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Russia Sentences Exiled Navalny Ally Leonid Volkov to 18 Years

The case highlights how the Kremlin is extending its crackdown on dissent through legal means to target opponents in exile

Lev Schlosberg, prominent opposition figure and deputy chairman of the Yabloko party, attends a meeting of the party's political committee in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 24, 2023. (AP Photo)
FILE - Leonid Volkov, chief of staff for the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny watches a session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Dec. 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, File)
Leonid Volkov lives in exile in Lithuania

Overview

  • A Moscow military court convicted Volkov on over 40 counts including justifying terrorism, organizing an extremist group and spreading false information about the army.
  • Volkov received an 18-year penal colony term, a 2 million-ruble fine and a 10-year ban on internet use.
  • The former head of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation fled Russia in 2019 and has been living in Lithuania while on Moscow’s wanted list since 2021.
  • Rights groups and analysts view the prosecution as politically motivated amid Moscow’s intensified suppression of Navalny’s network after his death.
  • In a related move, opposition politician Lev Shlosberg was placed under house arrest on charges of discrediting the Russian military.