His former name is Grigory Winter. In 2019, he was [assigned](https://ovd.news/express-news/2019/10/04/v-cherepovce-fsin-potrebovala-izmenit-pravozashchitniku-ispravitelnye-raboty) 280 hours of correctional labour - the activist was found guilty of insulting the former mayor of Cherepovets Elena Avdeeva and the current head of the city Margarita Guseva (Art. 319 of the Criminal Code). The court saw the insult in a post on Winter's personal closed page, in which he spoke about the felling of the Pulovsky forest and mentioned the officials. In February 2019, Winter was [sent](https://ovd.news/express-news/2019/02/19/v-cherepovce-glavu-mestnogo-otdeleniya-za-prava-cheloveka-otpravili-na-0) for compulsory medical examination as part of the criminal case of threatening the court secretary (Art. 119 CC) - he allegedly said on 15 October 2018 that he would blow up the courthouse. In 2020, the human rights defender [came](https://ovd.news/express-news/2020/05/07/v-vologde-na-glavu-mestnogo-otdeleniya-za-prava-cheloveka-zaveli-ugolovnoe) with a search in the criminal case of spreading "fakes about the coronavirus" (Article 207.1 of the Criminal Code): he wrote in VKontakte that on 12 April 2020, prisoners from the Cherepovets pre-trial detention centre were escorted to the colonies on a transit train that travelled from St. Petersburg, with some of those escorted having "clear signs" of the coronavirus. After the search, Winter was also charged with insulting a representative of the authorities (Article 319 of the Criminal Code): he was accused of uttering "coarse profanity" to the IC and FSB officers who conducted the search. In December 2020, Winter was [placed](https://ovd.news/express-news/2020/12/29/v-vologodskoy-oblasti-otpravili-v-sizo-pravozashchitnika-po-delu-o-feykah-i) in a pre-trial detention centre on the pretext that he did not attend court hearings, although he had a sick leave. A month later, the regional court [cancelled](http://activatica.org/blogs/view/id/12045/title/cherepoveckogo-pravozashchitnika-grigoriya-vintera-nezakonno-proderzhali-v-sizo-celyy-mesyac) the city court's decision. After being released, Winter [alleged](https://ovd.news/express-news/2021/03/04/posle-nezakonnogo-soderzhaniya-v-sizo-cherepoveckiy-pravozashchitnik-zayavil) torture and beatings. According to the human rights defender, he was kicked by the staff of the duty shift. They also used tasers and choked him. In March 2021, a court in Cherepovets [sentenced](https://ovd.news/express-news/2021/03/31/v-cherepovce-pravozashchitniku-naznachili-ogranichenie-svobody-po-statyam-o) a human rights defender to two years of restricted freedom in a case of "fakes" and insulting a representative of the authorities. In August 2021, the Vologda Regional Court [commuted](https://ovd.news/express-news/2021/08/02/pravozashchitniku-iz-cherepovca-izmenili-nakazanie-po-delam-o-feyke-i) this sentence to six months of correctional labour with five per cent of income withheld in favour of the state. Winter was also prosecuted for contempt of court, according to [information](https://cherepoveckygor--vld.sudrf.ru/modules.php?name=sud_delo&srv_num=1&name_op=case&case_id=85128882&case_uid=f2ed36d2-0170-4702-a477-1c874a9ed885&delo_id=1540006) on the Cherepovets City Court website. He was charged with both insulting a judge (part 2 of article 297 of the Criminal Code) and insulting participants in court proceedings (part 1 of article 297 of the Criminal Code). The court website says that the case was transferred under the jurisdiction, but it is not known how the proceedings ended. Grigory Winter was also subjected to an attack. In March 2018, he was attacked by an unknown person outside his own home. The attacker told Winter, "For the forest." The human rights defender was diagnosed with a head injury, fractured ribs and swelling of his right eye. The man [believes](http://www.zaprava.ru/pobit-za-les-material-radio-svoboda-o-borbe-nashego-eksperta-v-vologodskoj-oblasti-grigoriya-vintera/) that the attack was organised by the local authorities because of his involvement in saving the Pulova Forest. In September 2022, Winter was placed in custody on a case of knowingly spreading false information about the Armed Forces. Winter [reported](https://ovd.news/express-news/2022/09/13/nahodyashchiysya-v-sizo-po-delu-o-feykah-pravozashchitnik-iz-cherepovca) that at night the temperature in his cell dropped to 4-6 degrees Celsius. He later [said](https://ovd.news/express-news/2022/09/30/arestovannyy-po-delu-o-feykah-pravozashchitnik-rasskazal-chto-ogloh-na-odno) that he was deaf in one ear because of the low temperature and that he was running low on insulin. The insulin was then transferred to him, but Winter [continued to write](https://ovd.news/express-news/2022/10/04/arestovannyy-po-delu-o-feykah-pravozashchitnik-napisal-o-nehvatke-lekarstv) about the lack of medication. On 19 October 2022, he was transferred to house arrest. On 28 October, the Court of Appeal overturned this decision. Later, house arrest was again ordered. Winter [reported](https://ovd.news/express-news/2022/11/01/obvinyaemyy-po-delu-o-feykah-pravozashchitnik-iz-cherepovca-rasskazal-o) also that he was humiliated and beaten in the pre-trial detention centre in an attempt to get him to write a statement that he was "put down". At one of the court hearings on the merits of the case, Winter was not allowed to file a complaint with the prosecutor's office about the actions of the SIZO staff. Winter has 12 cats at home, and while awaiting sentencing, he began giving them away. On 3 November 2023, house arrest was replaced by a ban on certain actions. On 18 January 2024, Winter was sentenced to three years in a general regime colony.