Georgia bars pardoned Russian activist Kulanin from flying to Armenia amid fears of deportation to Russia
Georgia has stopped Russian national Denis Kulanin from flying to Yerevan despite a court ruling allowing him to leave for a third country. Rights advocates warn he could instead be deported to Russia.
Georgia's Interior Ministry immigration department has prevented Russian citizen Denis Kulanin from leaving the country, even though he had planned to fly to Armenia's capital, Yerevan, according to the human rights group APUS.
Kulanin was sentenced to two years in prison in Georgia in 2025 but was pardoned on August 27. The Tbilisi City Court had ruled that he could depart for a third country rather than Russia, and supporters had already purchased him a plane ticket to Yerevan. Although he holds a valid passport, he was denied permission to board his flight.
According to lawyer Darya Samodurova, Kulanin's case manager informed him on August 31 that he would not be allowed to travel to his intended destination because no decision had yet been made regarding his expulsion from Georgia.
Fear of expulsion to Russia
Kulanin is currently held at an immigration detention facility. On September 1, the migration department asked the Tbilisi City Court to approve his expulsion to Russia, APUS reported.
Samodurova explained that Georgian law allows exceptions under which a foreigner facing an expulsion order can be denied a voluntary departure period, in which case they are sent back to their home country instead. She wrote that there is a significant risk Kulanin will be sent specifically to Russia. In a letter written from detention, Kulanin said authorities were "trying to throw him out to Russia."
Denis Kulanin was detained on March 28, 2025, on Tbilisi's Rustaveli Avenue during protests against the ruling Georgian Dream party. He was charged with damaging an Interior Ministry vehicle and received a two-year prison sentence. Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili pardoned Kulanin on August 27 along with other prisoners released to mark the Orthodox feast of the Dormition.
APUS said Kulanin previously volunteered at Alexey Navalny's campaign office in Rostov-on-Don and had publicly spoken out against the invasion of Ukraine, a stance that could endanger him if returned to his home country.
