Detention: On July 18, 2016, FSB officers detained Larisa Kytayska, a public activist from Yalta and member of the VO "Svoboda" party. On August 12, 2016, she was charged with a crime and given a travel restriction. The basis was a social media post: the occupation authorities accused her of "spreading Russophobic ideas" and "inciting hatred," citing posts where Kytayska openly condemned Russia's occupation of Crimea.

Sentence: On December 26, 2017, a Russia-controlled court sentenced Larisa Kytayska to a 2-year suspended sentence under Part 1, Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Incitement of hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity"). The case was closed on January 23, 2019, due to partial decriminalization of Article 282 for first-time offenders reposting online. Kytayska learned about the case closure by chance—she was informed only 45 minutes before the court session. "They closed this case very quietly, opened it very loudly," she commented. The confiscated computer and property were never returned.

Larisa Kytayska was born on August 20, 1963. A resident of Yalta, she is a socio-political activist and member of VO "Svoboda." During the Euromaidan, she took to the streets with pro-Ukrainian posters, which is when she met Olga Skrypnyk, coordinator of the Crimean Human Rights Group. Kytayska was skeptical of the publications mentioned in the case: "The publication deemed extremist was not mine—most likely, my account was hacked, and poems with obscene words suddenly appeared on the page."

After the occupation of Crimea, Kytayska was one of the organizers of pro-Ukrainian actions in Yalta. "Since they needed a show trial in Yalta, I think my persecution was related to this," she said. According to Olga Skrypnyk, her case fits a broader pattern: "Russia targets activists in cities to force them to leave or temporarily prevent them from gathering people around them."

During the travel restriction in December 2017, Kytayska's husband passed away in Kyiv. She traveled from Crimea to say goodbye. Upon returning, she learned the case was being quietly closed.

In a 2019 interview with Krym.Realii, Kytayska described the atmosphere of fear in occupied Crimea: "People started to be afraid, there was a so-called 'sticky' fear. Like in Soviet times, all conversations moved to the kitchen." However, she also noted signs of hidden resistance: when Russia captured Ukrainian sailors in the Kerch Strait in November 2018, Crimeans who previously feared even entering her house began to come on their own. According to her, 11,000 signatures were collected in 40 minutes in support of the sailors' release.

The Crimean Tatar Resource Center recognized Larisa Kytayska as a victim of political repression. After her release, she left Crimea.

Information used from open sources: Radio Liberty (Krym.Realii), Crimean Tatar Resource Center, ZMINA.

Photo: Krym.Realii.

Update date: 03.07.2026.