Andrei Voronin — a native of Tolyatti, is a Russian Orthodox believer, activist, and monarchist with a long criminal history. He has previously been prosecuted under several administrative and criminal charges, including drug possession, theft, violent offenses, and incitement of hatred. At various times, he lived in Moscow and in the village of Glukhovo in the Nizhny Novgorod region, near the Diveevo Monastery, which he frequently visited.
Voronin is currently incarcerated. In 2020, following a conflict with local authorities over fire safety violations and a post he made on the social network VKontakte, he was charged under terrorism-related legislation and sentenced to 12 years in prison. An additional 2.5 years were later added to his sentence after a physical altercation with a prison staff member.
In December 2024, new criminal charges were brought against him under Article 205 Part 1 (Justification of terrorist activity) and Article 207.3 Part 2 of the Russian Criminal Code (Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or other official bodies). The charges stem from conversations he had with cellmates in Penal Colony No. 4 (IK-4) in the Pskov region. These conversations were recorded during his transfer from a prison in the Vladimir region to the Pskov facility in late May and early June 2023, while he was being held in Pretrial Detention Center No. 1 (SIZO-1) and later quarantined in the colony.
According to the independent media outlet Mediazona, the prosecution relied on hidden camera footage, capturing Voronin’s comments on the apartment bombings in Moscow and Volgodonsk in the 1990s, Russia’s involvement in the war in Syria, and the invasion of Ukraine — including the phrase: “To stop the war, someone needs to shoot Putin.”
The article also cites testimony from fellow inmate Valery Frolov, who shared a quarantine cell with Voronin in IK-4:
“He didn’t hide his opinion about what’s happening in our country. When we talked about the ‘special military operation,’ he said Russia attacked the khokhols [a derogatory term for Ukrainians]. That made my skin crawl. He’s not pretending. He’s an enemy, a saboteur, a goddamn rail-layer! The country didn’t give him what he wanted. But he’s mentally sound. He’s an educated man, knows the Bible well. Not an idiot.”
Voronin’s defense argued that his statements lacked public intent and that much of the recording was a result of provocation by prison officials.
On 17 July 2025, the First Western District Military Court in St. Petersburg, presided over by Judge Yuri Kozlov, sentenced Voronin to 6 years in a high-security penal colony and a fine. Taking into account his previous sentence, he is expected to serve another 10 years in total, the first three of which will be in prison.
Mailing address for letters:
(please confirm current format with Russian prison regulations before sending):
Voronin Andrey Olegovich (Воронин Андрей Олегович), Born: 1990
180000, Псков, улица Некрасова, дом 39, ФКУ СИЗО-1 УФСИН России по Псковской области
