One of the main opponents of the Kremlin, who still lives in Russia, Vladimir Kara-Murza, was arrested near his residence on Monday (11), according to his lawyer Vadim Prozorov.
The reasons for the detention have not yet been disclosed and officials have not given a statement, but Kara-Murza has criticized Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine on several recent occasions.
Russia has strengthened its legislative arsenal to deal with criticism of the military campaign. Publishing information about the military that the government considers false can result in a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
In addition, there has been a manifold increase in the arrests of protesters and the closure of NGOs, blocking of independent media and social networks.
Kara-Murza, 40, is a former journalist close to the opposition Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated outside the Kremlin in 2015, and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an oligarch who has become critical of Vladimir Putin.
The rival claims that he was poisoned on two occasions in 2015 and 2017 for his political activities.
Despite everything, he continues to live in Russia, while many opposition figures have gone into exile, especially after last year’s poisoning of the Kremlin’s black beast Alexei Navalny.
