Boris Akunin Has Been Asked In Absentia In Russia For 18 Years In Prison

• 14.07.2025, 15:36

The writer is accused of "justifying terrorism."

Writer Boris Akunin (real name Grigory Chkhartishvili), who is known to many readers for his series of detective novels about the adventures of Erast Fandorin, has been asked in Russia to be sentenced in absentia to 18 years in a penal colony, "Mediazone".

The prosecutor asked to find Akunin guilty of "justification of terrorism" and violating the legislation on "foreign agents" and to assign him 18 years in prison. The prosecutor's office demanded that the writer serve the first 4 years in prison, and upon release for 5 years had no right to post materials on the Internet.

Akunin was charged with no less than 33 posts in a Telegram channel without a "foreign agent" patch. The writer was charged under the "terrorist" article after a prank arranged by pro-Kremlin pranksters Vovan and Lexus. They called Akunin under the guise of Vladimir Zelensky, the writer in the conversation said that he would gladly help Ukraine, which is waging a "patriotic war", and commented with the phrase "How else?" the terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge and attacks on Russian cities with drones.

Akunin himself said in his social networks that he does not participate in the process:

"I do not recognize their trial. I did not authorize any lawyer to represent me at their so-called trial and I do not participate in this buffoonery in any way."