Boris Nadezhdin fined 10,000 rubles for an interview with Meduza. The politician has left Russia

Boris Nadezhdin was fined 10,000 rubles for an interview with Meduza. The politician has left Russia

The grounds for the fine were an interview that the politician gave to Meduza in June 2026. It was interpreted as participation in the activities of an “undesirable organization,” Ostorozhno, novosti reports.

“Anyone who gives interviews or posts materials in channels could have ended up in Nadezhdin’s place. It is impossible to put a person on trial for exercising the right to freedom of speech”, said the politician’s lawyer Vladimir Pakhomenko.

Maksim Olenichev, a lawyer with the human rights project Pervy Otdel, called the report filed over the interview with Meduza one of the elements of pressure on Nadezhdin because of his involvement in politics.

Boris Nadezhdin had planned to take part in the September State Duma elections. Shortly after he began collecting signatures, the Justice Ministry declared him a “foreign agent.” In mid-July, Nadezhdin was fined under a protocol on displaying “extremist symbols” because of a photograph of Alexei Navalny. Because of the “foreign agent” status and the fine, he could no longer take part in the elections. Against this backdrop, the politician left Russia at the end of July.

@meduzalive