Write to Russia

‘His second prison term is a stark illustration of how the system of political persecution operates in Russia today. Having served a sentence does not mean a person will be left alone’ – Perm-36

Aleksandr Gniteev, a resident of Ekaterinburg and a former employee of Academician Semikhatov Automation Research Institute, was remanded in custody in May 2026 on a charge of ‘financing extremism’ (Art. 282.3, Part 1, CC RF) for donating to Aleksei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation.

Memorial has recognised Aleksandr Gniteev as a political prisoner.

Memorial reports that in 2012 Aleksandr Gniteev was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment on a charge of treason. He allegedly passed secret information concerning the control system for the Bulava submarine-launched strategic missile to foreign intelligence services. In 2018, he was released after serving his sentence.

The human rights group Perm-36 reports that after his release Aleksandr Gniteev remained in Russia, helping human rights organizations, supporting those in need, and ‘believing that his place was at home.’ The organisation writes:

‘His second prison term is a stark illustration of how the system of political persecution operates in Russia today. Having served a sentence does not mean a person will be left alone—quite the opposite: at any moment, a new pretext for a criminal case can be found. Alexander is currently in information isolation, which, according to his friends, is very difficult for him. He asks that people write to him about everything: life, news, books, and movies. It is known that he is interested in Formula 1.’

The website ural66.info reports that Aleksandr Gniteev’s friends remember him as someone who supported others and participated in independent theater and human rights projects. The website writes:

‘In 2025, Gniteev was arrested again. He faces charges of financing extremist activities; human rights activists suggest that a donation to the Anti-Corruption Foundation may have been the pretext. According to his loved ones, Aleksandr is being held in isolation—all that is known is that he is being detained in a pretrial detention centre in Yekaterinburg. The human rights organization “Memorial” has recognized him as a political prisoner.

“He didn’t pull me out of the burning house. He just sat there in that burning house next to me.” — a friend

For Aleksandr, this is his second prison term under one of the most severe articles of the Criminal Code. Current practice shows that even small donations to opposition organizations sometimes become grounds for criminal cases. One simple way to show support is to write him a letter.’

Write to Aleksandr Gniteev

The Russian penal system does not allow any messages to prisoners that are written in foreign languages, but Write to Russia is here to help you. To show your support for Aleksandr Gniteev please send your letter as an email to us at: le******************@********il.com. We’ll translate your letter into Russian and, depending on your request, either mail the translated letters on your behalf to Aleksandr Gniteev, or return the letters to you by email for posting in an envelope with addresses written in Russian. If we send the letter on your behalf, we ask that you compensate us for the cost of postage from the UK (currently £3.60 [$4.89; €4.17] for one letter). For suggestions on what to write to a political prisoner, click here. To learn more about our letter writing project, click here: Write to Russia.

You can write to Aleksandr Gniteev at the following address:

Russian Federation – 620019, Свердловская область, г. Екатеринбург, ул. Репина, д. 4, ФКУ СИЗО-1 ГУФСИН России по Свердловской области, Гнитеев Александр Петрович, 1986 г. р. Можно написать через zt.ru

The persons unjustly imprisoned in Russia whose plight our project Write to Russia has highlighted to date can be found at this link:

Write to Russia – List of Prisoners

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