4.  The applicant was born in 1979 and is currently serving his prison sentence in the Altay Region. 5.  The applicant was charged with possession of firearms and several counts of robbery. The pre-trial proceedings were concluded in September 2003 and then the case against the applicant and four other persons was submitted to the Altay Regional Court for trial. 6.  During the preliminary hearing on 28 November 2003, the presiding judge informed the defendants of their procedural rights, including, in particular, the right to free legal assistance, the right to meet with their lawyers without restrictions, the right to bring an appeal against a trial court's judgment, the right to participate in the appeal hearing and the right to defend themselves through all lawful means. 7.  On 11 February 2004 the Regional Court convicted the applicant as charged and sentenced him to twelve years' imprisonment. 8.  In the operative part of its judgment, the trial court informed that any appeal had to be lodged with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation within ten days. The time-limit for the defendants started running from the day when they were served with a copy of the judgment. For other participants in the proceedings, it would run from the day of pronouncement of the judgment. There was no further information as to the right of the defendants to ask the authorities to ensure their participation in an appeal hearing. 9.  Both the applicant and his counsel, who he had chosen and who had represented him at the trial, lodged their appeals challenging the Regional Court's judgment on factual and legal grounds, without stating the wish to take part in the appeal hearing. They claimed, in particular, that the trial court's findings had not been based on the facts of the case and that the court had used for the applicant's conviction the evidence obtained in breach of the criminal procedural law. It appears that some time later the applicant discharged his representative owing to a lack of financial means. 10.  On 13 July 2004 the Registry of the Supreme Court despatched a summons for an appeal hearing. It contained several words:
“For information ... the case of Kononov Krasnov Lukyanov Miroshnichenko Nepomnyashchikh is to be heard on 27 July 2004 at 10”.
The applicant was served with the court notification on 15 July 2004. 11.  On 27 July 2004 the Supreme Court held an oral hearing. The applicant and his lawyer did not appear. The appeal court did not examine the question whether they had been duly summoned and, if they had not, whether the examination of their appeals should have been adjourned. The public prosecutor and one of the applicant's co-defendants were present and made their submissions. The prosecutor, in particular, asked to re-categorise the crime and uphold the trial court's judgment in the remaining part. On the same date the Supreme Court delivered a judgment by which it dismissed the applicant's appeal as being unsubstantiated and upheld his conviction and sentence in their entirety.