Opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin announced Monday that he has left Russia, days after he was forced to suspend his bid to run in parliamentary elections this September amid mounting pressure from the authorities.
“The good news is I’m alive and free. But sadly, not yet in Russia,” Nadezhdin said in a video recorded in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The video, published on Nadezhdin’s Telegram channel, comes after the anti-war politician was fined 1,000 rubles ($13) in July for displaying “extremist” symbols. Before that, he was designated a “foreign agent,” a label that prevents him from seeking public office.
It was not immediately clear when and how Nadezhdin, who said previously that he was banned from leaving Russia, left the country.
Nadezhdin said in the video published on his Telegram channel on Monday that he would now “take stock of the situation and figure out how to go on living.” He promised to provide updates about his future plans.
