February 22, 2026

Judge in Alia Galitskaya's case claims decision on her arrest was dictated from above, a common practice

Istrinsky City Court Judge Fedor Grigoriev told REN TV that he merely announced the decision to arrest Alia Galitskaya, who subsequently committed suicide in a temporary detention center. The publication featuring his comments was removed from the TV channel's website shortly after its release, as noted by "Agentstvo." In the material, Grigoriev stated that the order to detain Galitskaya was effectively made by the chairman of the Moscow Regional Court, Alexey Kharlamov, and the head of the Istrinsky Court, Irina Putynets. According to the judge, he was given the case materials with instructions to impose this pre-trial measure. Grigoriev claims he was forced to sign the document. Later, the telegram channel 112, which is close to law enforcement agencies, cited Grigoriev as saying that decisions in the courts of the Moscow region are often made under pressure from management, with responsibility falling on the specific judge. A source for "Agentstvo" confirmed the authenticity of Grigoriev's words and stated that ready-made decisions are regularly handed down to judges. According to the source, Grigoriev had previously faced disciplinary action after refusing to approve an arrest in another case. Refusing to authorize Galitskaya's arrest could have led to further punishment. Alia Galitskaya, the ex-wife of venture capitalist Alexander Galitsky, committed suicide in an isolation cell in Istra, Moscow region, on February 7 – shortly after the court decided to arrest her in a case involving the extortion of $150 million from her ex-husband. TASS reported that the story of Galitskaya's arrest "outraged" the head of the Supreme Court, Igor Krasnov, who insisted on the resignation of judges Fedor Grigoriev and Irina Putynets. Later, Krasnov urged judges to carefully consider pre-trial measures in cases with low public danger, particularly in "entrepreneurial articles."