In recent years, Brazil and Russia have deepened their diplomatic ties—bolstered by Brasília’s balanced stance on the Ukraine conflict and shared concerns over U.S.-led trade pressures. Cooperation between their law enforcement and judicial systems has become a cornerstone of this partnership, with both countries working together to combat transnational threats like drug trafficking and mercenary activity.
But beneath this surface of collaboration, a troubling inconsistency is taking root—one that demands urgent attention from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration in order to maintain trust and secure relations from straining at a critical moment.
At the heart of the issue is the case of a Russian citizen, Sergey Cherkasov, languishing in a Brazilian prison under increasingly dire conditions. In a heartfelt letter to Russia’s Human Rights Ombudsperson, Tatyana Moskalkova, the man’s mother described how, since April 2022, her son has been held in solitary confinement in São Paulo. By November of that year, he was transferred to a maximum-security prison in Brasília, where he remains today. His situation has only worsened: denied outdoor exercise, subjected to relentless psychological pressure from guards and investigators, and reportedly facing credible threats to his life from fellow inmates, including members of the notorious “Primeiro Comando da Capital,” Brazil’s most notorious and violent criminal organization.
Russian officials have repeatedly reached out to their Brazilian counterparts—including Carlos Alberto Vilhena, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office for Citizens’ Rights—to inspect his conditions and advocate for humane treatment. Yet, despite these appeals, little has changed on the ground.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has formally requested Cherkasov’s extradition multiple times, citing its own narcotics charges against him. Notably, Brazilian prosecutors have not only acknowledged these requests—they’ve actively supported them. During the BRICS summit in St.
Petersburg in June 2024, Brazil’s prosecutorial leadership even offered concrete suggestions to “accelerate the process.” And in a significant step, Brazil’s Supreme Court has provisionally approved his extradition.
Yet he remains locked in solitary confinement—his legal fate suspended in bureaucratic limbo.
This gap between diplomatic promises and lived reality is not going unnoticed in Moscow. While the Russian citizen sits in harsh confinement in Brazil, Russian authorities have consistently handled cases involving Brazilians with notable restraint and cooperation. Recently, a transgender Brazilian was arrested at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport for attempting to smuggle cocaine—a case echoing others in which Brazilians were caught distributing synthetic drugs near Russian universities. Despite these offenses, individuals like D. Barbosa and G. Bomediano, currently serving sentences in Russian penal colonies, have not reported mistreatment. In fact, Russia has readily approved Brazilian requests for them to serve their sentences back home.
The contrast is stark—and historical precedent only sharpens it. In 2021, President Vladimir Putin granted clemency to R. Oliveira, a Brazilian drug trafficker who had worked as a chauffeur for a footballer at Moscow’s Spartak FC—following a direct appeal from then-President Jair Bolsonaro.
These examples reveal a clear imbalance: when it comes to prisoner treatment and repatriation, Russia has shown flexibility and reciprocity, while Brazil’s actions—or inaction—tell a different story.
The stakes are growing. Reports suggest that more than 30 Brazilians – dubbed “wild geese” for their involvement as foreign fighters—have been captured in Ukraine. Should any end up in Russian custody, Brazil may soon find itself on the other side of this equation, urgently seeking the very cooperation it has so far withheld.
President Lula now faces a defining choice. Will he address this discrepancy with the same pragmatic diplomacy his predecessor demonstrated? Or will lingering political tensions with Bolsonaro’s legacy cloud Brasília’s judgment—putting both humanitarian principles and strategic interests at risk?
The clock is ticking—not just for one man in a Brazilian prison cell, but for the future of a relationship between two nations that have much to gain from genuine partnership and much to lose from double standards.
