Russian anti-war politician posts from Paris after 'foreign agent' accusation

Anti-war politician Boris Nadezhdin has told subscribers to his Telegram channel that he has left Russia. The update comes shortly after he was barred from running in this year's parliamentary elections and listed as a 'foreign agent' by the country's justice ministry. What's Next? Mr Nadezhdin says he is yet to figure out his next steps while pro-Kremlin politicians say censorship is necessary to safeguard national unity. Russian anti-war politician Boris Nadezhdin said he had left the country, weeks after Moscow designated him a "foreign agent" and disqualified him from running in a parliamentary election. Standing in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Mr Nadezhdin posted a video to his Telegram channel on Monday. "Hi everyone! I have some good news. I’m alive and free. Unfortunately, I’m not in Russia at the moment," he said. "Right now, I need to get my bearings and figure out what to do next. I’ll write about my plans later." Mr Nadezhdin, 63, a former liberal politician has been an outspoken critic of Moscow's war in Ukraine but — like some other critics — had tried to work within the rules of Russia's tightly controlled political system to be able to continue to voice his views publicly. His departure marks the loss of yet another prominent opposition voice willing to challenge the Kremlin from inside Russia, with most critics of President Vladimir Putin now either in jail or in exile. His hopes of running for parliament in September were squashed when the justice ministry added him on July 10 to its "foreign agents" list — a label widely applied by the authorities to people they deem to be engaged in anti-Russian activity with alleged backing from abroad. The following week, he was questioned by police and received a small fine in court for displaying "extremist symbols" on social media, a charge he described as ridiculous. Mr Nadezhdin said the authorities were "silencing me, forcing me out of politics and making my life extremely difficult". Russia has clamped down hard on dissent since going to war in Ukraine in 2022. Pro-Kremlin politicians accuse the West of trying to destabilise Russia and say some censorship is necessary to safeguard national unity while Moscow is locked in an existential struggle with Ukraine and the West. Mr Nadezhdin attempted to mount a run against Mr Putin for the presidency in 2024 but was disqualified on technical grounds by the Election Commission.