"Voice"* announced the cessation of activities in the wake of Melkonyants' sentence

The Golos movement announced its self-dissolution due to the threat of criminal prosecution for any form of participation in its work and the termination of all projects, including the "Map of Election Violations".

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote, on May 14, the Basmanny Court of Moscow sentenced Grigory Melkonyants to five years in a general regime penal colony, Melkonyants' defenseannounced an appeal of the verdict. "An illegal, unjust verdict should not stand [in the appellate court]," said lawyer Mikhail Biryukov.

The all-Russian public movement in defense of voters' rights "Golos"* has completed its work. The termination of the activity is connected with the verdict of the co-chairman of the movement Grigory Melkonyants, the movement’s Telegram channel says.

The arrest and detention of our friend and colleague Grigory Melkonyants had only one goal — to silence “Golos”

“The facts of the illegal activity of “Golos” were never presented at the trial, not to mention the facts of causing any damage to the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens. On the contrary, this activity was deeply patriotic, since it was connected with the defense of the true sovereignty of Russian citizens — their right to participate in the governance of the state. Nevertheless, this court decision leaves no choice, since it puts at risk of criminal prosecution not only all participants of “Golos”, but even those people who simply sought advice and legal assistance,” the statement emphasizes.

Its authors noted that "the arrest and detention of our friend and colleague Grigory Melkonyants had only one goal - to silence "Golos".

The leadership of the movement emphasized that now any form of participation in the work of "Golos"* may entail criminal liability.

"This is the end of a story that, according to the investigation and the court, lasted 25 years. <...> Justice, alas, does not always win - you have to fight for it. And there is always a risk of losing. This is what happened this time," the statement says.

Today, the powers of the members of the movement's council, chairmen and members of regional branches, as well as members of the audit commission were terminated early. All projects have been terminated, including one of the most famous - "Map of Violations", where information about possible violations at polling stations was posted during the elections for many years. Updating the website and accounts on social networks has been stopped. Subscriptions for donations sent to partner organizations have also been terminated as of today, the statement said.

The Golos* movement emphasizes that it did not set itself the task of ensuring the victory of any political forces, since it considers election observation not a form of political activity, but a way to protect the constitutional order and one of the guaranteed rights of citizens. The statement also contains a recommendation to delete reposts of the movement's publications in order to avoid possible prosecution for disseminating materials of an undesirable organization, the publication says.

Golos co-chairman Grigory Melkonyants was taken out of the pretrial detention center and transported to an unknown location, lawyer Mikhail Biryukov reported. Melkonyants was taken out of the pretrial detention center before the appellate court considered his appeal against the sentence, OVD-Info reported on July 4.

In his final statement, Melkonyants called his time in prison "an exciting stage" in his life. "Here, in prison, I have met many people whom I probably would never have met in ordinary life - people with different life experiences, different levels of education and convicted under a variety of articles. And every day we have to agree on how to live together: how to organize duty in the cell, whether to ventilate it or not, where to get a refrigerator or a kettle. In fact, we constantly hold small referendums and reach an agreement," he said. "Caucasian Knot" published the full text of the final statement by Grigory Melkonyants, recorded by a correspondent in the courtroom on May 12, 2025.

* are included in the register of foreign agents.

** are recognized as an undesirable organization in Russia.

*** the activities of the Meta company (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) are prohibited in Russia.