Russia’s imprisoned mothers
As Russia’s prison population shrinks due to wartime military recruitment, another trend is becoming increasingly visible: the growing number of women behind bars. Among them are mothers imprisoned for anti-war activism, political dissent or alleged “extremism”, many now isolated from their children and cut off from the outside world.
June 23, 2026 -
Eilish Hart
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Hot TopicsIssue 4 2026Magazine
In December 2025, the Russian Presidential Human Rights Council member Eva Merkacheva asked Vladimir Putin to perform a “holiday miracle”. Appealing on behalf of people with disabilities and mothers in the Russian prison system, Merkacheva suggested pardoning first-time offenders convicted of “minor, non-violent” crimes. “The New Year and Christmas holidays are coming up. Let mothers be with their children,” she urged. Putin seemed open to the idea, and two weeks later, Merkacheva sent the Russian president a list outlining groups of prisoners who could be released. But the holidays came and went, and no one was pardoned.
A few months later, on International Women’s Day (March 8th), exiled activists from Political Prisoners Memorial launched a campaign with a similar humanitarian appeal. “We recognize that it may be unrealistic to expect the immediate release of all political prisoners. There are, however, at least 20 individuals whose freedom calls particularly for humanity and compassion,” the group wrote in an online petition. “They are mothers who have been separated from their underage children.”
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