On Tuesday, a Moscow court ordered the arrest in absentia of Boris Akunin, a bestselling Russian language writer who wrote about the Russian army.
The 67-year-old was charged in December of last year after expressing his support for Kyiv in a phone call with Russian pranksters impersonating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Akunin, who has been abroad since 2014, will be detained for two months if he is extradited or returns to Russia, Moscow’s Basmanny District Court ruled.
Grigory Chkhartishvili, a Georgian-born writer noted for his historical detective novels, goes by the pen name Akunin.
Boris Akunin has always been a Kremlin opponent, and he called Moscow’s assault on Ukraine absurd shortly after it began in February 2022.
He had already been designated a ‘foreign agent’ by Russia in January, a loaded phrase used by the Kremlin to describe those it regards as traitors and state adversaries.
Russia made disparaging its troops illegal weeks after launching its war on Ukraine and thousands of the conflict opponents have been arrested since then.
Many renowned cultural figures have fled Russia since it began its military incursion in Ukraine, and those who remain suffer stringent control.
Also read: Russian Emergency Helicopter Crashes Into Lake With 3 People On Board
As the nation marks 11 years under PM Modi's leadership, actress Hina Khan shares her…
Subhash Ghai has praised PM Narendra Modi’s leadership for catalysing India’s growth and changing the…
India and five Central Asian nations have agreed to deepen cooperation on rare earths and…
Prime Minister Modi has redefined Indian agriculture with the ‘Beej Se Bazaar Tak’ vision, transforming…
EV sales topped 4% of passenger vehicle retail in May 2025, signalling growing demand for…
One year into Modi 3.0, reforms have reduced poverty, strengthened defence, and accelerated the digital…