2,000 rubles and 3.5 years in a penal colony: Moscow court sentences ornithologist Sofya Rozenfeld over FBK donations

2026-10-12T05:00:00Z

The case rests on two automatic donations of 1,000 rubles each to the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), founded by Alexei Navalny, in August and September 2021 — 2,000 rubles in total (about US$20 at the time). Judge Kurbanov announced the sentence; prosecutors had asked for five years in a penal colony.

A case built on two donations

Rozenfeld admitted guilt only in part: she did not deny setting up the recurring donations, but insisted she had not intended to support extremism. She says that when the payments were taken she was on a long research expedition with no means of communication, and that she learned about FBK’s status after returning and cancelled the subscription at once, OVD-Info reported. Her defence entered into the case file a letter she had sent to the foundation asking it to cancel the monthly payments.

I believe that any public help here will be needed. Because in my own work, even in what is related to scientific research and conservation, I have seen what monstrous forms this evil can take. And it seemed to me that any help in fighting corruption would be a good thing.
— Sofya Rozenfeld in court, from Mediazona’s report (translated from Russian)

Who is Sofya Rozenfeld

Rozenfeld is one of Russia’s leading specialists on Arctic waterfowl. She works at the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences and has spoken out against a draft law that would weaken Russia’s ban on killing animals listed in the Red Book, the country’s endangered-species register.

According to The Insider and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, her father Boris Rozenfeld is a mathematician; by his own account he took part in developing Israel’s Iron Dome and Arrow missile-defence systems. The family moved to Israel in 1990, but she returned to Moscow two years later, at the age of 15, and has lived in Russia since. The criminal case against her was opened in December 2025.

Israel says it cannot intervene

Rozenfeld holds both Russian and Israeli citizenship. After charges were brought, she asked the Israeli embassy in Moscow for help and was told that Israeli authorities cannot interfere in the decisions of Russian law enforcement as long as she also holds Russian citizenship, The Insider reports, citing Haaretz, her father and her friend Alexandra Panyutina.

Boris Rozenfeld says that after his daughter was taken into custody in the courtroom on 7 October, he contacted Israel’s Foreign Ministry. He was told the consul could visit her if she submits a request. He and Panyutina say the ministry is aware of the case; at the time of Haaretz’s publication, neither the ministry nor the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had answered the newspaper’s enquiries.

The Israeli outlet Novosti Izrailya notes that in September 2022, after Russia announced mobilisation, Israel’s Foreign Ministry warned dual citizens about the risks of being in Russia and explained that on Russian territory they are subject to Russian law. In a comparable case, Russian authorities publicly defended their own citizen with an Israeli passport: in August, Israel’s Shin Bet security service detained historian Artem Kirpichenok at Ben Gurion Airport, later accusing him of security offences; the Russian embassy sent a request to the Israeli authorities, and Russia’s Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights called the detention arbitrary and appealed to the UN.

What the case means

Two thousand rubles transferred in 2021 became the basis for a real prison term in 2026. Between FBK’s designation as an “extremist” organisation and the moment Rozenfeld learned about it lies a long expedition with no communications. In practice this means an automatic payment can become a criminal offence regardless of whether someone knew about the designation or could have learned about it in time. The lack of intent that Rozenfeld argued in court did not change the sentence.

The sentence was handed down by Moscow’s Gagarinsky District Court, and the five-year request came from the prosecution. But the case matters beyond one courtroom: according to Mediazona, it is the third known instance of a woman receiving a real prison term over FBK donations — in July 2025, Moscow’s Timiryazevsky District Court gave Lyudmila Gonchar three years, and in September 2026 the Golovinsky District Court handed the same term to Yelena Albegova.

The sentence has not yet entered into force, and no appeal had been reported at the time of publication. The exact pre-trial detention centre (SIZO) where Rozenfeld is being held is also not reported. A separate open question is whether Israel’s position changes; its authorities have said they cannot intervene in the case.

Source: Mediazona — “Arctic goose specialist sentenced to 3.5 years in a colony over a 2,000-ruble donation to FBK” (in Russian); OVD-Info — “Ornithologist Sofya Rozenfeld sentenced to 3.5 years in a penal colony for FBK donations” (in Russian); The Insider — “Israel refused to intervene in the case of a scientist with Israeli citizenship sentenced to 3.5 years in Russia over FBK donations — Haaretz” (in Russian).

Vrazrez News

2,000 rubles and 3.5 years in a penal colony: Moscow court sentences ornithologist Sofya Rozenfeld over FBK donations

A case built on two donations

Who is Sofya Rozenfeld

Israel says it cannot intervene

What the case means

Original sources