Aleksandr Tolmachev (1955—2020) was a Russian journalist who edits the magazine Upolnomochen Zayavit and the newspaper Pro Rostov. He was held in custody without trial from December 2011 to August 2013 after having criticized government authorities. In October 2014, he was found guilty of extortion and sentenced to nine years in a penal colony, despite a lack of evidence of guilt. He died a month and a half before the planned release. According to Reporters Without Borders, “Tolmachev is renowned in the Rostov region for denouncing judicial and political corruption and organized crime.”