80,000 roubles, a cancelled flight and a taxi to the colony, for a single visit
15.07.2025
Hello!
This is Ksenia Fadeeva from the Marathon of solidarity with political prisoners “You are not alone”.
Since the beginning of June we have received more than 170 new requests for help for people behind bars. The requests vary a lot: topping up accounts with the prison service (FSIN), paying for parcels, buying medicines, and helping with travel costs to penal colonies and pre-trial detention centres (SIZO) so families can see their loved ones.
Political prisoners convicted under extremism, terrorism and treason articles are often sent to colonies far from home, sometimes to the other end of the country. The journey costs a family tens of thousands of roubles. And then they need somewhere to stay before the visit, and food to treat their loved one behind bars to some good home cooking (during long visits you can cook).
In June the mother and sister of a political prisoner held in a colony 1,000 km from their home asked us for help. The journey is hard and expensive: a flight, a night in a hotel, a train. Then the journey back, and a food parcel. All of it came to 80,000 roubles, and we covered these costs for the family.
On the day the mother and sister were due to fly out, the flight was cancelled because of the threat of a drone attack. They had to find other ways to reach the colony at short notice: minibuses, local trains, taxis. The prisoner’s mother told us that without the Marathon’s support they would probably never have made it to her son.
I can tell you that a visit from family is what every prisoner looks forward to most. People dream of the moment they can hug their children, their spouse, their parents, or at least talk to them on the phone through the glass during a short visit. I remember crossing off the days on a little calendar in the detention centre until my next visit from my parents. I don’t think anything supports a prisoner as much as being able to spend time with the people they love, even in a colony or a detention centre.
This isn’t the first time the Marathon has helped a family get to a visit. Thanks to your help, political prisoners can see their mothers and fathers, their children, their wives and husbands. It gives them strength and reminds them that they are not alone.
Here is a message from another mother we helped thanks to the 2024 Marathon. She is thanking you.
I am immensely grateful for the financial support last year. Thanks to the Fund, in February 2025 my granddaughter and I were able to visit my son, who is in a colony a thousand kilometres from us.
We paid for the journey and bought more than 20 kilos of food for the parcel. We bought my son clothes for everyday wear. I also sent him his quarterly parcels with the money from the Fund, because I have the minimum pension and, at my age (69), I don’t work.
A big THANK YOU to the kind people who donate to support political prisoners languishing in strict-regime colonies.
May the Almighty Lord help all those who care about others’ misfortune and reward them all with every blessing, good health and good spirits.
Thank you for supporting Russian political prisoners. Thanks to you, we keep helping people who ended up in prison for their beliefs.
These people need regular help. Set up a recurring donation so that we can give ongoing help to more political prisoners.
Kind regards,
Ksenia Fadeeva