July 06, 2023

Sought to Visit Sick Father, Arrested as Spy


Sought to Visit Sick Father, Arrested as Spy
Lenie Umerova, arrested for espionage for trying to visit her dying father. Grati, Telegram

Lenie Umerova, a Ukrainian citizen and Crimean Tatar, was arrested for espionage while crossing the Georgian-Russian border in a roundabout itinerary to Crimea, where her sick father was. On July 1, Mediazona reported she was sentenced to four months in prison.

In December 2022, the 25-year-old learned that her father was dying of cancer in her native Crimea. She left Kyiv, where she worked in marketing for a women's apparel company, and traveled to Georgia. There, she boarded a bus from Tbilisi to Simferopol. Russian border guards took her passport and phone, and Umerova was sent to a detention center for foreigners.

The court initially ordered her deportation, but after winning an appeal in mid-March, Umerova was released. But, as soon as she set foot outside, four men put a bag over her head, kidnapped, and arrested her. Since then, the courts have sentenced her four times in a row for 15 days on counts of disobedience.

On May 4, Umerova's parents arrived at the detention center where their daughter was being held, only to find that the FSB had taken her and all her belongings. The next day, a Moscow court ordered her arrest for espionage, alleging she had collected information on the Russian military and the Vostok Battalion.

Human Rights Watch has denounced the persecution of Crimean Tatars under Russian occupation since 2014.

You Might Also Like

  • June 14, 2023

"Go Defend Your Homeland"

In Chechnya, law enforcement uses threats and blackmail to send LGBT persons, drug users, and "disloyal" citizens to war.
Crimean Hostages
  • May 30, 2023

Crimean Hostages

Russian journalists discovered a secret jail for Ukrainian civilians in Crimea.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955