Arkhangelsk activist convicted for reposting Rammstein video released from jail
Activist Andrei Borovikov has spent two years and three months in penal colony №7 in the Arkhangelsk region. Throughout his incarceration, Borovikov was at least four times placed in the punishment cell, for such minor infractions as possessing shower gel or retrieving a piece of bread from the canteen. In March 2023, he even won a lawsuit against the colony for the deplorable detention conditions, with 5 thousand rubles ($62) in compensation.
Following his release, the activist was reluctant to discuss immediate plans. Speaking to 7x7, Borovikov shared, "I feel as if I have returned from a parallel world. Simply being outside, unencumbered by the walls of a cell, brings me immense happiness. I have numerous aspirations, but first, I must gather my thoughts."
Andrei Borovikov, an Arkhangelsk activist and former coordinator at Navalny's headquarters*, consistently joined unauthorized rallies and demonstrations against the establishment of a landfill near the Shiyes railway station, in addition to opposing an increase in retirement age.
On April 29, 2021, the Lomonosovsky District Court in Arkhangelsk sentenced Borovikov to 2.5 years in a minimum-security penal colony. He was convicted for distributing pornography, resulting from his online publication of a music video by the German band Rammstein titled "Pussy" on the social network "VKontakte" back in 2014. The lead guitarist of the band, Richard Kruspe, expressed his shock at the severity of the sentence, emphasizing the band's enduring advocacy for artistic freedom, a cornerstone of basic human rights.
* The story mentions Navalny's headquarters, an organization whose activities are banned in Russia