The song that stopped being the USSR’s anthem in 1944 is now landing Russian activists in prison for ‘terrorism’
The Central District Court of Novosibirsk ordered activist and human rights advocate Larisa Mikhailova held for two months, the Telegram channel of the Agrarian Council movement reported. The hearing was closed to the public, and it remains unknown what charges she faces.
In August 2025, Russian human rights activist Larisa Mikhailova was detained for two months by the Central District Court of Novosibirsk. The reason for her detention remains unclear, but it is believed to be related to her online call for "terrorist activity." Mikhailova's apartment was searched by FSB and riot police, who broke in immediately upon knocking.
She faces a maximum sentence of seven years under Article 205.2 of Russia's Criminal Code. According to her daughter, the charge may be linked to her mention of "The Internationale," the communist hymn that served as the Soviet anthem until 1944. Mikhailova has been an active advocate for civic rights, covering a mass slaughter of livestock and defending local farmers' rights.
This is not her first encounter with terrorism-incitement charges; in June 2025, another activist, Aruna Arna, received a five-year sentence for modifying the lyrics of "The Internationale" to include curses against "killers of the people" and "killers of Russia." Another activist, Vasilya Vershinina, is facing charges for publishing "The Internationale" in Kamchatka.
Both activists are associated with Svetlana Lada-Rus, the founder of the Samara folk medicine center Put k Solntsu and the disbanded Volya party.
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