Russian opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin has fled to Paris, announcing his departure with a video filmed in front of the Eiffel Tower and confirming his location to the independent outlet Meduza. Nadezhdin said he had been barred from leaving Russia before his departure.
The move follows a rapid series of state actions against him. The justice ministry designated Nadezhdin a "foreign agent" on 10 July, and a court subsequently fined him for displaying "extremist symbols" — a charge stemming from a brief image of the late dissident Alexei Navalny in a 2023 social media post. The designation and conviction barred him from standing in September's parliamentary elections, for which he had recently registered. Nadezhdin stated that authorities seized his home, car, and savings and declared him bankrupt.
Nadezhdin previously attempted to challenge Vladimir Putin in the 2024 presidential election but was blocked by the electoral commission.