Anti-war Russian politician Navalny leaves Russia

Boris Nadezhdin, the Russian anti-war politician, said on Monday that he had temporarily left Russia, weeks after Moscow designated him a foreign agent and barred him from running in parliamentary elections.

In a short video posted on Telegram, Nadezhdin appeared in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and said, “Hello everyone! I have some good news. I am alive and free. But I am not currently in Russia.”

He added, “For now, I need to figure out what I will do next. I will write about my plans later.”

Nadezhdin, 63, is a former liberal deputy and one of the harshest critics of Moscow’s war in Ukraine. However, like some other opponents, he attempted to operate within the rules of the Russian political system.

His hopes of running for parliament were dashed when the Ministry of Justice added him to the “foreign agents” list on July 10. Authorities widely apply this label to individuals they consider engaged in activities hostile to Russia, allegedly with support from abroad.

The following week, he was questioned by police and fined a small amount by a court on charges of posting “extremist symbols” on social media, a charge he described as absurd.

Nadezhdin had attempted to run against Putin in the 2024 presidential election, but the election commission excluded him on technical grounds.