Russian journalist Vasilisa Shishkina, an editor at the regional outlet Nomer Odin in Russia’s eastern Republic of Buryatia, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on treason charges by the Supreme Court of Buryatia on May 21, 2026.
A court in Novosibirsk upheld the sentence on August 6, according to her lawyer Vasily Dubkov.
Shishkina has been detained in Novosibirsk since July 17, 2025. Her lawyer said her trial was held behind closed doors and did not provide further details about the charges.
Evgeny Smirnov, a lawyer with the independent Russian human rights project Perviy Otdel, told CPJ that the case stemmed from Shishkina “writing and publishing articles for a media outlet deemed ‘undesirable’ in Russia.” CPJ was unable to independently verify the claim.
Independent Russian media reported that Shishkina had covered alleged rights violations involving men mobilized from Buryatia following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Shishkina received the minimum sentence for treason. Her family kept details of the case private, believing that doing so could improve her chances of receiving a more lenient sentence, according to a source close to the case who spoke to CPJ.
CPJ emailed the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Buryatia in August 2026 for a comment but did not receive a reply.