Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Article 205, terrorist act, is the core terrorism provision: ten to fifteen years under Part 1, twelve to twenty under Part 2, and fifteen to twenty or life under Part 3. Cases are heard by military courts. Before 2022 the article was used almost entirely against actual bombings and against the defendants in the "Network" and similar cases built on informant testimony.

After the invasion of Ukraine it acquired a new caseload: arson attacks on military enlistment offices and administrative buildings, and sabotage of railway relay cabinets, are charged as terrorism rather than as property damage under Article 167, and attempts count as much as completed acts under Article 30. The defendants are often young, sometimes minors, and sentences of ten to twenty years are given for fires that caused no injuries. Several cases in the list also carry Article 205.4 (terrorist community) or 205.2 for the messages in which the act was discussed.