In December 2023, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the arrest of a dual Russian-Italian citizen accused of attacking a military airfield and sabotaging a railway line. The suspect was Ruslan Sidiki, a 36-year-old anarchist, long-distance cyclist, and electrician. Now in pretrial detention, he faces a potential life sentence. Mediazona published a collection of letters from Sidiki, in which he describes why he turned to sabotage, how he planned and carried out the attacks, and why he considers himself a prisoner of war rather than a political prisoner. Meduza summarizes their contents.
Ruslan Sidiki was born in Ryazan, Russia, but spent much of his childhood in Italy after moving there with his mother. After finishing school, he attempted to join the Italian military but didn’t make the cut. He stayed in Italy for several years, working and visiting his family and friends in Ryazan whenever he could. During one of those trips, he was offered a job as an electrician — and decided to stay.
“Life was pretty good here until 2008,” he recalled. “I missed my grandmother and my friends, and back then, Europe felt a little too dull.”
Before Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of war in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Sidiki made frequent trips to Ukraine, where, among other things, he went on hikes through the Chernobyl exclusion zone. He liked the challenge of navigating difficult terrain, evading patrols, and using military gear. Through these trips, he built a network of like-minded adventurers, including friends from Ukraine.
