Polina Yevtushenko

Polina Yevtushenko, born in 1999, was a translator by training and a single mother raising her young daughter in the city of Tolyatti.

In 2026, she was sentenced to 14 years in prison on charges including “treason”, “spreading false information about the Russian military”, and “justifying terrorism”.

Polina was arrested in 2023 shortly after dropping her six-year-old daughter off at kindergarten. Much of the case against her reportedly stemmed not only from social media posts, but from conversations with a man she had met online months earlier.

The man gradually gained her trust through friendly conversations, meetings, and political discussions. He encouraged her to speak openly about the war, her beliefs, and fears surrounding mobilisation. Unknown to Polina, he was secretly recording everything and passing the information directly to the Russian security services.

According to human rights groups, they have already been dozens of similar cases since 2022, most of which are likely to have been orchestrated by the Secret Service from the outset. They seem to all involve strangers initiating online contact, provoking political discussions, and later appearing as witnesses for the prosecution.

Inside prison, Polina has reportedly faced harsh treatment and repeated punishment over minor infractions. She has spent time in solitary confinement and been placed in punishment cells for things as trivial as failing to turn off the prison television quickly enough. Meanwhile, her daughter now lives with her grandparents.

“What does Putin’s Russia fighting for? Is it a free Ukraine from people who used to be okay with Russians and Russia – by killing them? Or is it to banish the Ukrainian people from their own land or is it simply because we can repeat [past victories]? We did.did [repeat it.] once again, we have established fascism, bombed Ukraine cities and killed countries civilians and children!”

Polina Yevtushenko.