Activists deported to waiting security forces

Russian security services were waiting when a flight landed in Moscow in December carrying Russians the US had deported, including activists denied political asylum.

Katya's asylum claim rejected despite evidence

Katya had fled Russia and claimed asylum in the US two years earlier after participating in protests and joining an opposition movement. US authorities rejected her application.

Male deportees handed military conscription papers

FSB security service officers handed all male deportees military papers requiring them to register with local enlistment offices, from where men are often sent to war in Ukraine.

Katya interrogated and remains under surveillance

Officers interrogated Katya for several hours. She was eventually released but says police continue to call her and visit her at home, leaving her terrified.

“I feel as if I'm in a cage, like in a zoo. Whenever I see a police car, I feel terrified.”

US deportations of Russians surge dramatically

Removals from the US rose from two hundred twenty-two in twenty twenty-three to more than one thousand two hundred in twenty twenty-five, amid wider deportation increases under President Donald Trump's second term.

Activist Melekhin imprisoned for six years

Leonid Melekhin, an anti-war activist, sought asylum in the US after being arrested at protests.He posted photographs of Vladimir Putin online with the message Putin: murderer, fascist, usurper.

“Putin: murderer, fascist, usurper”

Germany sharply increases Russian deportations

Germany deported seven Russian nationals in twenty twenty-three, rising to more than one hundred ten in twenty twenty-five.

EU asylum approvals for Russians collapse

Across the EU, the proportion of Russian applicants granted some form of asylum protection fell from twenty-three percent in twenty twenty-four to around seventeen percent in the first nine months of twenty twenty-five.

Deserter Artyom deported despite criminal investigation

Former soldier Artyom deserted the Russian Army in twenty twenty-two after officers threatened to send him to Ukraine.

Artyom escaped military detention, now in hiding

Back in Moscow, Artyom was held in a military detention facility but managed to escape. He is now in hiding abroad, saying the deportation ruined his life.

“I was preparing for death. I was thinking, how can I die without it being painful?”

Political prisoners in Russia reach record high

Repression inside Russia has reached an unprecedented level, according to Nobel Prize-winning human rights group Memorial.

Mikhail and Dasha await deportation from Finland

Anti-war activist Mikhail and his wife Dasha are awaiting deportation from Finland any day. Russian authorities blocked his social media over anti-war posts. Dasha is a Jehovah's Witness, an organisation banned as extremist in Russia.

Finland rejects asylum despite documented threats

The Finnish Immigration Service rejected Mikhail and Dasha's asylum request five times, deciding there is no reasonable basis to believe they would face serious rights violations if returned.

“We're sitting here and someone could knock on our door at any moment, take us to the Russian border and simply hand us over to Russian officers.”

Requests for escape help surge as mobilisation looms

There are rumours that Vladimir Putin may announce a new wave of mobilisation to boost army ranks in Ukraine.