Alexei Navalny’s two main allies were added to the Russian list of “terrorists and extremists” a few days before the first anniversary of the arrest of the dissident and the unprecedented crackdown on his movement that followed.
Ivan Zhdanov and Leonid Volkov, in exile abroad, are now considered “terrorists and extremists”, according to the list of Russian financial control services Rosfinmonitoring, which was accessed today by the French Agency.
The two dissidents, aged 33 and 41, were in charge of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Fund (FBK) and the organization’s regional network, respectively, until they were outlawed in June 2021.
The two organizations were outlawed for “extremism” by Russian justice, with most of those responsible fleeing abroad for fear of persecution. Among those who chose to remain in the country, many have been arrested.
Alexei Navalny was arrested on January 17, 2021 in Moscow, returning from a recovery in Germany after being severely poisoned, for which he blamed President Vladimir Putin.
The 45-year-old corruption fighter, the Kremlin’s most prominent critic, was later sentenced to two and a half years in prison for “fraud”, a decision he described as political.
Navalny has also been the target of renewed “extremist” persecution, which could land him in prison for many years.
The suppression of the Navalny movement was followed by increasing pressure on the media critical of the Kremlin and on non-governmental organizations, labeled “foreign agents”, a defamation that complicates their activities under the threat of persecution.
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