Russian opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin detained after being designated foreign agent
Russian opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin, who was barred from the 2024 presidential election and later labeled a foreign agent, was detained by police on July 13 but released, with a court appearance scheduled for July 17.
Russian police detained opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin on July 13, accusing him of displaying extremist symbols, according to Russian news outlet msk1, citing lawyer Dmitry Trunin. Nadezhdin wrote on his Telegram channel that police had arrived and were taking him to the Dolgoprudny precinct.
On July 10, Russia’s Justice Ministry added Nadezhdin to its registry of “foreign agents,” stating he had helped distribute materials from other foreign agents and “undesirable” organizations, spread “false information” about decisions by Russian authorities, and called for participation in unsanctioned rallies and pickets. Nadezhdin said at the time that the designation would not affect his work and that he would continue to fight and run for the State Duma.
In 2024, Nadezhdin sought to run for president as the only anti-war candidate. A broad campaign was mounted in support of his candidacy, with lines forming at signature-collection sites. The Central Election Commission barred him from the ballot, citing a high rate of invalid signatures.
In mid-June 2026, Nadezhdin submitted documents to run for the State Duma as an independent candidate and began collecting signatures. However, since May 2024, Russia has barred “foreign agents” from participating in elections.
Following his detention, SOTAvision reported that Nadezhdin has been released and must appear in court on July 17.
This story was written by a journalist and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow Meduza's editorial standards. Every draft is reviewed before publication.
