Anastasia Shevchenko was the first person in Russia to be charged with the criminal offense of taking part in the activities of an "undesirable" organization. At the time, she was a member of the federal board of the human rights group Open Russia. A criminal case was launched against her for organizing a political debate and publishing a post about a lecture. Shevchenko was placed under house arrest on January 23, 2019 and on February 18, 2021, she was sentenced to four years probation. While under house arrest, Shevchenko was initially denied permission to visit her eldest daughter Alina, who was in the hospital in critical condition. A judge eventually allowed Shevchenko to go to her daughter's side the night before she passed away. Earlier this year, Anastasia Shevchenko published a book titled "Undesirable" (edited by Olga Borisova). Meduza shares a translated excerpt from her memoir here.
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