Vyacheslav Kryukov (centre). Source: Dozhd. Vyacheslav Kryukov, a 20-year-old student at the Russian Academy of Justice, is on hunger strike. In March 2018, Kryukov was arrested on extremism charges along with nine other people as part of the “New Greatness” case — a previously unknown political organisation based in Moscow.
According to OVD-Info, which monitors politically motivated arrests in Russia, FSB officers organised “New Greatness” from the inside — providing funds, stimulus, direction, a meeting space and even training several participants how to use Molotov cocktails. The Russian security services subsequently declared “New Greatness” an extremist organisation, and detained 10 members in a special operation.
Kryukov has been held in Moscow Pre-Trial Detention Centre No.3 since March. On 11 September, a Moscow court extended Kryukov’s arrest once again, and he decided to announce a hunger strike as a result. This diary was passed to OVD-Info by Kryukov’s solicitor, Dmitry Ivanov.
