THIRD SECTION
CASE OF POPOVA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
(Applications nos. 3125/22 and 20 others –
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
18 September 2025
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Popova and Others v. Russia,
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Diana Kovatcheva, President,
Canòlic Mingorance Cairat,
Vasilka Sancin, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 28 August 2025,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
1. The case originated in applications against Russia lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table.
2. The Russian Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the applications.
THE FACTS
3. The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.
4. The applicants complained of the disproportionate measures taken against them as organisers or participants of public assemblies, notably in connection with their participation in various public events in breach of COVID-19-related restrictions. They also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention.
THE LAW
5. Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.
6. The Court observes that the facts giving rise to the alleged violations of the Convention occurred prior to 16 September 2022, the date on which the Russian Federation ceased to be a party to the Convention. The Court therefore decides that it has jurisdiction to examine the present applications (see Fedotova and Others v. Russia [GC], nos. 40792/10 and 2 others, §§ 68‑73, 17 January 2023).
7. The applicants complained principally of disproportionate measures taken against them as organisers or participants of public assemblies in connection with their participation in various public events in breach of COVID-19-related restrictions, namely their arrest in relation to the dispersal of these assemblies and their conviction for administrative offences. They relied, expressly or in substance, on Article 11 of the Convention.
8. The Court refers to the principles established in its case-law regarding freedom of assembly (see Kudrevičius and Others v. Lithuania [GC], no. 37553/05, ECHR 2015, with further references) and proportionality of interference with it (see Oya Ataman v. Turkey, no. 74552/01, ECHR 2006‑XIV, and Hyde Park and Others v. Moldova, no. 33482/06, 31 March 2009). It further refers to Nemytov and Others, no. 1257/21 and 2 Others, 27 May 2025, in so far as the application by the authorities of the COVID‑19‑related restrictions to assemblies are concerned.
9. In the leading cases of Nemytov and Others, cited above, Frumkin v. Russia, no. 74568/12, ECHR 2016 (extracts), Navalnyy and Yashin v. Russia, no. 76204/11, 4 December 2014, and Kasparov and Others v. Russia, no. 21613/07, 3 October 2013, the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.
10. Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion as to the admissibility and merits of these complaints. Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the interferences with the applicants’ freedom of assembly were not “necessary in a democratic society”.
11. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 11 of the Convention.
12. Some applicants submitted other complaints which also raised issues under the Convention and its Protocols, given the relevant well-established case-law of the Court (see appended table). These complaints are not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention, nor are they inadmissible on any other ground. Accordingly, they must be declared admissible.
13. Having examined all the material before it, the Court concludes that these complaints also disclose violations of the Convention and its Protocols in the light of its findings in Butkevich v. Russia, no. 5865/07, §§ 63-65, 13 February 2018, Tsvetkova and Others v. Russia, nos. 54381/08 and 5 others, §§ 115-31, 10 April 2018, and Korneyeva v. Russia, no. 72051/17, §§ 34-36, 8 October 2019, as to various aspects of unlawful deprivation of liberty of organisers or participants of public assemblies; Karelin v. Russia, no. 926/08, §§ 58-85, 20 September 2016, concerning the absence of a prosecuting party in the proceedings under the Code of Administrative Offences (the CAO), and Martynyuk v. Russia, no. 13764/15, §§ 38-42, 8 October 2019, concerning the lack of suspensive effect of an appeal against the sentence of administrative detention.
14. Some applicants raised further additional complaints under Article 6 of the Convention concerning other aspects of fairness of the administrative-offence proceedings. In view of the findings in paragraphs 11 and 13 above, the Court considers that there is no need to deal separately with these remaining complaints.
15. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see in particular Navalnyy and Others v. Russia [Committee], nos. 25809/17 and 14 others, § 22, 4 October 2022), the Court finds it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,
(a) that the respondent State is to pay the applicants, within three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;
(b) that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.
Done in English, and notified in writing on 18 September 2025, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina Diana Kovatcheva
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 11 of the Convention
(disproportionate measures against organisers and participants of public assemblies)
No. | Application no. Date of introduction | Applicant’s name Year of birth
| Representative’s name and location | Name of the public event Location Date | Administrative / criminal offence | Penalty | Final domestic decision Court Name Date | Other complaints under well-established case‑law | Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[1] |
3125/22 02/12/2021 | Olga Petrovna POPOVA 1997
| Memorial Human Rights Centre Moscow | Rally “Free Navalnyy”
St Petersburg
02/02/2021 | article 20.2.2. § 1 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | St Petersburg City Court 03/06/2021 | Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings. | 3,500 | |
17187/22 14/03/2022 | Vasiliy Aleksandrovich VYALUSHKIN 1986
| Baranova Natalya Andreyevna Moscow | Rally “Free Navalnyy”
St Petersburg
21/04/2021 | article 20.2.2 § 1 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | St Petersburg City Court 16/09/2021 | Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings.
| 3,500 | |
29355/22 27/05/2022 | Mariya Nikolayevna MOKINA 1997
| Sirinova Olga Vladimirovna St Petersburg | Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
02/03/2022 | article 20.2.2. § 1 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | St Petersburg City Court 07/04/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to and detention at the police station before and after compiling an offence report from 8.30 p.m. on 02/03/2022 until 2.00 p.m. on 03/03/2022. | 4,000 | |
37621/22 12/07/2022 | Valeriy Dmitriyevich YEZHOV 1995
| Mangileva Vera Borisovna Yekaterinburg | Anti-war protest
Yekaterinburg
06/03/2022 | article 20.2 § 5 of CAO | 30 hours of community service | Sverdlovsk Regional Court 09/06/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest and escorting to the police station for compiling an offence report on 06/03/2022,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings. | 4,500 | |
37853/22 22/07/2022 | Katerina Sergeyevna BUSH 1987
| Baranova Natalya Andreyevna Moscow | Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
27/02/2022 | article 20.2.2 § 1 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | St Petersburg City Court 05/04/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest and escorting to the police station on 27/02/2022 for the sole purpose of drawing a record of administrative offence; detention until the court hearing on 28/02/2022,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings. | 4,000 | |
39796/22 03/08/2022 | Valeriy Andreyevich KANIN 1986
| Baranova Natalya Andreyevna Moscow | Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
01/03/2022 | article 20.2.2 § 1 of CAO | fine of RUB 6,000 | St Petersburg City Court 07/04/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to and detention at the police station before and after compiling an offence report from 7.50 p.m. on 01/03/2022 until the court hearing at 12.15 p.m. on 02/03/2022,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings. | 4,000 | |
44630/22 26/08/2022 | Margarita Viktorovna FESENKO 2003
| Tkachenko Ilya Valeryevich Kogalym | Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
24/02/2022 | article 20.2.2 § 1 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | St Petersburg City Court 26/04/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to and detention at the police station from 8.30 p.m. on 24/02/2022 until the court hearing at 2 p.m. on 25/02/2022,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings.
| 4,000 | |
44839/22 15/08/2022 | Mikhail Dmitriyevich ZABELIN 2000
|
| Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
27/02/2022 | article 20.2.2 § 1 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | St Petersburg City Court 21/04/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - detention in a police car from 5.15 p.m. until 6.50 p.m. on 27/02/2022, then escorting to the police station for compiling an offence report and detention at the police station until 11.30 p.m. on 27/02/2022,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings. | 4,000 | |
45958/22 07/09/2022 | Yana Valeryevna LEBEDEVA 2002
| Tkachenko Ilya Valeryevich Kogalym | Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
24/02/2022 | article 20.2.2 § 1 of CAO | fine of RUB 15,000 | St Petersburg City Court 17/05/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to and detention at the police station after compiling an offence report from 8.50 p.m. on 24/02/2022 until 12 p.m. on 25/02/2022,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings. | 4,000 | |
46123/22 24/08/2022 | Ilya Yevgenyevich SAKHNO 1999
|
| Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
06/03/2022 | article 20.2.2 § 1 of CAO | detention for 10 days | St Petersburg City Court 28/04/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to and detention at the police station after compiling an offence report from 3.50 p.m. on 06/03/2022 until 2 p.m. on 07/03/2022,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings,
Prot. 7 Art. 2 - delayed review of conviction by a higher tribunal - The sentence of administrative detention imposed on the applicant was executed immediately, on account of the lack of suspensive effect of an appeal under the CAO. | 5,000 | |
46375/22 05/09/2022 | Dmitriy Vladimirovich SERGEYEV 1984
| Peredruk Aleksandr Dmitriyevich St Petersburg | Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
06/03/2022 | article 20.2.2 § 1 of CAO | fine of RUB 15,000 | St Petersburg City Court 31/05/2022 | Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings,
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to and detention at the police station after compiling an offence report from 3.30 p.m. until 9.40 p.m. on 06/03/2022. | 4,000 | |
47537/22 15/09/2022 | Dariya Birkhanovna SHCHEGLOVA 1998
| Krikun Leonid Leonidovich St Petersburg | Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
06/03/2022 | article 20.2.2 § 1 of CAO | community service of 40 hours | St Petersburg City Court 24/05/2022 | Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings,
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to and detention at the police station after compiling an offence report from 6.50 p.m. on 06/03/2022 until 09.20 a.m. on 07/03/2022. | 4,500 | |
47618/22 12/09/2022 | Darya Vladimirovna SPASSKAYA 2001
| Baranova Natalya Andreyevna Moscow | Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
25/02/2022 | article 20.2.2 § 1 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | St Petersburg City Court 12/05/2022 | Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings,
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to and detention at the police station after compiling an offence report from 8 p.m. on 25/02/2022 to 5.45 p.m. on 26/02/2022. | 4,000 | |
47939/22 12/09/2022 | Anastasiya Aleksandrovna KOLOMYTSEVA 1996
| Gerasimov Dmitriy Georgiyevich St Petersburg | Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
27/02/2022 | article 20.2.2 § 1 of CAO | fine of RUB 15,000 | St Petersburg City Court 14/06/2022 | Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings,
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to and detention at the police station after compiling an offence report from 7.55 p.m. on 27/02/2022 until the court hearing on 28/02/2022. | 4,000 | |
47943/22 12/09/2022 | Yelizaveta Alekseyevna RUBSHINA 1994
| Gerasimov Dmitriy Georgiyevich St Petersburg | Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
27/02/2022 | article 20.2.2 § 1 of CAO | fine of RUB 19,000 | St Petersburg City Court 17/05/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - detention from 27/02/2022 to 28/02/2022. The applicant was taken to the police station for the sole purpose of drawing up an administrative offence record,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings.
| 4,000 | |
47950/22 15/09/2022 | Valeriya Aleksandrovna CHEMERISOVA 1999
|
| Anti-war protest
Voronezh
06/03/2022 | article 20.2 § 5 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | Voronezh Regional Court 02/06/2022 | Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings. | 4,000 | |
54405/22 26/10/2022 | Sergey Aleksandrovich ZOLOTAREV 1996
|
| Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
02/03/2022 | article 20.2.2 § 1 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | St Petersburg City Court 28/06/2022 | Art. 5 (1) – unlawful detention - detention from 7. 40 p.m. on 02/03/2022 to 4.10 p.m. on 03/03/2022,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings.
| 4,000 | |
55758/22 09/11/2022 | Alisa Vitalyevna MATVEYCHUK 1999
|
| Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
06/03/2022 | article 20.2.2 § 1 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | St Petersburg City Court 19/07/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - detention from 5.15 p.m. on 06/03/2022 to 00.30 a.m. on 07/03/2022,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings. | 4,000 | |
1180/23 19/12/2022 | Evelina Mindaugo GUDAUSKAYTE 1999
|
| Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
06/03/2022 | article 20.2.2 § 1 of CAO | fine of RUB 15,000 | St Petersburg City Court 23/08/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - detention from 3.50 p.m. on 06/03/2022 to 00.20 p.m. on 07/03/2022,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings. | 4,000 | |
3123/23 23/12/2022 | Daniil Dmitriyevich POGUDIN 1997
| Shiolashvili Mikhail Germanovich St Petersburg | Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
27/02/2022 | article 20.2.2 § 1 of CAO | fine of RUB 15,000 | St Petersburg City Court 25/08/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention – the applicant was taken to the police station as an administrative suspect: no evidence/assessment that it was impracticable, on the spot, to compile the offence record and to establish his identity (see Korneyeva v. Russia, no. 72051/17, § 34, 8 October 2019; Ryabinina and Others v. Russia [Committee], nos. 50271/06 and 8 other applications, § 35, 2 July 2019),
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings. | 4,000 | |
9414/23 09/02/2023 | Olga Borisovna CHERNOMORETS 2001
|
| Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
06/03/2022 | article 20.2.2 § 1 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | St Petersburg City Court 11/10/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - detention from 4 p.m. on 06/03/2022 to 1 p.m. on 07/03/2022. | 4,000 |
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.