The Rosfinmonitoring "List of Terrorists and Extremists" was conceived as a tool to combat terrorism financing, but today it serves as an important — if indirect — measure of the scale of repressive practices in Russia.

The state adds organizations and individuals to the registry whom it considers connected to terrorism or extremism. In the case of private individuals, suspect or accused status in a criminal case is sufficient, and termination of prosecution does not automatically lead to removal from the list. As a result, the loss of rights occurs long before guilt is proven in court.

How the list came about

The "List of Organizations and Individuals Regarding Whom There Is Information About Their Involvement in Extremist Activity or Terrorism" of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service was established under the 2001 law "On Countering the Legalization of Proceeds from Crime and the Financing of Terrorism."

According to the official website, the service is engaged in countering "money laundering, terrorism financing, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."

The procedure for forming the list was first set out in a government resolution dated January 18, 2003. The text was subsequently revised numerous times, and in August 2015, new rules were adopted, which remain in force, with various amendments, to this day.

On July 6, 2011, the list was published in Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Part of the list concerned organizations and individuals against whom convictions or decisions had been issued by foreign courts or other bodies recognized by the Russian Federation under international treaties. The "national section" contained information on 46 organizations (19 flagged as terrorism-related) and 1,510 individuals (1,508 flagged as terrorism-related).

Inclusion in the list entails severe financial restrictions — bank accounts are frozen, with only 10,000 rubles per month allowed per family member, and sales of property or insurance are prohibited. Since December 2025, the rules have been tightened further: financial transactions may only be conducted through special bank accounts and only with Rosfinmonitoring's permission. In practice, a person is excluded from the modern digital economy. Additionally, those on the list face serious difficulties in finding employment, as employers fear scrutiny from the FSB.

Criminal articles that lead to inclusion in the list
  • Art. 205 CC — terrorist act
  • Art. 205.1 CC — assistance to terrorist activity
  • Art. 205.2 CC — propaganda of terrorism
  • Art. 205.3 CC — undergoing training to carry out terrorist activity
  • Art. 205.4 CC — involvement in a terrorist community
  • Art. 205.5 CC — involvement in a terrorist organization
  • Art. 206 CC — hostage taking
  • Art. 208 CC — involvement in an illegal armed formation
  • Art. 211 CC — hijacking of a vessel or train
  • Art. 220 CC — illegal handling of nuclear materials or radioactive substances
  • Art. 221 CC — theft or extortion of nuclear materials or radioactive substances
  • Art. 277 CC — attempt on the life of a state or public official
  • Art. 278 CC — seizure of power
  • Art. 279 CC — armed rebellion
  • Art. 280 CC — calls for extremist activity
  • Art. 280.1 CC — calls for violation of Russia's territorial integrity
  • Art. 281 CC — sabotage
  • Art. 281.1 CC — assistance to sabotage activity
  • Art. 281.2 CC — undergoing training to carry out sabotage activity
  • Art. 281.3 CC — involvement in a sabotage community
  • Art. 282 CC — incitement of hatred
  • Art. 282.1 CC — involvement in an extremist community
  • Art. 282.2 CC — involvement in an extremist organization
  • Art. 282.3 CC — financing of extremist activity
  • Art. 360 CC — attack on persons or institutions under international protection
  • Art. 361 CC — act of international terrorism
  • and also from mid-2025:
    • cl. "l" pt. 2 Art. 105 CC — murder motivated by hatred
    • cl. "e" pt. 2 Art. 111 CC — intentional grievous bodily harm motivated by hatred
    • pt. 3 Art. 111 CC — intentional grievous bodily harm by a group and/or against two or more persons (if hatred motive is established)
    • pt. 4 Art. 111 CC — intentional grievous bodily harm causing death by negligence (if hatred motive is established)
    • cl. "e" pt. 2 Art. 112 CC — intentional moderate bodily harm motivated by hatred
    • cl. "z" pt. 2 Art. 117 CC — torture motivated by hatred
    • cl. "a" pt. 2 Art. 119 CC — death threat motivated by hatred
    • cl. "d" pt. 2 Art. 207.3 CC — spreading "fakes" about the Russian Armed Forces motivated by hatred
    • pt. 3 Art. 207.3 CC — spreading "fakes" about the Russian Armed Forces with grave consequences (if hatred motive is established)
    • cl. "b" pt. 1 Art. 213 CC — hooliganism motivated by hatred
    • pt. 2 Art. 213 CC — hooliganism using weapons, by a group, and/or resisting authority (if hatred motive is established)
    • pt. 3 Art. 213 CC — hooliganism using explosives (if hatred motive is established)
    • cl. "b" pt. 2 Art. 244 CC — desecration of human remains and burial sites motivated by hatred
    • Art. 280.2 CC — violation of Russia's territorial integrity
    • Art. 280.3 CC — discrediting the Russian Armed Forces
    • cl. "d" pt. 2 Art. 280.4 CC — calls for activity against Russia's security, motivated by hatred
    • pt. 3 Art. 280.4 CC — calls for activity against Russia's security, committed by a group (if hatred motive is established)
    • Art. 282.4 CC — repeated public display of prohibited symbols
    • Art. 357 CC — genocide
    • and other crimes where the aggravating circumstance of hatred motive is established (cl. "e" pt. 1 Art. 63 CC)

It should be noted that the Rosfinmonitoring list clearly includes people who have genuinely committed serious crimes dangerous to society. We do not consider all individuals on the list to be necessarily persecuted for political reasons.

Categories of politically motivated persecution in the list
  • those accused of involvement in organizations and associations unjustifiably recognized as extremist or terrorist:
    • supporters of Alexei Navalny;
    • members of other opposition groups (e.g. the "Anti-War Committee of Russia");
    • people prosecuted for alleged involvement in the "International LGBT Movement";
    • people prosecuted for alleged involvement in various ethnic associations considered structural subdivisions of the "Forum of Free States of Post-Russia";
    • people involved in Jehovah's Witnesses communities;
    • people involved in the Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir;
    • teenagers interested in school shooting histories — classified as members of the non-existent "Columbine" movement;
    • Ukrainian military personnel and former volunteers — supporters of Ukraine who operated in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions — accused of involvement in the Azov, Aidar, and other formations recognized as terrorist organizations;
    • people accused of involvement in the non-existent AUE movement;
    • opponents of the USSR's dissolution accused of involvement in banned groups;
    • people associated with the "Artpodgotovka" movement;
  • authors of statements against the war or in support of Ukraine's actions in the war;
  • people who transferred money to FBK (Anti-Corruption Foundation);
  • people who became victims of security service provocations in connection with their intent to join the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps, and other formations;
  • anti-war activists who committed arson at military recruitment offices — not resulting in serious harm, but classified as terrorism.

People in the registry