July 01, 2025

The Persecution Doesn't Stay at Home


The Persecution Doesn't Stay at Home
A threat left on Sasha Kazantseva's Vilnius mailbox reading "Hello from Tselitel," a homophobic group. SotaVision, Telegram.

On June 24, a LGBT rights activist reported on Telegram that homophobic groups from Russia were still harassing her in exile in Lithuania. The harassers left a message on her mailbox in her Vilnius apartment reading, "Hello from [Imperya] Tselitelya," referring to a homophobic group.

Sasha Kazantseva is a sex educator and LGBT rights activist with over 26,000 Instagram followers and 42,000members in her Telegram channel pomyla ruky ("washed hands"). On June 24, she wrote on her Telegram, "[They] are looking for me, today [they] came to my house in Vilnius. I want to give it publicity because if something happens to me, it's better that more people know." Kazantseva said the homophobic Russian group targetting her is Imperya Tselitelya ("Empire of the Healer").

Kazantseva and news channel SotaVision published a video to Telegram originally uploaded to Imperya Tselitelya's closed channel. The recording showed an unknown person approaching a group of houses. Then, the cameraman recorded a mailbox with the inscription.

The latest intimidation act is just the tip of the iceberg. Kazantseva said that the extremist group organized a bot attack against LGBT accounts, including her own. On June 20, SK SOS, a group which protects queer people in the Northern Caucasus, revealed it was also attacked by bots.

According to Kazantseva, Imperya Tselitelya has been trying to physically harm her. The activist suspects that on the day of the attack a man arrived with the intention of assaulting her, but she wasn't home. According to SotaVision, Imperya Tselitelya confirmed a member went to her house. The group said, "We missed Sasha, decided to stop by, eat [something], but [the house] was empty." The group doxxed her, publishing her address online.

In March, the Russian Ministry of the Interior included Kazantseva on a wanted persons list. The authorities did not specify why she is wanted.

You Might Also Like

Russia's War on Books
  • May 22, 2025

Russia's War on Books

Police in arrested 10 current and former employees of Russia's largest publishing house on charges of "LGBT propaganda."
Clownworld Comes to Russia
  • May 18, 2025

Clownworld Comes to Russia

A court in Novgorod fined a man for LGBT-linked extremist propaganda for using an absurdist meme.
Women's Rights in Wartime
  • March 04, 2025

Women's Rights in Wartime

Women's rights activists face increased pressure and reduced domestic violence resources in Russia.
Making a List
  • January 27, 2025

Making a List

The Ministry of Internal Affairs may be creating a database of LGBT persons to make future prosecutions easier.
Stop the Parties!
  • December 02, 2024

Stop the Parties!

Moscow police raided three nightclubs to "fight LGBT propaganda."
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
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. 
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
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.
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. 
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

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