Soviet-Era Dissident Alexander Skobov Sentenced to 16 Years for Anti-Terror Advocacy in Russia

A Russian military tribunal has handed down a 16-year prison sentence to Alexander Skobov, a dissident from the Soviet era, charged with justifying terrorism and being part of a terrorist organization, according to the exiled news site Mediazona.

The 67-year-old Skobov was apprehended in April for allegedly justifying an assault on the Crimea Bridge, constructed by Russia, through an online remark and for his affiliation with the Free Russia Forum, a liberal opposition platform based in Lithuania that has been labeled as «undesirable» by Russian authorities.

A military court in St. Petersburg convicted Skobov on both counts and ordered him to serve his sentence in a high-security facility.

Prosecutors had sought an 18-year term for Skobov, whose health has significantly worsened during his pre-trial confinement.

In a bold final statement made in court, Skobov criticized both Russian and U.S. leadership, calling them «predators» involved in an «imperialist conspiracy» in Ukraine.

“Death to the Russian fascist invaders! Death to Putin, the new Hitler, the murderer and scoundrel! Glory to Ukraine!” Mediazona reported Skobov declaring.

He further expressed, “I am the one holding you accountable here. I charge Putin’s ruling circle, which reeks of death, with orchestrating, provoking, and conducting an aggressive war.”

In March 2024, Russia’s Ministry of Justice labeled Skobov a “foreign agent.” He remains one of the few vocal opponents of Russia’s extensive invasion of Ukraine to stay within the country, despite the peril of criminal prosecution under wartime censorship regulations.

A dissident since the late 1970s, Skobov has faced two convictions and has undergone forced psychiatric treatment for “anti-Soviet propaganda.”