In a chilling revival of Soviet-era repression, Russian authorities are increasingly using forced psychiatric confinement to suppress political opposition, according to human rights groups and legal experts. Dissenters, activists, and independent journalists are being detained in psychiatric hospitals under dubious “mental disorder” diagnoses—a tactic eerily reminiscent of the Soviet Union’s notorious use of punitive psychiatry to silence critics.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, reports of politically motivated psychiatric detentions have surged. Reuters, in collaboration with Russian human rights organizations, analyzed case files, interviewed legal experts, and reviewed testimonies of victims subjected to forced hospitalization.
Though current numbers remain lower than the peak of Soviet-era psychiatric repression, the trend is escalating. Renowned Dutch professor Robert van Voren, an expert on political abuse of psychiatry in Russia, told Reuters he has recorded approximately 23 such cases annually since 2022—compared to just five per year between 2015 and 2021.
The Russian government, including the justice ministry, the human rights commissioner, and the Kremlin, has remained silent on the issue, refusing to respond to requests for comment. Memorial, a Russian rights group, has identified at least 48 individuals currently undergoing psychiatric treatment for political reasons—46 of them as inpatients, with two receiving outpatient treatment while in prison.
Several victims have come forward to share harrowing experiences of state-imposed psychiatric detention.
Yekaterina Fatyanova, a 37-year-old journalist from Krasnoyarsk, was forcibly admitted to KKPND No.1 psychiatric hospital on April 28, 2023, after authorities accused her of “discrediting the Russian military.” Her offense? Publishing an article in a small opposition newspaper that suggested Russia’s war in Ukraine was driven by imperialist ambitions.
While confined, Fatyanova endured degrading and unnecessary procedures, including a gynecological examination, despite no medical justification. She was finally released on May 27, after doctors determined she had no mental illness.
“I believe the real purpose of placing me there was to break me mentally, isolate me from society, and punish me for my civic activism,” Fatyanova told reporters.
Despite her release, Russian authorities later sentenced her to two years of forced labor—an ominous warning to other journalists daring to challenge the state’s narrative.
According to Memorial, the youngest known victim of this punitive psychiatric system is a 20-year-old activist who was initially investigated as a teenager in 2023 for attempting to organize an anti-war rally. In February 2024, a court ruled that he required compulsory hospitalization.
In another disturbing case, a Russian woman named Suvorova was forcibly institutionalized after accusing a police officer of manhandling her during a protest in October 2023. Despite medical reports confirming her injuries, authorities instead arrested her in December 2023, ordering a psychiatric evaluation.
Doctors initially diagnosed her with “mixed personality disorder” and bizarrely noted her “fixation on the desire to help other people” as a concerning trait. After three weeks, she was released without an official diagnosis, but the ordeal left lasting psychological scars.
Ingvar Gorlanov, a 26-year-old activist, first fell victim to Russia’s psychiatric suppression in 2019. As an orphan, he had staged a one-man protest outside the presidential administration in Moscow, demanding a meeting with President Vladimir Putin to discuss orphan rights. Instead of being heard, he was sent to a psychiatric hospital—a pattern that has continued under Putin’s rule.
Human rights advocates warn that Russia is rapidly reverting to Soviet-era practices, using psychiatry as a weapon against dissenters. Lithuanian psychiatrist Dainius Pūras, a former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, condemned the trend:
“Compulsory treatment is now again used for political purposes, just as it was in the time of the Soviet Union.”
Many of those targeted have been prosecuted under new censorship laws introduced after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which criminalize criticism of the military and the state.
The Kremlin has historically dismissed allegations of politically motivated repression, often deflecting concerns as “court matters.” However, the growing number of psychiatric detentions, coupled with Russia’s broader crackdown on dissent, points to a calculated strategy to silence opposition through psychological intimidation.
As human rights groups continue to document these cases, pressure is mounting on the international community to address Russia’s renewed use of punitive psychiatry. For the victims, however, the damage has already been done—many emerging from psychiatric detention not only traumatized but also more vulnerable to further persecution.
With no official response from the Russian government, the question remains: How many more dissenters will be declared “mentally ill” before the world takes decisive action?
PIONEER NEWS 