Elena Blinovskaya, popularly known for her "Marathon of Desires," has been sentenced to five years in a penal colony following her conviction for tax evasion and money laundering. The Saviolovsky District Court of Moscow handed down the ruling on March 4, 2025, also imposing a fine of 1 million rubles and barring her from engaging in commercial activities for four years. This decision arrives amid significant media attention surrounding the case of the so-called "queen of marathons," who amassed considerable wealth through her online business.
Initially, the prosecution sought a six-year sentence, emphasizing the need for accountability considering Blinovskaya's four children: her eldest son, Vsevolod, is 15 years old, followed by 13-year-old twins, Platon and Miron, and her youngest daughter, Avrora, who is just five. The public and legal scrutiny around her case intensified after it was revealed she evaded taxes amounting to nearly 1 billion rubles over several years, calling her business practices and integrity under question.
Blinovskaya's legal troubles began when she was accused of using "splitting" schemes to remain eligible as an individual entrepreneur under simplified tax laws, thereby denying the state payment on far larger earnings. The court detailed how she managed to evade taxes on earnings amounting to 906 million rubles, later legalizing 706 million rubles from those funds.
On January 2025, during court proceedings, Blinovskaya admitted guilt concerning the tax evasion and money laundering charges but expressed ignorance about the business practices leading to her legal troubles. “Your Honor, recognizing my guilt and expressing remorse, I would like to state merely this: the articles attributed to me imply other types of punishments beyond imprisonment,” she remarked during the proceedings.
Despite her emotional pleas for leniency on behalf of her children, the prosecution firmly opposed any deferred sentence. The prosecutor stated, "We believe leniency should not be applied, as the children have their father, grandmothers, and grandfathers. The children did not impede Blinovskaya from violating the law." These comments underscored the prosecution's intent to send a strong message against white-collar crimes.
Following her arrest on April 28, 2023, when she attempted to flee to Belarus, the court initially placed Blinovskaya under house arrest. This order was later revoked due to allegations of her holding parties which involved witnesses tied to her case, resulting in her transfer to pre-trial detention. She has taken preliminary steps, as outlined by the court's calculation, to have some of her time credited toward her sentence. For every day spent under home arrest counts as one day served, and one day spent in pre-trial detention counts as one and a half days served. Therefore, she is eligible to apply for parole as early as the latter part of her sentence.
Throughout her time building the business, Blinovskaya transformed from giving free mothering and productivity seminars to officially launching the "Marathon of Desires" where initial courses were priced at 2,000 rubles, climbing to 4,500 rubles for recent classes, with VIP options costing up to 300,000 rubles.
The harshness of her sentence drew varied public reactions, particularly due to her status as a mother. During court hearings, her defense counsel implored the judge to understand the impact of her incarceration on her family. "The youngest daughter still does not grasp why her mother is not around and asks her grandmother every day, ‘Where is my mother?’" Yet the judge noted the importance of adhering to the law: "There are relatives, and she violated the law."
Importantly, Blinovskaya's husband, Alexey Blinovsky, was implicated alongside her for tax evasion and money laundering. He was reportedly able to evade prosecution due to enlisting with the Russian military after signing on with the Ministry of Defense. Such developments cast shadows over the family dynamic as their children remain with relatives during this challenging period.
At the same time, media coverage suggests Blinovskaya's financial activities have not only drawn the state's scrutiny but have also led to other high-profile individuals facing similar accusations of tax evasion. The spring of 2023 saw government probes targeting fellow figures within the infobusiness domain, reflecting how widespread concerns over tax integrity have become avenues of exploration across numerous cases.
During her detention, reports indicated Blinovskaya's assets, including landholdings and luxury items, were seized and liquidated for state profit, resulting in the court recovering 587 million rubles to the Russian Federation.
Despite her fall from grace, Blinovskaya's capacity for re-emergence could pivot on her adherence to legal protocols going forward, showcasing how closely her story intertwines with the shifting narratives surrounding white-collar crime. With the looming prospect of reduced terms based on her previous detainment experiences, the intriguing saga surrounding both her legal outcomes and family dynamics continues to push the boundaries of societal discourse on accountability and redemption.