Nika Novak
Nika Novak is a journalist for RFE/RL’s Russian Service, known locally as Radio Svoboda. She has been unjustly detained in Russia since December 25, 2023.
Nika was asleep in the apartment where she lives with her mother in the Siberian city of Chita, when agents of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) raided their home and took her away. She was charged with “collaboration with a foreign organization on a confidential basis,” under Article 275.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
On November 26, 2024, following a trial behind closed doors, Nika was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison. She is the first journalist to be sentenced under Article 275.1. Human rights experts say the article is written so broadly that it could be used to prosecute anyone who communicates with individuals outside of Russia.
In March 2025, Nika was placed in a solitary cell on “special watch.” Detainees held under this regime are subject to stricter control and surveillance. On March 31, 2025, a Russian court denied Nika’s appeal and ordered the confiscation of 500,000 rubles (approximately $6,000), allegedly earned “criminally” from her work with RFE/RL.
On May 25, 2025, Russian authorities transferred Nika to a penal colony in Irkutsk, Siberia. The facility is one of the harshest in the region. Former inmates held there have described regular beatings, psychological pressure, blackmail, and prolonged detention in punishment cells. In August 2025, Nika was placed in solitary confinement for five days for refusing to deny reports about her poor detention conditions.
Leading Russian human rights group Memorial has recognized Nika as a political prisoner and her detention has been condemned by international press freedom organizations.
Write to Nika
Following her release after nine months of imprisonment in Russia, RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva said, “Your letters and postcards were more than just words on paper for me. Every stamp on an envelope was a window to the world of freedom. It was only thanks to them that I didn’t lose my mind.”
As Nika remains unjustly detained in Russia, RFE/RL encourages supporters to send a letter, postcard, or folded greeting card written in Russian to the following address: 669511, Иркутская область, Эхирит-Булагатский район, п. Бозой, ИК-11 ГУФСИН России по Иркутской области, Новак Нике Александровне, 1992 г. р.
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