Ponomaryov Evgeniy Pavlovich

On June 22, 2022, in the Aksaysky district of the Rostov region, a search was conducted at the home of 39-year-old local resident Yevgeny Ponomarev. During the search, his diary with personal entries, a seal of the "audit commission", a seal of the "State Registration Chamber of the RSFSR as part of the USSR", three stamps and two business cards in the name of the "Chairman of the GRP of the USSR for the Rostov Region", sets of USSR badges, an insert on citizenship of the USSR and other "attributes of citizens of the USSR" were seized. On May 4, 2023, Ponomarev was interrogated as a suspect and immediately as an accused. The man was charged with participating in the activities of a public association in respect of which a court has adopted a legally binding decision to ban its activities due to its involvement in extremist activities. According to the investigation, from July 5, 2020, to March 21, 2023, Ponomarev participated in the Interregional Public Association "Union of Slavic Forces of Rus" (other names: "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR"), which was not registered as a legal entity, whose ideological basis is the denial of the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as a state, the perception of the Russian Federation exclusively as the name of a commercial organization, from which follows opposition to the state power of the Russian Federation due to its lack of legitimacy. Being a member of the banned organization of the Public Association "Union of Slavic Forces of Rus, the man, driven by the intent to commit actions aimed at achieving the goals of the extremist association, expressed in direct participation in its activities, during telephone conversations with the "Acting Head of the Rostov Region of the RSFSR within the USSR" discussed issues of selecting and assigning "officials" of the association, Ponomarev's performance of the duties of the position of "Acting Commandant of the RSFSR, as well as finding and involving new participants in the activities of the Public Association "Union of Slavic Forces of Rus. For the duration of the investigation, a preventive measure was taken against the defendant in the form of a written undertaking not to leave. 16 April 2024, the Aksaysky District Court of the Rostov Region found Yevgeny Ponomarev guilty and sentenced him to 2 years in a general regime penal colony and 6 months of restriction of liberty. The court prohibited Ponomarev from leaving his residence from 10 PM to 6 AM, traveling outside the Aksaysky district of the region, except for trips related to visiting medical institutions, attending mass events, changing his place of residence, and required the man to appear at a specialized state body for registration twice a month. The court changed the measure of restraint from a written undertaking not to leave and to behave properly to detention, Ponomarev was taken into custody in the courtroom. On June 10, 2024, the Rostov Regional Court mitigated the additional punishment in the form of restriction of freedom to 4 months and canceled as a restriction the prohibition to leave the territory of the Aksaysky district of the Rostov region, supplementing this restriction with the consent of the representative of the criminal-executive inspection. June 20, 2025, the Fourth Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction reduced the prison sentence by six months.