Roman Sidorikin, a 52-year-old employee of a defense factory from Kursk, has died in a tuberculosis hospital within the Federal Penitentiary Service No. 1 in Saratov, according to reports from the Russian media outlet Rus’ Sidyashchaya. His death was confirmed through a response to a letter sent to him, which stated he passed away on January 8, 2026.
Sidorikin and his former wife, Tatyana, were detained in the spring of 2022 on allegations of transferring military-related technical documentation and samples to Ukrainian military intelligence. They were also accused of planning to sabotage railway tracks near the border.
In the summer of 2023, Roman Sidorikin was sentenced to 17 years in prison, while Tatyana received a 13-year sentence. Subsequently, in the spring of 2025, he faced additional charges, which resulted in an extended sentence. Along with a former colleague, Alexander Vorobyov, Sidorikin was accused of stealing military products for potential sale abroad. This led to a total sentence of 23 years, with the first three years to be served in a standard prison and the remainder in a high-security colony.
Although Sidorikin was not officially recognized as a political prisoner, his name appears on a list maintained by the human rights organization Memorial, which documents victims of political repression in Russia.
In related news, Oleg Tirishkin, another political prisoner, recently died while serving a two-year sentence for “justifying terrorism” due to comments made on the Russian social media platform VKontakte. Additionally, on April 8, Andrei Akuzin, a 53-year-old artist arrested for online comments, reportedly committed suicide in a detention center in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. On April 17, a 43-year-old political prisoner and blogger known as Vegan Khristolyub Bozhiy was found dead in a penal colony in Voronezh, with reports indicating he had hanged himself in a solitary confinement cell.
The death of Roman Sidorikin in a Russian prison highlights ongoing concerns regarding the treatment of political prisoners in the country. His case, along with others, reflects a troubling pattern of detentions and deaths among individuals accused of political dissent.