Former Executive of Russian LGBT Group 'Vyhod' Sentenced in Absentia to 360 Hours of Compulsory Work in 'Foreign Agent' Case

A magistrate at judicial district No. 49 in St. Petersburg has in absentia sentenced Alexander Voronov, the former executive director of the LGBT group Выход (Vyhod), to 360 hours of compulsory labor on charges of failing to carry out duties imposed on 'foreign agents' (part 2 of article 330.1 of the Criminal Code), the press service of the St. Petersburg courts reported. The ruling was issued after Voronov was prosecuted under Russia's legislation governing nongovernmental organisations and individuals labelled as "foreign agents."

Prosecutors first brought charges against Voronov in March 2025. Following the indictment, Russian authorities placed him on an intergovernmental wanted list, and in April 2025 a court ordered his arrest in absentia. The recent sentencing was delivered without Voronov present.

The case centers on the status of the organisation Выход, which was entered into the register of "foreign agents" in December 2021. The group did not have a separate legal entity at the time. Although Voronov himself was not listed on the registry as an individual "foreign agent," law-enforcement authorities compiled administrative protocols in his name. According to court documents, there were four such protocols: two alleging failure to submit required reports to the Ministry of Justice, and two relating to the absence of required labelling — one on the Выход Telegram channel and another in a report sent to the Prosecutor General's Office.

The sentence against Voronov comes amid a broader legal assault on the organisation. In March 2026 a court in St. Petersburg declared Выход an "extremist" organisation and banned its activities across Russia. The ban bars the group's formal operation within the country and exposes its members and associates to heightened legal risks under Russia's laws on extremism.

После решения суда Выход issued a statement saying the group would continue its efforts. In its announcement the organisation warned that legal rulings do not erase needs on the ground: "Никакое решение суда не отменяет реальность — люди продолжают нуждаться в психологической помощи, юридической защите, информации и человеческом участии," the group said, stressing that demand for services such as psychological help and legal advice remains.

Human-rights defenders and rights groups have previously warned that Russia's laws on "foreign agents" and "extremism" are being used to stigmatise, restrict and criminalise independent civil-society organisations, including those providing support to sexual minorities and other marginalized communities. In this case, the authorities' approach — registering an organisation as a "foreign agent" despite it lacking a legal entity and issuing protocols personally against a single director — highlights the mechanisms used to pursue and penalise activists and service providers even when they operate informally.

The verdict against Voronov is likely to have practical consequences for him personally, and symbolic consequences for similar groups and activists operating in Russia. A compulsory labour sentence in absentia limits his ability to return to Russia without facing enforcement of the punishment, while the wider designation of Выход as extremist curtails avenues for organised, public-facing assistance for LGBT people in the country.

The court press service in St. Petersburg reported the sentence; there has been no indication in the materials made public that Voronov will be tried again in his presence or that the decision will be appealed. The case forms part of a pattern of litigation and administrative action that observers say is narrowing the space for independent human-rights and minority-rights work inside Russia.