Lev Shlosberg faces up to two years in prison for violating the law on foreign agents
The Investigative Committee of Russia (ICR) opened a criminal case against the deputy chairman of the Yabloko party, Lev Shlosberg (included in the register of foreign agents) for evading the duties of a foreign agent. According to investigators, for the third time he did not put the appropriate markings in his materials. On the morning of October 2, the politician and his 95-year-old father were searched, and he was later interrogated. Yabloko became the first suspect under this article in the last two years who did not leave Russia. He faces up to two years in prison.
On the initiation of a criminal case under Part 2 of Art. 330.1 Criminal Code on Wednesday afternoon reported in the Pskov headquarters of the Investigative Committee. According to investigators, Lev Shlosberg (included in the register of foreign agents), “having been repeatedly brought to administrative responsibility for violating the legislation on foreign agents,” publicly disseminated some material without indicating his status in it. IN Telegram channel The central administration also published a video of a search in the politician’s Pskov apartment. At the same time, Russia Today correspondents arrived there along with SOBR soldiers, who published information about the search and video even before the Investigative Committee. According to RT, the party member did not put a sign about a foreign agency in a certain video.
As Lev Shlosberg himself (included in the register of foreign agents) later said, investigators came to his home at 6:10. The search lasted until seven in the morning, after which the politician was taken away for interrogation, but no charges were brought and he was released as a suspect.
The security forces also searched the apartment of his 95-year-old father and came “to the place of residence of people who are in no way connected” with the Yabloko leader, added Mr. Shlosberg (who is included in the register of foreign agents). “I do not plead guilty to the crime of which I am suspected; there is no corpus delicti in my actions. A detailed legal position is presented to the investigator. Despite the denial of the legal nature of the law and the actions of the Ministry of Justice, I punctually comply with all the restrictions provided for by this repressive law. This is seen by everyone who reads my public pages and watches my programs,” the politician wrote on social networks after the interrogation.
Let us recall that Lev Shlosberg was recognized as a foreign agent in July 2023, and in February 2024 he was fined twice in one day for violating the law on foreign agents. The Pskov City Court awarded him a total of 60 thousand rubles. fine under Part 4 of Art. 19.34 Code of Administrative Offenses, citing the absence of a foreign agent sign in two posts on VKontakte and Telegram. In addition, the politician was subject to administrative punishment for “disseminating information about a terrorist organization without indicating its status” and for discrediting the armed forces (for reposting actor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s address to the Russians after the start of the SVO).
Chairman of Yabloko Nikolai Rybakov in his Telegram channel promised to provide Lev Shlosberg (included in the register of foreign agents) with all possible support.
He regards this criminal case as “political force pressure from the authorities” personally on the politician and on the entire Pskov branch of the party.
Over the past two years, criminal cases for the lack of foreign agent markings have been initiated in the Russian Federation more than once, but until now it has been exclusively about people who have already left Russia. The maximum penalty under this article is imprisonment for a period of two years.
