A Sochi native was convicted of intending to join the RDC*

A military court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Sochi native Iosif Kritsin to seven years in a maximum-security prison, finding him guilty of attempting to join the Russian Volunteer Corps.

Iosif Kritsin was charged with preparing to join a terrorist organization (Part 1 of Article 30, Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code). Participation in a terrorist organization carries a sentence of ten to twenty years in prison.

According to the prosecution, while serving a sentence in a penal colony in the Rostov Region, Iosif Kritsin "studied the ideology" of the Russian Volunteer Corps, an organization designated as terrorist and banned in Russia. Investigators believe Kritsin found a member of the RVC*, informed him of his intention to join the organization, and agreed to carry out its tasks.

Kritsin was released on September 11, 2024, and continued preparing to join the Russian House of Culture*: he held a fundraiser in Rostov-on-Don under the guise of helping prisoners, intending to use some of the proceeds to carry out his plan, according to a press release from the Southern District Military Court.

Security forces detained Kritsin on May 5, 2025. The court sentenced him to seven years in a maximum-security penal colony, with the first three years to be served in prison.

Iosif Kritsin was born in August 2004 in Sochi, according to his entry in the Rosfinmonitoring register of terrorists and extremists. His information was added to the list in October 2022 without a note about involvement in terrorism, according to a Telegram bot tracking list updates.

The court's press service did not specify the article under which Kritsin was previously sentenced to imprisonment and served his sentence. The inclusion of his data in the registry means that the Sochi native received his previous sentence under one of the "extremist" articles.

"Caucasian Knot" also wrote that Kuban resident Miloslav Oleynik was sentenced to 20 years in prison for communicating with members of the RDC* and carrying out their tasks under articles of treason and participation in the activities of a terrorist organization.

* The organization is designated as a terrorist organization and is banned in Russia.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.