Taisiya Osipova, a resident of Smolensk, the wife of Sergey Fomchenkov, activist of the Other Russia party, was sentenced in December 2011 for selling drugs to ten years in prison. She became the first person involved in the "list of political prisoners" to seek a review of the case.
The political activity of Taisiya Osipova began in 2000, when she became a member of the National Bolshevik Party, created by Eduard Limonov. Taisiya was a correspondent for the General Line party newspaper. At this time, she met her future husband, Sergei Fomchenkov.
In 2003, Osipov, during a speech by Viktor Maslov, governor of the Smolensk region, hit him in the face with flowers, shouting: "You are fattening at the expense of ordinary people!" During this incident, she was sentenced to one year in prison on probation in the article "violence against a representative of the authorities."
Osipova’s lawyer appealed the verdict, but the result was disappointing. After re-examining the case, Osipova was also convicted under the article “hooliganism” and received one and a half years imprisonment with a suspended sentence of two years with a ban on changing her place of residence.
In 2005, the couple had a daughter, Katrina, and Taisia began to educate her, and Sergei left Smolensk to Moscow, in order to continue active political activity.
In November 2010, Osipova was detained on charges of possession and distribution of drugs. During the search, nine grams of heroin and a labeled banknote of 500 rubles were found in her house. Based on the results of the forensic narcological examination of Taisiya, she was diagnosed with second-stage opium addiction.
Activists of the Other Russia party are convinced that Taisia was convicted in order to put pressure on Fomchenkov. The convict claimed that during the search she was offered to testify against her husband, and when she refused, they planted drugs on her. On December 29, 2011, Taisiya Osipova was sentenced to ten years in prison.
In February 2012, she was included in the "list of political prisoners", subsequently reviewed by the Prosecutor General. After reviewing the case, in August 2012 Osipova was convicted on two episodes of drug charges (instead of four) and changed her sentence to eight years in a general regime colony.
