Russian Investigator Gets 19 Years for Trying to Recruit Cadets into Anti-Kremlin Legion

The Trial of Aleksandra Zhitenko

According to Главком: A Russian court has sentenced 53-year-old Aleksandra Zhitenko, an employee of the Investigative Committee's cadet corps, to 19 years in prison for attempting to recruit teenagers into the 'Freedom of Russia' Legion. She was found guilty on four criminal charges, three of which are terrorism-related. Zhitenko has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Prosecutors alleged that Zhitenko took a job within the security agency specifically to promote the legion, which Russia designates as a terrorist organization. To entice the cadets, she devised a reward system that included:

• cash payments for guard duty,
• help with test assignments,
• and 'creative tasks' meant to motivate the teenagers.

Zhitenko herself described this as a 'game in the cafeteria.'

Evidence and Verdict

The key piece of evidence was a recorded conversation between Zhitenko and a cadet who had earlier contacted the FSB. All subsequent interactions with the woman were monitored by security services. In court, it emerged that Zhitenko 'played along' when the teenager expressed a desire to join the legion. The judge sentenced her to 19 years in a general-regime penal colony.

Separately, Russia's Investigative Committee announced it had closed its probe into the killing of U.S. citizen Russell Bentley, who lived in temporarily occupied Donetsk. Bentley was killed in April of this year by Russian military personnel.

This case sheds light on Russia's ongoing crackdown on terrorism and efforts to prevent youth from joining illegal armed groups. The trial of Zhitenko reveals how terrorist organizations may attempt to exploit vulnerable teenagers. Meanwhile, the conclusion of the Bentley murder investigation highlights the complex international tensions arising from the prolonged conflict in Ukraine and its impact on foreign nationals caught in the war zone.

The sentencing of Aleksandra Zhitenko highlights the severe repercussions of attempting to recruit youth into extremist groups. Similarly, a recent case involving a woman from Kuban, who received a 13-year sentence for contributing to the Ukrainian military, underscores the complexities of individual actions in the context of national security. For more on this troubling trend, see the details of the Kuban woman's sentencing.