Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship once again included opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, 44, on Russia’s list of wanted people, freed on August 1 last year as part of a broad prisoner exchange between the Kremlin and five Western countries – including the United States and Germany.
The decision was confirmed this Monday (13) by the Russian Interior Ministry, which also classified Kara-Murza as a “terrorist and extremist”, a measure that implies the immediate freezing of his bank accounts.
Sentenced this year to 25 years in prison, Kara-Murza was accused of disseminating information considered false about the Russian Armed Forces, as well as participating in an “unwanted” organization and committing “high treason”. The opponent had been released along with 15 other detainees, including 12 opposition activists, two Americans accused of espionage and two German citizens, in exchange for five Russians detained in the West on charges of espionage and cybercrime. Among those released by Moscow was a Russian secret service officer serving a life sentence in Germany for murder.
Kara-Murza’s inclusion on the wanted list marks the second similar case since the historic 2024 exchange – the biggest between Russia and Western powers since the end of the Cold War. In December of the same year, opponent Ilya Yashin, also released under the same agreement, became the target of an arrest warrant after publicly criticizing the Kremlin. At the time, Yashin stated that the decision was aimed at preventing dissidents from returning to the country.
According to Russia’s federal financial supervision agency (Rosfinmonitoring), both Kara-Murza and Yashin now officially rank among the state’s “terrorists and extremists.” The designation obliges financial institutions to block their assets and prohibits any type of banking transaction or service on Russian territory.
The toughening up against former political prisoners released in the 2024 agreement highlights the Kremlin’s strategy of maintaining vigilance over opponents even outside the country. Kara-Murza, a historical critic of Vladimir Putin and survivor of two poisoning attempts, currently lives in exile and has been active in international forums denouncing human rights violations committed by the Russian regime.
