The previous campaign chief for liberal presidential candidate Boris Nadezhdin announced on Tuesday that he has lost his Russian citizenship.
Dmitry Kisiev led Nadezhdin’s campaign during the 2024 presidential election, which resulted in Vladimir Putin being re-elected for another six years. Nadezhdin, who openly advocated for peace with Ukraine and called for democratic reforms, was disqualified from the ballot on technical grounds that many critics argue were politically driven.
On Tuesday, Kisiev shared a photo on Telegram showing an official document from the Federal Security Service (FSB) that notified him of the revocation of his citizenship. The document cited his supposed “negative impact on political and social stability” and labeled him a national security threat.
In 2023, Moscow enacted a law enabling the government to revoke citizenship in cases considered to pose a “threat to national security.” Kisiev, who originated from Crimea, became a Russian citizen in 2014 following Russia’s annexation of the region from Ukraine.
Kisiev stated that while he was heading to the gym in the Siberian city of Tomsk, police detained him and took him to a station, where officers presented him with the revocation notice from the FSB.
“It’s hard to ignore that this decision comes at a time when I am actively preparing for a State Duma campaign,” he noted.
“I believe this is a politically motivated action,” he remarked, indicating his intention to contest the decision.
Kisiev is the founder of Candidates’ Headquarters, a civic initiative designed to support independent political candidates. He collaborates with the New People party, which challenges various policies of the ruling United Russia party, and continues to work alongside Nadezhdin, according to reports from the independent news outlet Sota.
In March, Kisiev’s office in Moscow was subjected to a clandestine search. An unidentified person entered the office and attempted to disable a surveillance camera without success. New People later identified the intruder as a member of Russia’s security services.
