August Dobrovolsky

August is a young man who grew up in Nizhnevartovsk (a city in Western Siberia, Russia) in a Chechen family with strongly homophobic views. His father is serving a prison sentence for involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir* (an organization banned in Russia and several other countries). From early childhood, August was subjected to physical and psychological abuse by his mother, who rejected his appearance and tried to force him to conform to traditional gender roles.

From the age of 16, August got in touch with LGBTQ+ people in closed online chats. He later enrolled in a university linguistics program, where he studied English and Spanish while continuing to develop his interests. He also remained active in closed LGBTQ+ chats with like-minded people.

In 2024, after two chat participants reported him to the authorities, police officers detained August directly from his university classes. During questioning, they demanded that he name all the “gays and pedophiles” he allegedly knew. August was subjected to physical violence: his phone was smashed, and a knife was held to his throat. He was threatened with prosecution under extremism laws, insulted, and humiliated. Law enforcement officers also suggested that he work as an informant by being placed in a cell with another detainee to obtain information.

A court fined August 100,000 rubles (approximately USD 1,000 USD 2024). He was also issued an official warning on the “inadmissibility of extremist actions,” and police officers told him that his activities would be monitored.

The NC SOS Crisis Group provided August with legal assistance and helped him escape from Russia. He is currently in a safe country.