OVD-Info

30 October 2025

by OVD-Info

Source: OVD-Info

Friends!

Today is 30 October – Political Prisoners’ Day. This day was first observed in 1974 when Soviet dissidents in prison camps in Mordovia – including the astronomer Kronid Liubarsky – held a one-day hunger strike. Amongst other things, they demanded to be granted the status of Political Prisoner. Since that day, 30 October has become a day of solidarity with prisoners of conscience. 

In 1991, the Supreme Soviet – the highest state legislative body in the USSR –   proclaimed 30 October as Remembrance Day for the Victims of Political Repression, passing a law to rehabilitate millions of victims. According to Memorial, more than 2,6 million people in the Soviet Union fell victim to political repression.

In modern Russia, this day has taken on a wider significance; it serves to remind us not only of the past, but of those imprisoned right now – for words they used, views they expressed and peaceful demonstrations they participated in.

Contemporary Russia: Repression Draws Closer 

We can see the form of repression changing before our eyes; laws are becoming stricter and sentences tougher. Today, criminal charges can be pressed against someone for making donations, writing posts online or taking to the streets with a placard. The number of people facing politically motivated prosecutions is increasing – today, we count 1759 – and they need support from the moment they are arrested.  

How We Help

OVD-Info has been supporting the victims of political repression for almost 14 years. Our lawyers are there for those prosecuted from the moment they are arrested to their appearance in court and right up until they are released from imprisonment. We remain by their side even when cases take years (which they normally do). OVD-Info lawyers work on defence strategies, keep tabs on prisoners’ health and help them to talk to their families. OVD-Info supports families, investigates rights violations and does everything possible so that people won’t have to face the machinery of repression alone.

What You Can Do To Help Today

1. Support OVD-Info

Your donations – especially from foreign bank cards – help us to remain independent from Russian payment systems and make plans to provide help in the months ahead. Regular donations help us to remain alongside people for as long as is needed. SUPPORT OVD-INFO

2. Write a Letter Through Vestochka

A letter to a prisoner is not only support; it proves that they have not been forgotten. Using our postal service Vestochka does not require you to register on any state services, and you can attach a postcard to your letter. We use black and white postcards so that when they are printed on black and white printers (which they usually are in the penal colonies and pre-trial detention centres), the pictures do not lose any details. Sending a letter costs us about 220 roubles – you can help us to send new ones. SEND A LETTER, SUPPORT VESTOCHKA SERVICE

3. Help to Send Prisoners Parcels

There are more than 1700 victims of political repression in penal colonies, prisons, pre-trial detention centres and even undergoing mandatory hospital treatment. We collect items to send them – warm clothes, medicines and other useful items. Sometimes they want very simple things: bowls for washing, hairpins or sweets for people with stomatological issues. But these things give people a sense of dignity and connection with the outside world.  Support Us to Send Parcels

4. Spread Our Word or Read about Us

Sometimes, the most important thing is just to not look the other way. We know reading about repression is not easy, but knowledge protects – of this we are certain. We have seen much proof of this. 

Read OVD-Info: On our website – On Telegram – On Instagram

Why it is Important to Remember

30 October is a reminder that repression is not in the past; it is part of our reality. It also reminds us that behind every case of repression is a person and their family. It has become much harder to express solidarity, but by no means have all viable methods of supporting the regime’s victims disappeared: we have letters, donations and word of mouth. Thank you for being there to help us time and again. Thank you for being here.

Translated by Oscar Seecharan