Russian Opposition Politician Boris Nadezhdin Says He Has Left Russia
Russian opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin has announced he is no longer in Russia, posting a video shot in Paris. The move follows mounting official pressure, including a fine and “foreign agent” designation, and comes days after he suspended his parliamentary bid.
Russian opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin said Monday that he has left Russia, days after being forced to suspend his campaign for September parliamentary elections. In a video posted on his Telegram channel, Nadezhdin appears in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. “The good news is I'm alive and free. But sadly, not yet in Russia,” he said.
The video comes after authorities fined him 1,000 rubles ($13) in July for displaying “extremist” symbols. Earlier, he was labeled a “foreign agent,” a status that bars him from running for public office. It remains unclear when and how Nadezhdin departed, especially since he had earlier said he was prohibited from leaving Russia.
In the video, Nadezhdin said he now needs to “take stock of the situation and figure out how to go on living,” and promised to share updates about his plans. Last month, he told Meduza that he and his family were considering leaving Russia because of growing pressure from the authorities. He said he wanted to stay but acknowledged the risk of imprisonment.
Nadezhdin gained prominence during his unsuccessful 2024 presidential run against Vladimir Putin on a pro-peace platform. He previously served as an adviser to former Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov in the late 1990s and later as an assistant to former Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko, now a deputy first chief of staff in the Kremlin. He was a State Duma lawmaker from 1999 to 2003 and served as a councilman in the Moscow region from 2019 to 2024.
