Russian opposition figure Dmitriy Gudkov, fearing criminal prosecution by the Kremlin, fled Russia and arrived in Kyiv on June 7. In Russia, Gudkov was a suspect in a criminal case alleging that he owed a million rubles in rent.
Sources close to the administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly told Gudkov that if he does not leave the country, he will be arrested, Gudkov wrote in his channel on the messaging platform Telegram. He also said Russian authorities were given an order to “resolve the Gudkov issue ‘in any way,’” if he remained in Russia.
“A criminal case, 13 searches that involved more than 170 security officials, two days in (jail) and my relatives being taken hostage convinced me that this was not a bluff,” Gudkov said on June 7.
Russian authorities had opened a criminal case, alleging that Gudkov and his aunt Irina Yermilova failed to pay about one million rubles in commercial property rent, causing damage to the Moscow Property Department in 2015-2017.
On June 1, police searched two Gudkov’s houses and his apartment, as well as properties of his aunt, his former assistant Alexander Soloviyev, and the head of Gudkov’s political campaign, Vitaliy Venediktov.
Gudkov was arrested for two days and then released without any charges.
“I believe that the ‘Basement Case’ that was pulled out of thin air was created solely to prevent me from participating in the elections and to squeeze me out of the country at least until election day,” Gudkov wrote in Telegram, referring to the Russian government’s allegations, which he denies.
Gudkov used to be a lawmaker in Russia’s lower legislative chamber, the Duma, from 2011 until 2016. He represented the socialist democratic party “Just Russia – Patriots – For Truth.”
In April 2021, Gudkov announced that he plans to take part in this year’s Duma elections on Sept. 19. His team was negotiating with Yabloko – a democratic, center-left party that opposes the Kremlin – about Gudkov running on its ticket.
“We can say that public politics in Russia are over, because now the politician is a target,” Gudkov said.
“And that is why I believe that, while staying in the country, I cannot be more effective in an environment where, in fact, any political activity leads to prison terms not only for the politicians themselves, but also for their supporters and relatives”.
Gudkov says he has long-planned meetings in Kyiv and plans to attend television broadcasts. Shortly after his arrival in the Ukrainian capital on June 6, he appeared on political talk show “Real politics with Yevgeniy Kiselev” on the TV channel Ukraine 24.
