Sentence for Cannabis Storage Takes Effect in Novgorod Region
A 28-year-old resident of Valday received three years in prison for storing a large batch of cannabis. The appeal court upheld the sentence.
Apr 30, 2026 0
In November 2025, the Valday District Court of Novgorod Region, with the participation of the prosecutor«s office, sentenced local resident Nikita Sidorenko. The 28-year-old man was found guilty under Part 2 of Article 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for illegal storage of parts of plants containing narcotic drugs in a large quantity.
The investigation established that since August 2025, Sidorenko had stored more than 100 grams of parts of the cannabis plant in the attic of a non-residential building in the town of Valday. According to the case file, the drug was intended for personal use. The police thwarted this activity during an operational-search event «inspection of premises, buildings, structures, areas of terrain, vehicles.» The narcotic drug was confiscated.
The defendant fully admitted his guilt. The court of first instance sentenced him to three years of imprisonment to be served in a general-regime correctional colony. The convicted man«s defense lawyer filed an appeal, but a representative of the Novgorod Region prosecutor»s office opposed its satisfaction.
The Judicial Panel on Criminal Cases of the Novgorod Regional Court took into account the position of the state prosecutor. It left the appeal unsatisfied and the sentence unchanged, after which it entered into legal force.
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