For over two decades, Norway cooperated with Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service, providing significant funding from the Norwegian Foreign Ministry to improve prison professionalism, safety, and rehabilitation efforts. Despite increasing political repression under Vladimir Putin after 2011-2012, this partnership continued. In 2020 alone, Norway contributed 2.3 million kroner (€198,000), targeting facilities in Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, and Moscow—including the notorious “Vodnik” pre-trial detention center.
“Vodnik” is infamous for its brutal treatment of prisoners. In January 2025, businessman Andrei Kotov died under suspicious circumstances following apparent torture, documented in videos shared online. Another notable prisoner there is Dmitri Ivanov, serving an eight-and-a-half-year sentence under Russia’s “fake-news” law for organizing protests via Telegram. Amnesty International recognized Ivanov as a political prisoner in 2023.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Norway terminated all cooperation with Russia’s prison service.
On March 14, 2025, the Norwegian government escalated actions by imposing sanctions against Russia’s penitentiary system and 19 individuals. Among those sanctioned are judges and prosecutors involved in politically motivated imprisonments, including the death of Alexei Navalny and cases against human rights defender Oleg Orlov and artist Aleksandra Skochilenko.
Norway’s Foreign Minister, Espen Barth Eide, stated, “While Russia wages an illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, civil society and opposition are suppressed. People are deprived of basic freedoms and democratic rights, and any opposition to the regime and the illegal war is severely repressed.” Eide affirmed Norway’s alignment with EU measures condemning Russia’s intensified repression against civil society, independent media, human rights defenders, and political opponents.
The sanctions introduced by Norway and the EU specifically target entities and individuals providing financial, technical, or material support linked to human rights abuses in Russia. The measures include trade restrictions on exporting equipment potentially used for internal repression and bans on technology and software primarily designed for information security, monitoring, or interception of communications.
Per Regjeringen.no, the individuals sanctioned by Norway in March 2025 are:
– Nikolai Pavlovich Dubovik
– Eduard Borisovich Erdyniev
– Andrey Vladimirovich Fedorov
– Ekaterina Vasilevna Fedotova (Naumova)
– Inna Alexandrovna Fesenko
– Ekaterina Viktorovna Galyautdinova
– Dmitry Evgenevich Pankratov
– Evgeniy Borisovich Rastorguev
– Alexander Sergeevich Ermolenko
– Irina Geroldovna Kim
– Kirill Sergeevich Nikiforov
– Sergey Vladimirovich Blinov
– Evgeny Vladimirovich Borisov
– Tatyana Stanislavovna Dodonova
– Elena Sergeevna Astakhova
– Sergey Vorobyov
– Ilya Andreevich Savchenko
– Oksana Vasilyevna Demyasheva
– Alexander Yurievich Gladyshev
– Artem Sergeevich Kureev
– Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tupikin
– Sofia Avraamovna Zakharova
– Andrey Vladimirovich Averyanov
– Tinatin Givievna Kandelaki
– Vladimir Vladimirovich Sergiyenko
– Denis Alexandrovich Smolyaninov
– Vladimir/Volodymyr Lipchenko
– Yuriy Sizov
– Visa Nokhayevich Mizaev
– Olga Alekseevna Belyavtseva
– Timofey Vyacheslavovich Bordachev
– Harouna Douamba
– Anatolii Prizenko
– Alesia Miloradovich
– Oleg Sergeevich Eremenko
