Time to read: 9 minutes(s)

The Sovetsky District Court has begun hearing the criminal case against Ksenia Fadeeva. The coordinator of Navalny's Tomsk office and a member of the Tomsk City Duma is charged under two articles: Part 3 of Article 282.1 and Part 3 of Article 239 of the Russian Criminal Code (organizing an extremist group using one's official position and participating in a non-profit organization that infringes on the person and rights of citizens).  NotMoscow tells the story of Ksenia, who could face up to 20 years in prison.

Ksenia Fadeeva was born in Tomsk. She first attended Lyceum No. 1 named after A.S. Pushkin, and then spent her senior years at the Humanities Lyceum. She then graduated from the International Management Faculty of Tomsk State University, receiving her diploma in 2014. She became interested in politics as a teenager, when political life in the country was "still much more interesting and diverse."

Many people in the city began recognizing Ksenia on the streets in January 2015. She was picketing in support of the Tomsk television company TV2 and urging city residents to support the network on social media. The network's closure and subsequent legal proceedings were widely reported in various media outlets (not just in Tomsk).

The court subsequently fined her and TV2 journalist Viktoria Muchnik 20 rubles each for organizing an unauthorized event. Ksenia learned of her upcoming trial two hours before the hearing. Thus, Tomsk was testing the application of the amended Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, "On Violating the Established Procedure for Organizing or Holding a Gathering, Rally, Demonstration, March, or Picket."  

Three years later, Victoria Muchnik was able to prove to the ECHR that she had been persecuted unlawfully, but Ksenia did not file a lawsuit because she did not want to deal with the paperwork.

That summer, Ksenia Fadeeva became the coordinator of the Tomsk regional branch of Golos, an organization dedicated to protecting voters' rights and monitoring elections. Even then, Golos was under pressure: in September 2015, police detained six of the movement's volunteers who were training to become election observers. The police allegedly detained the volunteers for distributing "foreign agent" literature at a meeting devoted to election observation. They also attempted to lure Ksenia out of the building and detain her.

"Several police officers remained on guard at the building's entrance. They called me from my cell phone and said they were from the police and wanted to talk. I replied that I would only talk if I received a subpoena. They waited another two and a half hours. I don't know what happened; maybe they were trying to intimidate me before the elections. We'll see if charges are brought," Ksenia Fadeeva reported. All those detained were later released after receiving a statement.

When Alexei Navalny's regional headquarters opened in Tomsk in 2017, during his election campaign, Ksenia Fadeeva first became its deputy coordinator and then its head. Since then, numerous rallies in support of Alexei Navalny, free elections, and a change in Putin's regime have begun in Tomsk. 

On the day of the headquarters opening, unknown persons flooded They smashed the door to Fadeeva's apartment with foam, slashed her car tires, and splashed paint on it. The perpetrators entered her building's entrance at 3:45 a.m., late at night. They had a key to the entrance and knew there were security cameras. Two men pulled hoods over their heads to hide their presence. Ksenia Fadeeva filed a report, but, understandably, no one was ever found.

The headquarters was eventually opened, but that same evening, during a meeting between Alexei Navalny and his campaign volunteers, police entered the premises, claiming a bomb had been planted in the building. The meeting was forced to continue outside.

Ksenia was first detained in 2018 at the "Voters' Strike" rally organized by Alexei Navalny and his campaign. During the march in Tomsk, activists chanted, "Russia will be free!", "Russia without Putin!", and "These are not elections!" Ksenia was fined 12 rubles for organizing an unauthorized rally.

Ksenia Fadeeva continued to be fined at subsequent rallies. Tomsk authorities refused to allow her and other Alexei Navalny supporters to hold protests in the city center, forcing them to hold them practically in the outskirts. Ksenia was detained, police filed a report, and then sent the case to court.

In early May (May 5) 2018, a court fined Ksenia Fadeeva 250 rubles for the last time, and in late May (May 25), another court sentenced her to 10 days in jail for disobeying a police officer. Ksenia was then simply bundled into a civilian car and driven away. That same year, Ksenia was arrested again, this time for 15 days, for a protest against pension reform.

In the summer of 2020, Alexei Navalny was poisoned in Tomsk while working with the regional headquarters ahead of the City Duma elections. Less than a month after the poisoning, Ksenia Fadeeva participated in the City Duma elections.  wonFollowing those elections, Russian media dubbed Tomsk "the new capital of the Russian opposition." "Smart Voting" helped defeat the ruling party—candidates backed by Navalny's team strategy won 19 of 27 single-mandate constituencies in Tomsk, while United Russia won only 11 of 37 seats in the city parliament. 

Ksenia led at eight of nine polling stations in Tomsk. She and Andrei Fateyev, the second candidate from Navalny's campaign who won a seat in the City Duma, believe the election results were influenced not only by the opposition leader's poisoning but also by his team's investigative film, "Communal Services Mafia," which focused on the public utilities sector in Tomsk, which had been seized by several local United Russia deputies.

In October 2020, opposition City Duma deputies nominated Ksenia for the post of Speaker. She ledgeila then United Russia's Chingis Akataev received only five votes. For a while, politics entered Tomsk; the City Duma debated, openly discussed important city matters, and sought compromises. Ksenia was one of the most visible and active deputies.

In early 2021, Ksenia Fadeeva was detained several times for participating in unauthorized protests in support of Alexei Navalny. The court sentenced her to a fine of 25 rubles (for the January 23 protest), 20 rubles (for the January 31 protest), and 300 rubles for organizing the April 21 protest. This despite Fadeeva not having participated in the protest. When Alexei Navalny's organization was designated as extremist, the headquarters ceased operations. 

“A year ago, I didn’t think anyone would be so crazy as to decide to label a peaceful organization as extremist,” said Ksenia Fadeeva in an interview with TV2 in May 2021.

Despite everything, Ksenia remained a city council member and continued to work in her district. And the state steamroller continued to move forward. 

December 28, 2021, Ksenia Fadeeva detained on charges of organizing an extremist community and creating an NGO that infringes on the rights of citizens. 

Her home, her dacha, and her friend's apartment were searched. Her friend recalls waking up to a "hellish roar," and a few minutes later, those entering demanded they sit down, put their phones on the table, and prepare for a search. They told Ksenia Fadeeva, "Don't be nervous, everything's fine, we'll call you later, please sit quietly," and prevented her from contacting her lawyer. During the search, security officials confiscated all of Ksenia's friend's electronics, leaving only a television, a robot vacuum cleaner, and a graphics tablet. They then took her away for questioning, just like Fadeeva. 

For the sake of her constituents, Ksenia's friends are certain, she remained in Russia until the very end. Even though she understood it was extremely dangerous. She didn't have time to leave the country when the risks became prohibitive. Or perhaps she didn't want to.

"She wrote to me that she was scared, but she's a deputy, she has voters, she has a district, she has a responsibility—she can't leave her constituents and her work in the Tomsk City Duma, where she was elected in 2020," Leonid Volkov reported shortly after Ksenia's arrest.

Due to the restrictions imposed on her after her arrest, namely a ban on communication, Ksenia has been unable to perform her duties as a deputy for the second year. However, work on citizen appeals in her district continues, and Fadeeva's assistant continues to assist people.

Just a few days before the FBK was designated an extremist organization, Ksenia Fadeeva commented on Tomsk's TV2 about the latest State Duma law, which banned anyone associated with extremist organizations from running for parliament.

Ksenia's former colleagues and friends continue to support her. Tomsk City Duma deputy Maxim Zabelin wrote  on my Telegram channel:

"I've known Ksenia Vladislavovna for 13 years. Long before any campaigns. She's always been honest, open, and decent. We often had completely different views on certain things, but that didn't stop us from getting along well. My friend Denis Litvinov and I followed her path as a deputy from the very beginning. She was completely dedicated to her work in the district. The municipal level was mostly about asphalt, housing and utilities, and playgrounds. '22 scattered everyone. Now Denis is at the front, Ksyusha is facing criminal charges, and I'm working on housing and utilities and try not to discuss politics. She didn't create or plan any extremist group. When danger arose and there was an opportunity to leave the country, she didn't leave. Because of this, her freedom was restricted."

 "I've known Ksenia Fadeeva, or Ksyusha to us friends, for a very long time. We became friends when we were both under pressure for "organizing" pickets in support of TV2, a television station that the authorities shut down and eventually closed, but which the city residents tried to defend. I've always been amazed by the courage and iron will of this fragile, soft-spoken girl. At the same time, she has an amazing ability to control herself and an excellent sense of humor. She knows how to politely talk to people who have very different political views from her and ultimately find common ground. Even the security forces, who periodically arrested her at pickets and came to search her, sensed this quiet strength in Ksyusha and treated her with respect. It's no coincidence that, as head of Navalny's campaign, she was almost elected speaker of the city council. "For me, Ksenia is an example of what normal political activity could look like in Russia, the essence of which is to reconcile different interests and seek compromise solutions. The problem is that today's Russian reality condemns an honest and sensible person to uncompromising behavior. And an inevitable clash with the shameless punitive machine that is, in essence, the Russian state in its current form," says journalist Victoria Muchnik.