Between January and November 2025, Russian judges imposed life sentences on 100 individuals, representing the highest yearly total in at least 20 years, according to a report by the state-owned news agency TASS, which referenced data from Russia’s Supreme Court.

This number, gathered from an incomplete year, is almost double that of the entire year of 2022 and signifies a historic peak in judicial records spanning two decades.

For context, courts previously handed down 84 life sentences in both 2005 and 2012, as per official statistics.

The occurrence of life sentences has been on a consistent upward trend in recent years. Courts issued 66 life terms in 2020, followed by 47 in 2021, 58 in 2022, 78 in 2023, and 79 in 2024.

Overall, from 2005 to 2025, there have been 1,416 life sentences delivered by the courts.

The Supreme Court did not clarify the specific criminal charges under which these life sentences were enacted in 2025.

Nonetheless, since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there has been a noticeable increase in the application of life sentences, particularly under newly broadened provisions of the Criminal Code, which include offenses such as treason, organizing sabotage or terrorism, and participation in terrorist activities.

Currently, life imprisonment is the most severe punishment in Russia aside from the death penalty, which has been under a moratorium since 1997.