Report on Human Rights Violations in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic
Human rights activist Khava Beshtoeva
October 2025
ABSTRACT
An analysis of open sources for October 2025, including media data, online resources, and statements from individuals, reveals a persistent trend of human rights and freedoms violations by the authorities and security forces of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. These violations primarily involve politically motivated distortions of historical reality, criminalization of activism, persecution of citizens for political and human rights activities, repression and judicial falsifications, and violations of the right to a fair trial. The documented incidents underscore the urgency of further efforts to protect human rights in the republic.
Political Clichés of Retrospectives (or Remembrance)
On October 13, 2025, commemorative events were held in Kabardino-Balkaria to mark the 20th anniversary of the rebel group’s attack on the republic’s security forces in Nalchik. It was a tragic event that pitted representatives of one Republic against each other, including police stations, the FSB, a military unit, and others. The context of the officials’ statements and the format of the events demonstrate that even two decades after the incident, no one has made any effort to rethink the real causes that led to this fratricidal catastrophe. Despite the abundance of research by scholars and analysts, and even beyond the clichés of fact-finding, the solution still eludes due to its biased approach.
In 2009, the Jamestown Foundation published an interview with Anzor Astemirov (Amir Sayfullah), a descendant of Circassian princes whose ancestors once ruled Kabarda and a commander of the United Resistance Forces of Kabarda, Balkaria, and Karachay. “We are acting according to a developed program that calls for military strikes only when necessary,” he emphasized, naming not the common people but the Russian GRU troops stationed in Nalchik as his enemy. To analyze the political and social circumstances, he argued it is necessary to consider the actions of the underground in conjunction with the facts of “ongoing violations of the rights of the civilian population and violence against them.” All who knew Anzor (Sayfullah) Astemirov (1976-2010) and Artur (Musa) Mukozhev (1966-2009) personally claimed that they were initially cooperative and constructively minded individuals.
Nowhere in the Caucasus, as in the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic, has the opposition taken such systematic and thoughtful steps to open a dialogue with the authorities and the pro-government “spiritual administration.” For this purpose, the Kabardino-Balkarian Institute of Islamic Studies was established in 2002, positioning itself as a legal opposition and focused exclusively on the political resolution of existing contradictions. However, as Mukozhev later noted, “The security forces and the authorities benefited from having people outside the law in the KBR, since the fight against them ensured financial infusions from the center, satisfied career ambitions, and prospects for advancement.”
That same year, the infamous “Wahhabi” lists began to be compiled through a joint effort between the security forces, the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims, and the official authorities. Moscow used the familiar “Wahhabis” bogeyman to justify its own terrorism designation. The use of a vague, purely religious term in repressive practices, lacking any legal basis or established or specific identification criteria, and with a strictly speculative connection to the socio-political realities of the North Caucasus, led to the inclusion of virtually everyone who attended mosques or worshiped as potential extremists. They themselves categorically denied any involvement with “Wahhabism,” stating that they “do not seek to proselytize people to Islam; their path is enlightenment, while true Wahhabis advocate for forced Islamization or the physical extermination of dissenters.” It is noteworthy that most secular researchers of that period confirmed that there were no signs of the formation of radical extremist cells in Kabardino-Balkaria.
It is known that Shamil Basayev, who was captured in Baksan but managed to escape, visited the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic a year and a half before the events of 2005. He met with Mukozhev and Astemirov at the time, proposed a union, but was rebuffed. Although pressure had been exerted on Muslims before, they had only acted out as a deterrent until the very end, attempting to find a solution that avoided an armed struggle. Despite this, after Basayev’s departure, violent actions against young Muslims began. Immediately after the incident, 165 people were arrested for 10-15 days on various charges, and often, anyone found in mosques was detained. Following this, an operation to close down the Muslim religious institutions began. The security forces’ fear of the scenario unfolding in the neighboring republics, which intensified after the terrorist attack on Beslan in 2004, led to a radicalization of preventative measures. The quintessence and obvious justification of which was Putin’s phrase, “Wash them in the toilet.”
Meanwhile, as we mentioned earlier, any faithful Muslims were considered to be Wahhabis. And in response to the bloody repression of the young male population, Astemirov and Mukozhev’s protégés decided to defend their people. As Astemirov stated in the previous interview: “The regime left the people with no mechanism for resisting violence other than an armed struggle.”
Larisa Dorogova, our colleague and ally, a highly competent lawyer with many years of professional experience, has compiled a unique multi-volume collection documenting egregious abuses by security forces against the young Adyghe people, which can hardly be described as anything other than brutal and inhumane. Torture, kidnappings, murders, and sexualized violence are on a scale and in ways that a healthy mind simply refuses to comprehend. For many years, Dorogova, devoting all her professional efforts to achieving some measure of justice in this area, had tried in vain. Unable to bear the feeling of powerlessness within the system and the inability to fulfill her moral obligation, she surrendered her lawyer’s license in protest and left the Russian Federation. It is noteworthy that in September 2005, on behalf of 400 Muslims from Kabardino-Balkaria, Larisa Dorogova appealed to Putin for assistance in their departure from Russia due to concerns for their lives and health. The appeal noted that “due to widespread violations of constitutional, civil, and religious rights in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, the closure of mosques, and illegal investigative methods, it is unsafe for Muslims to live in the republic.” As expected, the appeal went unanswered.
A month later, this effort would lead to irreversible consequences.
The authorities’ inability to conclude is not only a problem in interpreting a specific historical precedent, but it also underlies the current rejection of any tool other than repressive force. Beginning today, this rule applies not only to those who have chosen the path of armed resistance but also to activists who act solely through words and education.
https://kbrria.ru/obshchestvo/VKBGUvspominalitragicheskiesobytiyaoktyabrya2005go15
Persecution of Activists and Human Rights Defenders Who Defended a Journalist Accused of Terrorism
A month earlier, Larisa Tuptsokova, a journalist, philologist, Circassian language teacher, poet, and translator from Adygea, announced on her social media page that a criminal case had been opened against her under Article 282.2, Part 2 of the Russian Criminal Code for participation in an extremist organization. The charges stemmed from her work at the Circassian Cultural Center in Tbilisi, Georgia, one of which was listed among other extremist organizations. However, Tuptsokova resigned before this occurred. Before this resignation from the center, Larisa Tuptsokova was mainly a translator and publisher of Georgian poets’ literature, Georgian classics, and contemporary authors into Circassian.
However, despite the absence of a criminal offense, as Tuptsokova was not involved in the organization’s activities at the time it was designated extremist, it is clear that the investigation intends to bring the case to trial by any means necessary. Consequently, members of the Adygea and Kabardino-Balkaria republics, including human rights defenders, activists, scientists, cultural and artistic figures, and journalists, have appealed to the authorities to drop the criminal prosecution of Larisa Tuptsokova, calling the actions of law enforcement unlawful. Signatories of the petition in her defense noted Tuptsokova’s significant contribution to the preservation of their native Adyghe language while indicating that the case against her could set a precedent for the prosecution of others who have collaborated with the cultural center in Tbilisi.
In October 2025, activists from Kabardino-Balkaria who signed the petition in defense of Larisa Tuptsokova began to face harassment, according to the Kabardino-Balkaria Human Rights Center. Signatories started to receive phone calls from individuals claiming to be employees of the Kabardino-Balkarian Ministry of Internal Affairs, persistently inviting them to appear at the department to “explain” their position on the petition. Some were not given specific reasons for the summons but were instead told to appear “as soon as possible.” Many refused to appear unless it was an official summons. According to the information received, during the conversations, the Ministry of Internal Affairs officers asked about their acquaintance with Larisa Tuptsokova, their knowledge of her activities in an extremist organization, their reasons for signing the petition, and the identity of those who had suggested it. They also sought the contact numbers of other signatories.
Human rights activists view the actions of security forces as “yet another attempt to obstruct legitimate public activity and exert psychological pressure,” despite the fact that “in accordance with Article 33 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, citizens of the Russian Federation have the right to personally appeal, as well as to send individual and collective appeals, to state bodies and local government bodies,” and that “in accordance with Article 6 of Federal Law No. 59-FZ of May 2, 2006, ‘On the Procedure for Considering Appeals from Citizens of the Russian Federation,'” a number of guarantees for the safety of citizens in connection with their appeals are established, including “prohibition of prosecution of citizens in connection with their appeal to a state body, local government body, or official criticizing the activities of the said bodies or officials, or for the purpose of restoring or protecting their rights, freedoms, and legitimate interests, or the rights, freedoms, and legitimate interests of others.”
It is worth noting that this is far from the first case of persecution of signatories of public appeals. In November 2023, human rights defenders and activists who spoke out in support of the Institute for Humanitarian Studies were also summoned by security forces to explain the spread of slanders. In November 2022, human rights defenders in Kabardino-Balkaria called on the head of the republic, Kazbek Kokov, to prevent the persecution of scientists at the Institute for Humanitarian Studies of the Kabardino-Balkarian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who are attempting to reconstruct the true history and defend the native languages of the peoples of the North Caucasus.
Local activists, scientists, educators, and artists, as well as the Circassian diaspora in Turkey, spoke out in defense of the institute. In response to the appeal, the republic’s Ministry of Education dismissed information on the persecution of KBIGI employees as false. In January, security forces returned the items seized during their searches of the scientists, but did not provide the reasons for their searches.
In another instance, one of the defense petition signatories to the scientists, Shormanov, reported that security forces demanded he appear to explain his appeal to Kazbek Kokov regarding political pressure on activists. When Shormanov refused, the security officer stated that he would be “dragged in by subpoena,” as documented in Shormanov’s appeal to the republic’s prosecutor. Valery Khatazhukov, head of the Kabardino-Balkarian Human Rights Center, appealed to the republic’s prosecutor to protect the activists from pressure from law enforcement agencies. The authors of the petition in defense of the scientists related that they sent it to the head government of Kabardino-Balkaria, the republic’s Investigative Committee, and the prosecutor’s office, but received no response. Reports of duress by security forces were also ignored. Lawyers called the summonings of the petition’s signatories for questioning unlawful.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417036
A Circassian Activist Has Been Fined For Failing to Fulfill His Duties as a Foreign Agent
Martin Kochesoko, founder and head of the Circassian organization “Khabze,” is facing ongoing persecution: back in 2019, he was framed for drugs and convicted; Memorial found him to be illegally persecuted for political reasons. After the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine, Kochesoko left Russia and was declared a “foreign agent” in 2023. During its work in the republic, “Khabze” held cultural events in schools on history and language studies, and also participated in public campaigns (protesting against the abolition of mandatory study of native languages). In October 2025, Martin Kochesoko, a Circassian activist living abroad, was fined three thousand rubles by the Baksan court for failing to submit reports to the Ministry of Justice.
On June 22, 2024, it was reported that security forces had opened a criminal case against Martin Kochesoko for failure to fulfill the duties of a foreign agent (Article 330.1 of the Russian Criminal Code. The Baksan District Court fined him for administrative cases in December 2023. In February 2024, he was additionally fined for failing to display the “foreign agent” label in his publications.
The activist called the criminal prosecution unfounded. In the summer of 2024, it was reported that security forces had searched his parents’ homes three times in six weeks. Kochesoko described their regular probes into his family as a form of intimidation.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/415972
Kabardino-Balkaria Court Upheld the Denial of a March on Remembrance Day
The Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria confirmed the decision of the Nalchik City Court, which found the republic’s authorities’ refusal to permit a march on Remembrance Day for the Adyghe along Nalchik’s main street to be lawful and justified.
On May 21, 2025, the event proceeded nevertheless, with marchers waving the Circassian flags, intentionally timed to coincide with the 161st anniversary of the end of the Caucasian War. Eight Circassian activists were subsequently detained in Nalchik. They were sentenced to three to ten days of administrative arrest for participating in an unauthorized protest and obstructing traffic. The only woman among the eight detainees, Marina Kalmykova, was released after three days of arrest on May 25. Khusein Gugov, Zuber Euaz, Timur Nakhushev, Kazbek Mamikov, and Bashir Yerokov were released on May 27, while Idar Tsipinov and Beslan Gedgafov remained in custody. Timur Nakhushev and Zuber Euaz appealed the Nalchik City Court’s decisions. The court would then reduce their detention by one day. In June, the Minister of Nationalities of Kabardino-Balkaria stated that the questionable detention of the Nalchik March activists should be decided in court.
The memory of the Caucasian War remains highly politicized, and the authorities are increasingly returning to their imperialist interpretations of the events while ignoring its key lessons: attempts at forced unification and the destruction of local self-government systems deepen contradictions and conflicts.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416625
Kabardino-Balkaria Resident Convicted of Funding a Terrorist Organization
Kantemir Gogoladze, a resident of Kabardino-Balkaria, has been sentenced to 12 years in a maximum-security penal colony for financing terrorism. According to sources close to the convicted man (his friend), a member of the Russian security forces requested his assistance in transferring funds to an unknown recipient. Kantemir Gogoladze’s sentence was handed down by the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don. Pursuant to the official version, the convicted man received a wire transfer from an acquaintance in the city of Nartkala in February 2023. At the acquaintance’s request, he then sent part of the money to a member of the Islamic State terrorist group. The amount involved is unknown. There are no independent sources to confirm the veracity of the charges. Kantemir Gogoladze was allegedly framed to be sent to war in Ukraine.
A Resident of Kabardino-Balkaria Accused of Vindicating Terrorism Fined
The Southern District Military Court convicted N.Kh. Shogenov, a resident of the city of Chegem in Kabardino-Balkaria, is charged with public justification of terrorism, stated the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the North Caucasus Federal District. It should be noted that the Chegem resident was charged under Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code (public justification of terrorism), which carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison. The department did not give the specific indictments for which the Chegem resident is accused or the details of his justification for terrorism. As can be seen from the current repressive trends, people can be labeled as terrorists for practically anything, including comments on publications condemning the war.
A Kabardino-Balkaria Minor Trial on Terrorism Charges
In Kabardino-Balkaria, a teenager will stand trial on various charges, including participating in and being involved in the activities of a terrorist organization, attempting to kill a law enforcement officer, and other related crimes. The attack on police officers occurred on July 4 at the corner of Nogmova Street and Lenin Avenue in Nalchik. A traffic police patrol stopped a taxi that had run a red light. A young man jumped out of the car with a knife in his hand and attacked one of the officers. One attacker was shot dead, the other escaped. Kazbek Kokov, the chief of Kabardino-Balkaria, confirmed that the attacker was killed, but said nothing about the second attacker. In mid-September, a minor was arrested. Security forces believe the minor was to be the second accomplice in the attack on the traffic police unit in Nalchik. According to sources close to the accused, the case was fabricated; the teenager did not expect an attack on his fellow passenger and fled in fear.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416585
Military Court in Nalchik Sentenced Gudkov to Five and A Half Years in Prison For Absence Without Leave (AWOL)
Soldier Gudkov was found guilty under Part 5 of Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code. According to the court, Gudkov “left his post without permission on May 7, 2025, while under mobilization, martial law, and combat operations.” According to the prosecution, “on July 3, Gudkov was discovered in a city in the Donetsk People’s Republic by police officers who were searching for him on charges of evading military service, and from May 7 to September 5, he spent his time at his own discretion.” Gudkov was sentenced to five years and six months in a general regime penal colony.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416831
Nalchik Military Court Ruled Marat Zagazezhev to Five Years in Prison For Going AWOL
The Vkontakte page for the Nalchik Garrison Military Court posted that serviceman Zagazezhev was found guilty under Part 5 Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code. According to the court, Zagazezhev “failed to report for duty at his military unit on May 27, 2025, during mobilization and without a valid reason. On September 5, Zagazezhev voluntarily reported to the military investigative department in Nalchik, and from May 27 to September 5, he spent his time at his own discretion.” Zagazezhev was sentenced to five years in a general regime penal colony.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416798
Military Court in Nalchik Decreed Less Than A Month AWOL Alim Shkakhov to a Prison Sentence
Serviceman Shkakhov was found guilty under Part 3.1 of Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code, the Nalchik Garrison Military Court stated on its VKontakte page. According to the court, Shkakhov “on January 28, 2025, during mobilization,” failed to report for duty at his military unit in Stavropol without a valid excuse. “On February 25, 2025, Shkakhov was discovered by police in the village of Malka, and from January 28 to February 25, he spent time at his own discretion at his place of residence.” Shkakhov was sentenced to two years in a general regime penal colony.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416760
Nalchik Military Court Sentenced Pogorelov For Evading Military Mobilization
Pogorelov was found guilty under Part 5 of Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code, the Nalchik Garrison Military Court announced on its Vontakte page. According to the court, Pogorelov “on August 23, 2024, during mobilization,” failed to report for duty at his military unit in Mozdok without good reason. “On July 29, 2025, Pogorelov was discovered in the village of Komarovo, of the Mozdok District of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, by a police officer who was searching for him on charges of evading military service. From August 23, 2024, to July 29, 2025, he spent his time at his own discretion.” “It has been established that Pogorelov was convicted under the verdict of the Nalchik Garrison Military Court of August 12, 2025, which entered into force on August 28, 2025, under Part 5 of Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code, to a five-year prison sentence in a general regime penal colony, with the conviction not expunged, or expunged. Therefore, taking into account the factual circumstances of the case and the personal information about the defendant Pogorelov, the defendant has been sentenced to a final sentence of seven years’ imprisonment in a general regime penal colony for the combined offenses,” the court noted.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416660
Nalchik Military Court Gave Alexander Nemchenko Five Years For Going AWOL
On October 23, the VKontakte page of the Nalchik Garrison Military Court published that Nemchenko was found guilty under Part 5 of Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code. The court further stated, “on June 4, 2025, during mobilization,” the soldier failed to report for duty at his military unit in Vladikavkaz without a valid reason. “On July 14, 2025, Nemchenko was discovered in the Pavlodolskaya village of the Mozdok District in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. The military commandant’s officers were searching for him on charges of evading military service.” The defendant was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment in a general regime penal colony.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416608
Nalchik Military Court Sentenced Vaisul Batrayev To Five Years For Going AWOL
The Nalchik Garrison Military Court’s VKontakte page posted that soldier Batrayev was found guilty under Part 5 of Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code. The court further reported, “on February 19, 2025, during mobilization,” he left his military unit in Buynaksk without permission and without a good reason. “On July 3, 2025, Batrayev was discovered in the village of Sovetsky by a police officer, and from February 19 to July 3, 2025, he spent his time at his own discretion while evading military service.” The serviceman was sentenced to five years in a general regime penal colony.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416555
Military Court Gave Prokhladnensky District Member Stanislav Babov One Year in Prison For Going AWOL
A serviceman named Babov was found guilty under Part 3.1 of Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code, reported the Nalchik Garrison Military Court’s VKontakte page. The court post continued, Babov “failed to report for duty at his military unit on March 17, 2025, during mobilization,” without a valid reason. “On April 10, 2025, Babov was found at his place of residence in the village of Proletarskoye, Prokhladnensky District, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, by police officers who were searching for him on charges of evading military service. From March 17 to April 10, 2025, he spent his time at his place of residence at his discretion.” Babov was sentenced to one year of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416524
A Nalchik Military Court Sentenced Akrom Bersanov-Tsaroyev to a Prison term For Going AWOL
A serviceman named Bersanov-Tsaroyev was found guilty under Part 5 of Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code, as disclosed by the Nalchik Garrison Military Court’s VKontakte page. The court’s page continued, Bersanov-Tsaroyev, without a valid excuse, “on April 15, 2025, during mobilization, failed to report for duty at his military unit stationed in the Tver Region at the appointed time. He spent his time at his own discretion at his place of residence.” On June 20, 2025, Bersanov-Tsaroyev voluntarily reported to a military unit stationed in the Republic of Ingushetia. From April 15 to June 20, 2025, he spent his time at his own discretion at his place of residence, evading military service. The court noted that Bersanov-Tsaroyev had previously been convicted by two courts in Ingushetia “for committing several crimes for which he had not served his sentence. By partially attaching the unserved portion of his previous sentence, Bersanov-Tsaroyev was sentenced to a final sentence of imprisonment for 5 years and 1 month in a general regime penal colony,” the publication concluded.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416484
Military Court Ruled Kabardino-Balkaria Serviceman Daniil Strizhakov to a Prison Term for Going AWOL
Strizhakov was found guilty under Part 3.1 of Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code, the Nalchik Garrison Military Court announced on its VKontakte page. According to the court, Strizhakov “on June 2, 2025, during mobilization,” failed to report for duty at a military unit in the Moscow region without good reason. “On July 1, 2025, Strizhakov was found at his place of residence in Maysky City of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, by members of the military unit’s search group, on charges of evading military service. From June 2 to July 1, 2025, he spent his time at his own discretion at his place of residence.” Strizhakov was sentenced to two years of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416465
Nalchik Military Court Gave Anzor Sanchokov a Prison Term For Going AWOL
Serviceman Sanchokov was found guilty under Part 5 of Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code, as reported by the Nalchik Garrison Military Court’s VKontakte page. The court page further expounded, Sanchokov “left his place of duty – the temporary deployment point of a military unit – without good reason on January 18, 2024, during mobilization. On March 21, Sanchokov was discovered in Nalchik by a police officer. Before this, he had been spending time at his own discretion at his place of residence and evading military service.” In 2015, he was sentenced to imprisonment. The defendant “was sentenced to a final sentence of six years’ imprisonment in a maximum security penal colony for the combined crimes,” the court stated.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416407
Nalchik Military Court Decreed Ramazan Teunikov to a Prison Term For Going AWOL
Teunikov was found guilty under Part 5 of Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code, reported the Nalchik Garrison Military Court’s VKontakte page. According to the court post, Teunikov “failed to report for duty at his military unit on January 15, 2025, without good reason, during mobilization. On April 29, 2025, Teunikov voluntarily reported to the military investigative department in Nalchik, and from January 15 to April 29, 2025, he spent his time at his own discretion and evaded military service.” The defendant was sentenced to a five-year prison term in a general regime penal colony.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416282
Nalchik Military Court Judged Maxim Khorin to a Prison Term For Going AWOL
Khorin was found guilty under Part 5 of Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code, announced the Nalchik Garrison Military Court’s VKontakte page. The post also added that Khorin “failed to report for duty at his military unit on January 9, 2023, and June 1, 2024, both during mobilization.”
In his first failure to report, he neglected to arrive for duty at his military unit but remained at his residence until July 31, 2023. In his second failure to report, Khorin left his duty station in another military unit without permission but remained at his place of residence until March 13, 2025, as the publication disclosed. For his crimes, Khorin was sentenced to five years and six months of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416224
Military Court Sentenced Kabardino-Balkaria’s Serviceman Magomed Dokshukin to Two Years and Six Months For Going AWOL
Dokshukin was found guilty of committing a crime under Part 3.1 of Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code, according to the Nalchik Garrison Military Court’s press service VKontakte page. The press service post continued, Dokshukin “failed to report for duty at his military unit on January 31, 2025, without a good reason, during his mobilization.” On February 25, 2025, the serviceman “was discovered at his place of residence in Nalchik by police officers, and from January 31 to February 25, 2025, he spent his time at his own discretion and evaded military service,” the department reported. The court found Dokshukin to be a dangerous repeat offender, as “the defendant, before the expiration of eight years following his parole in January 2019 from a prison sentence for intentional serious crimes, the first of which he committed in October 2014 and the last in November 2015, and before his convictions were expunged, again committed an intentional serious crime against military service,” the press service stated. The serviceman was sentenced to two years and six months of imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony, according to the court’s publication.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/415921
In October 2025 alone, the Nalchik Garrison Military Court sentenced a total of 13 individuals to prison terms for unauthorized abandonment of their unit during mobilization (!).
On September 21, 2022, Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization. On October 28 of that year, the Minister of Defense reported to the president its completion, but without a corresponding presidential decree to follow. Legal experts agreed that a presidential decree was not required to end the partial mobilization, according to Putin’s press secretary.
It is noteworthy that all incidents discussed above occurred much after October 28, 2022, the date when 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, securing criminal punishment for unauthorized abandonment of a unit or a place of service during mobilization. The new amendments would provide imprisonment for up to 10 years. These tightening laws, enacted after the announcement of mobilization, had led to harsher sentences for absences from military units.
Conclusion
The events documented in the October 2025 report in the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic illustrate a persistent trend toward consistent, permanent violations of basic human rights.
This systemic and growing trend of absolute disregard for the generally accepted protective standards for the citizens’ rights and freedoms in the republic requires the close attention of the international community.