Aleksandr Antonov is an American entrepreneur, engineer, and father who escaped THE USSR for a better life in Santa Barbara, California.
In early 2025, Aleksandr traveled through Russia to attend to family in Ukraine and business in Russia-occupied Crimea. While returning on March 5, 2025, Aleksandr was detained by Russian officials inspecting his phone.
Once they found Aleksandr’s American passport, the real trouble began.
Aleksandr was sentenced to six years of imprisonment in a Russian Gulag.
Aleksandr is 66 years old.
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Aleksandr Has Been Detained For:
Who is ALEKSANDR ANTONOV
Aleksandr is a 66-year-old proud husband and father. Married to his wife, Natalya, for over 40 years, they have three adult children, Andrey, Alexey, and Anastasia. Aleksandr and Natalya rescued their family from political and economic persecution under the USSR and came to the US in the 1990s to build a life and give their sons a future.
Once in the US, the family grew to include a daughter, and ultimately, the Antonovs settled in Santa Barbara, CA. Aleksandr became a proud US naturalized citizen, along with his wife and their sons.
What Happened?
Aleksandr regularly travels to Ukraine and Russia for business and to visit and care for extended family in Dnipro, Ukraine. On March 5th, 2025, Aleksandr was arrested while leaving Russia to return home to Santa Barbara, California.
During passport control and outbound inspection, Russian Border Service officers searched Aleksandr’s belongings and discovered his U.S. passport. Their attitude immediately became openly aggressive. He was detained and threatened with violence.
Aleksandr was transported to Pechory, Russia, where a report was generated accusing him of hooliganism. The accusation was blatantly fabricated — Aleksandr was already detained in a Russian jail at the time of the alleged incident. The Russian courts didn’t care, and a judge sentenced Aleksandr to ten days of administrative detention. Russian officials spent that time manufacturing more serious charges relating to alleged phrases in support of the Ukrainian military they found searching Aleksandr’s phone.
Aleksandr was convicted on charges relating to inciting terrorism and extremism.
WHAT ACTION IS UNDERWAY:
Aleksandr’s wife, Natalya Antonova, has been in contact with the American Citizen Services section of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. She has sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio requesting his assistance, given that Aleksandr is wrongfully detained.
Natalya has been able to have brief and sporadic contact with Aleksandr and Aleksandr’s Russian court-appointed attorney.
The first appeal for Aleksandr’s case was denied, and it is pending a second appeal. With little hope for success, Aleksandr’s family is appealing to the United States government to bring Aleksandr home.