court’s decision to return to the budget 50 million rubles received as part of the state contract, which were allocated to him for the construction of housing for orphans. The apartments, which the developer was supposed to hand over to the customer no later than December 2022, were never built.
The consolidated list of orphans in need of housing in Kabardino-Balkaria includes 1,502 people, many of whom have been on the waiting list for about 10 years. In addition, priority is given to orphans who have decided to participate in hostilities against Ukraine, which confirms the fact of militarization of children and youth for the purpose of aggression.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417590
13 people were sentenced by the Nalchik Garrison Military Court to real terms for arbitrarily leaving the unit during the period of mobilization*
In particular:
- Military serviceman Timur Yandiev was found guilty under part 5 of Article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the Nalchik Garrison Military Court reported on his Vkontakte page.
According to the court, Yandiev “on April 25, 2025 during the period of mobilization” did not show up for duty in a military unit without valid reasons. “On September 6, 2025, Yandiev was found in Mozdoke by a police officer, and from April 25 to September 6, 2025, Yandiev spent his time at his own discretion at his place of residence,” the publication says.
Yandiev was sentenced to five years in a general regime colony.
- The Nalchik garrison military court sentenced serviceman Nikita Khatkutov, who was found guilty of evading military service during the mobilization period, according to a message published on November 28 in the court’s official group on the Vkontakte social network.
According to the investigation, on December 20, 2024, Khatkutov did not show up for duty in a military unit. On July 24 of this year, he voluntarily reported to the military commandant’s office in Mozdok. He pleaded guilty at the trial. At the same time, it turned out that he had previously been tried several times for the commission of two willfully serious and nineteen crimes of medium gravity, the convictions for which were not removed and not repaid. The court sentenced him to eight years of imprisonment with a prison sentence of a strict regime.
The case file on the court website states that Nikita Khatkutov was found guilty of committing a crime under part 5 of article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (involuntarily leaving a part or a place of service, as well as failure to report for duty without good reason for a period of more than one month, committed by a serviceman undergoing conscription or contract military service, during the period of mobilization or martial law, in wartime or in conditions of armed conflict or hostilities actions). Khatkutov’s interests were defended by two lawyers.
https://vk.com/wall-215822488_2394
- Military officer Teunikov was found guilty of evading military service during the mobilization period, the Nalchik Garrison Military Court reported on his Vkontakte page.
According to the court, Teunikov voluntarily left the military unit on July 14, 2025, during the period of mobilization, “without valid reasons.” On September 14, Teunikov was found at home in Nalchik by a police officer and taken into custody, and from July 14 to September 14, he “spent his time at his own discretion and evaded military service,” the publication says.
Teunikov was already convicted by the court under the same article and sentenced to five years in a general regime colony. According to this sentence, his punishment has not been fully served, the court notes. The defendant was sentenced to a total of 6 years in a penal colony under the general regime.
Teunikov’s name was not mentioned in the publication of the press service of the court. According to the case file on the court’s website, the defendant is Ramazan Teunikov, charged under Part 5 of Article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The case came to court on November 17, and on November 25 he was sentenced.
https://vk.com/wall-215822488_2391
- On October 31, a serviceman named Inylyv was found guilty under part 3.1 of article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the Nalchik Garrison Military Court reports on its Vkontakte page.
According to the court, Inylyv voluntarily left the military unit “on May 8, 2025 during the period of mobilization” without valid reasons and was detained by the police only on May 31.
“From May 8 to May 31, 2025, he spent his time as he saw fit and avoided military service. At the court hearing, Inylyv fully admitted himself guilty of the crime he was charged with,” the publication says.
The court drew attention to the fact that “in the actions of Inylyv, there was a recidivism of the criminal.” “Since the defendant has served 8 years in September 2018 of a sentence in the form of actual imprisonment for the commission of an intentional serious crime against life and health in 2005, as well as for the commission of a second serious crime in 2018, for which he did not fully serve the sentence, he again committed an intentional serious crime against military service before the completion of his convictions. Thus, for the commission of this crime, taking into account the factual circumstances of the case and the personal data of the defendant Inylyv, the final punishment was imposed in the form of actual deprivation of liberty for a term of 5 (five) years in a correctional colony under a special regime,” the message states.
https://vk.com/wall-215822488_2362
- Serviceman Bavokov was found guilty under part 5 of Article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the Nalchik Garrison Military Court reported on his Vkontakte page.
According to the court, on October 30, 2023 and on March 13, 2025, “that is, in both cases during the period of mobilization” without good reason, Bavokov arbitrarily left his place of service in the first case, and in the second – a military unit in North Ossetia. Both times he went to his home and was there in the first case until February 14, 2025, and in the second case – until March 15.
In the first case, Bavokov voluntarily arrived at a military unit in Vladikavkaz, and in the second, he appeared at the police department in the Urvan district of Kabardino-Balkaria. In total, the court sentenced Bavokov to six years in a general regime colony, according to the court’s publication. The press service of the court did not specify the name of the defendant, but it is indicated in the case file on the court’s website, where Muhamed Bavokov is listed as the defendant. His case was brought to court on November 11, and the verdict was handed down on November 18.
https://vk.com/wall-215822488_2382
- A serviceman named Mevshuk was found guilty under Part 2.1 and Part 5 of Article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the Nalchik Garrison Military Court reported on its Vkontakte page.
According to the court, Mevshuk voluntarily left a military unit in the Volgograd Region on July 16, 2024 and February 15, 2025, i.e. in both cases during the mobilization period, without valid reasons.
In order to preserve his life and health, he arbitrarily left the area where evacuation work was being carried out without good reason.
“In addition, the court established that Mevshuk, with the aim of temporarily avoiding military service in order to preserve his life and health, without good reason, on July 1, 2025, during the period of mobilization and martial law, arbitrarily left the area of evacuation operations by servicemen of the military unit in the Donetsk People’s Republic,” the publication says.
According to the court, from July 16 to November 1, 2024, as well as from February 15 to June 15 and from July 1 to 5, 2025, Mevshuk “spent his time at his own discretion.” “When imposing the sentence, the court took into account the factual circumstances of the case related to the periods of Mevshuk’s evasion from military service, the nature and degree of public danger committed by the defendant, who, within a short period of time, committed two serious crimes and one crime of medium gravity against military service,” the message states.
Mevshuk was sentenced to seven years in a penal colony under the general regime. The press service of the court did not specify the name of the convict. According to the case file on the court’s website, updated on November 15, the defendant is Alexander Mevshuk. The case was brought to court on November 5, and the verdict was handed down at the first hearing.
https://vk.com/wall-215822488_2375
- Военнослужащий по фамилии Хутиев признан виновным по части 5 статьи 337 УК РФ (Самовольное оставление части или места службы на срок более месяца в период мобилизации; предусматривает от пяти до 10 лет лишения свободы), сообщил на своей странице во «Вконтакте» Нальчикский гарнизонный военный суд.
According to the court, Khutiev “without good reason on May 15, 2025 during the period of mobilization” did not show up for the military unit. “On August 1, 2025, Khutiev was found in the city of Mozdoke Respublika Severnaya Ossetia-Alania by a police officer who was looking for him for evading military service, and from May 15 to August 1, 2025, he spent his time at his place of residence,” the publication says.
Khutiev pleaded guilty in court. “At the same time, when imposing the punishment, the court took into account the factual circumstances of the case related to the period of Khutiev’s evasion from military service, the nature and degree of public danger of the defendant, who committed a serious crime against military service,” the court said.
In addition, by the sentence of the Vladikavkaz Garrison Military Court on August 6, Khutiev was already sentenced to six years in prison “for serious crimes committed during military service”, the court noted.
“Since Khutiev committed the crime in the current criminal case before August 6, 2025, the court imposed the final punishment on the totality of the offenders. Thus, by partial addition of the appointed punishments, Khutiev was sentenced to the final punishment in the form of actual deprivation of liberty for a term of 7 years in a correctional colony under the general regime,” the publication says.
The press service of the court did not specify the name of the convict. According to the case file on the court’s website, updated on November 15, the defendant is Murad Khutiev. The case was brought to court on November 5, and the verdict was handed down at the first hearing.
https://vk.com/wall-215822488_2378
- The Nalchik Garrison Military Court reported on its Vkontakte page that military serviceman Nagoev was found guilty under Part 5 of Article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
According to the court, Nagoev “on June 3, 2025 during the period of mobilization” did not show up for duty in a military unit without valid reasons.
“On July 24, 2025, Nagoev arrived at the military investigative department located in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria Republic, and from June 3 to July 24, 2025, Nagoev spent time at his own discretion at his place of residence,” the publication says.
In court, Nagoev fully admitted his guilt. “The defendant was sentenced to real imprisonment for a term of 5 years in a correctional colony under the general regime,” the court reported.
The press service of the court did not specify the name of the defendant. According to the case file on the court’s website, the defendant is Khasanby Nagoev. His case came to court on November 5, and at the first hearing on November 13, the verdict was handed down.
https://vk.com/wall-215822488_2377
- Military serviceman Rezuan Kardanov was found guilty under Part 3.1 of Article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Abandonment of a part or place of service), the Nalchik Garrison Military Court reported on his Vkontakte page.
According to the court, Kardanov “on July 3, 2025 during the period of mobilization” voluntarily left his post and on July 21 voluntarily reported to the military investigation department in Nalchik. “And from July 3 to 21, he spent his time as he saw fit,” the publication says.
The court also established that Kardanov had already been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of one hour, one month and five days in a colony-settlement, which had not been fully served. “At the court hearing, Kardanov declared himself fully guilty of the crime he was charged with,” the court reported.
According to the totality of the sentences, Kardanov was sentenced to the final punishment – three years in a correctional colony under the general regime.
https://vk.com/wall-215822488_2382
- Military serviceman Maremukov was found guilty under part 5 of Art. 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Arbitrary abandonment of a unit or place of service for a period of more than a month during the period of mobilization; provides from five to 10 years of imprisonment), the Nalchik Garrison Military Court reported on its Vkontakte page.
According to the court, Maremukov did not show up for duty “on December 23, 2024 during the period of mobilization” without valid reasons and was detained by police officers in Nartkala only on March 31. “And from December 23, 2024 to March 31, 2025, he lived at his discretion at his place of residence on the territory of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic,” the publication says. The court also found that in January 2025 in the village of Kahun, Maremukov “negligently caused serious harm to the health of a citizen”, and in March in Nartkal, he committed crimes against the sexual integrity of a woman.
“The defendant Maremukov did not plead guilty to committing a crime against sexual integrity, at the same time he gave confessional statements regarding the other crimes he was charged with,” the court reported. According to the publication, the military serviceman was sentenced to 15 years in a strict-regime prison for all crimes and convictions.
The press service of the court did not specify the name of the defendant. Information about the defendant and his two defense attorneys is hidden in the case file on the court’s website.
https://vk.com/wall-215822488_2370
- Military serviceman Gadiev is convicted of the crime provided for in Part 2.1 of Art. 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the Nalchik Garrison Military Court reported on its Vkontakte page.
On September 18, 2025, during the period of mobilization, Gadiev did not report to the military unit at the appointed time without good reason. On September 26, 2025, Gadiev voluntarily arrived at the military investigative department located in Mozdoke, Republic of Severnaya Ossetia-Alania, and from September 18 to September 26, 2025, he spent his time as he saw fit.
At the court hearing, Gadiev fully recognized himself as guilty of the crime he was charged with. Gadiyev was sentenced to imprisonment for 1 year.
https://vk.com/wall-215822488_2390
The consideration of the current criminal case against serviceman Batyrkhanov, who was convicted of committing a crime, provided for in Part 3.1 of Art. 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the Nalchik Garrison Military Court reported on its Vkontakte page.
On August 26, 2025, without good reason, Batyrkhanov did not show up for duty in the military unit stationed in St. Troitskaya Sunzhensky district of the Republic of Ingushetia. On September 17, 2025, Batyrkhanov was found in Mozdoke by a police officer, and from August 26 to September 17, 2025, Batyrkhanov spent time at his own discretion at his place of residence.
Batyrkhanov was sentenced to one year of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony.
https://vk.com/wall-215822488_2385
Serviceman Gridyaev was found guilty under Part 3.1 of Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code (unauthorized abandonment of a unit or place of service), the Nalchik Garrison Military Court reported on its VKontakte page.
According to the court, “on January 10, 2025, during his mobilization, Gridyaev failed to report for duty at the appointed time at his military unit stationed in Petrozavodsk, Republic of Karelia. On August 26, 2025, Gridyaev was discovered in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, by police officers. From January 10 to August 26, 2025, he spent his time at his own discretion at his place of residence in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic.”
Gridyaev was sentenced to 5 years and 1 month of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony.
https://vk.com/wall-215822488_2373
In total, in October 2025 alone, 13 people in Kabardino-Balkaria were sentenced to prison terms for unauthorized abandonment of their unit during mobilization*.
On September 21, 2022, Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization, and on October 28 of that year, the Minister of Defense reported to the president on its completion, but no corresponding decree followed. Legal experts concluded that a presidential decree was not required to end the partial mobilization, Putin’s press secretary explained. Importantly, all of the above incidents occurred much later than October 28, 2022, that is, after the partial mobilization had concluded.
On September 24, 2022, Parts 2.1, 3.1, and 5 of Article 337 were added to the Russian Criminal Code, covering unauthorized abandonment of a unit or place of service during mobilization. The amendments provide for imprisonment for up to 10 years. Tightening of laws after the announcement of mobilization led to harsher sentences for absence from the military unit.
A court in Nalchik convicted a Russian Defense Ministry lieutenant of a large bribe
Lieutenant Kristina Gorbunova was sentenced in Kabardino-Balkaria to three years for accepting a bribe of one and a half million rubles. According to investigators, she accepted the bribe in exchange for exempting a serviceman from participating in combat.
According to the official version, in December 2023, during the period of mobilization and martial law, Gorbunova personally accepted a particularly large bribe of 1.5 million rubles from a serviceman under her command for general favoritism. The favor consisted of exempting the serviceman from combat and retaining him in his unit during his military service, which was within her official duties, the Nalchik Garrison Military Court reported on its VKontakte page.
It is noted that the woman in question is a lieutenant in the Russian Ministry of Defense. When sentencing, the court took into account that she had been promoted to military rank ahead of schedule for exemplary performance of assault missions. She also holds state awards—the Order of Courage, the Medal for Bravery, and the Medal for Courage, 2nd Class—which she received during a special military operation. Taking this into account, the court deemed it appropriate to sentence Gorbunova to a prison sentence significantly lower than the minimum sentence for bribery for three years in a general regime penal colony, retain her military rank, retain her state awards, and waive any other additional penalties, the court reports.
Gorbunova’s name was not mentioned in the court press release. According to the case file on the court’s website, the defendant is Kristina Gorbunova. The case was received by the court on November 17, and she was sentenced on November 27.
https://tass.ru/proisshestviya/25748327
The case of a pensioner murdered by a former SVO member in Nalchik has reached trial
The Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria has begun hearing the criminal case against 24-year-old Nalchik resident Rustam Nogmov, accused of the brutal murder of 86-year-old Nina Selezneva.
According to investigators, on January 30, 2025, while in a park area in Nalchik, Nogmov, under the influence of alcohol and drugs, without apparent provocation, inflicted multiple injuries with his hands and feet on an 86-year-old woman he had never met before, resulting in her death at the scene. Then he raped her body.
Nogmov pleaded guilty to the charges. He is a combat veteran and holds a medal for his participation in the special war opeation. He served as a rifleman in the 78th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 58th Combined Arms Army. In 2024, he was wounded in the leg, according to the newspaper Gazeta Yuga. According to the case file on the website of the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria, Nogmov’s case was submitted for consideration on November 11, 2025. He is accused of desecration of a deceased person and murder.
https://epp.genproc.gov.ru/ru/proc_07/mass-media/news/main/e6356079
The number of cases involving charges of abandoning their unit during mobilization is direct evidence that residents of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, despite the threat of prosecution, tried their best to avoid being drawn into the war against Ukraine. Contract soldiers from the republic were among the first in Russia to refuse to go to the front en masse, and public gatherings against the declared military mobilization were held in the republic’s capital. Human rights activists in the republic demanded an end to the drafting of residents for war, as this effectively leads to the “extermination of the gene pool.” Pavel Chikov, head of the human rights group “Agora,” spoke of servicemen who had approached them and were being pressured for refusing to go to Ukraine. These were security forces from 17 cities, including Krasnodar, Vladikavkaz, Nalchik, Cherkessk, and Stavropol. And the Kristina Gorbunova bribery case only confirms this reality – people did everything possible, including literally buying their way out of combat from corrupt officials, who, meanwhile, obtained fictitious awards for themselves, like Nugraleyev and Puzenko, manipulating the lives of their protégés and sending them to their deaths in their place. And the image of Rustam Nogmov, a veteran and recipient of the Order of the Second World War, who brutally and wantonly murdered a defenseless 86-year-old woman, is a vivid illustration of the aberrant processes and mental mutations that occur in those who still fail to escape this experience.
Conclusion
The events documented in the November 2025 report in Kabardino-Balkaria illustrate a persistent trend toward consistent, ongoing violations of basic human rights. A crisis of traditional values, historically characteristic of the republic’s peoples, is also evident, influenced by the peculiarities of wartime conditions; no efforts to prevent moral deviations have been identified. The systemic and growing trend toward disregarding generally accepted standards for the protection of citizens’ rights and freedoms in the republic requires the close attention of the international community.