A court in Sochi sentenced members of the "Citizens of the USSR"* movement.

A Sochi court sentenced local residents for participating in and inciting participation in the activities of an extremist organization. Mother and son, Yulia and Yaroslav Rybin, received 5 and 3 years in a general regime penal colony, respectively.

According to the court, on June 20, 2025, Yulia and Yaroslav Rybin were stopped by traffic police. At the time, their son was driving a car with a state registration plate bearing the heraldic symbols of the USSR.

After being stopped, the Rybins presented police with their USSR passports, a USSR driver's license, and vehicle registration documents bearing the USSR symbols. At the same time, they informed the police that they did not recognize the Russian Federation as a legitimate state, stating that "the Russian Federation does not exist, since the USSR never officially ceased to exist," the press service of the Krasnodar Krai courts reported on their Telegram channel.

As it later turned out, the defendant not only belonged to the organization but also actively promoted its ideology. She convinced her acquaintances to join the organization and restore the USSR, promising material benefits such as tax exemptions, as well as the ability to avoid paying utility bills and fines.

At the court hearing, the defendants admitted guilt and refused to testify, the press service clarified.

The Lazarevsky District Court found them guilty of participating in the activities of an extremist organization 1 . Yulia Rybina was also found guilty of inciting participation in an extremist organization 2 . The court sentenced Yulia Rybina to five years in a general regime penal colony, and Yaroslav Rybin to three years in a general regime penal colony.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that the Cherkessk City Court sentenced nine defendants in the "USSR citizens"* case: five of them were given prison terms ranging from five to eight years, while four others received suspended sentences.

People who consider themselves citizens of the USSR are an informal community; they unite in various organizations, human rights activist Alexander Verkhovsky previously told the "Caucasian Knot." "These are different people who believe that the USSR continues to legally exist, while the Russian Federation, on the contrary, does not. They unite in different organizations. From time to time, these organizations even split into parts," he explained. According to the human rights activist, several organizations of those who consider themselves citizens of the USSR have already been banned in Russia, but they do not always include the abbreviation "USSR."

* The interregional public association "Union of Slavic Forces of Russia" was designated an extremist organization in August 2019 by the Komi Supreme Court. Several other organizations with the abbreviation "USSR" in their names have also been added to the extremist list.

** The activities of Meta (which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) are banned in Russia.