The former mayor of Yaroslavl, a city in central Russia, was released from prison on Tuesday after serving over a decade for corruption charges, which he and his supporters have consistently claimed were politically motivated.

Upon his release, Yevgeny Urlashov expressed, “I wish to contribute positively to my country, and I intend to devote the remainder of my life to achieving that. My focus will be on significant actions rather than trivial ones, as the latter don’t appeal to me.”

Urlashov was taken into custody in 2013, shortly after he declared his intention to run for governor of the Yaroslavl region. At that time, he was the only opposition mayor of a major city, having achieved a rare landslide victory in 2012 against a candidate from the ruling United Russia party during a wave of anti-Kremlin protests.

In 2016, he was sentenced to 12.5 years in a high-security prison and fined 60 million rubles (approximately $760,000) for allegedly extorting a bribe of 17 million rubles from a local entrepreneur. Urlashov denied all allegations.

The Memorial human rights organization classified Urlashov as a political prisoner, contending that the charges stemmed from his break with United Russia and his plans to campaign for governor of Yaroslavl under the slogan “Against crooks and thieves,” which was popularized by the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

After his release, Urlashov mentioned that he intends to reside in Moscow but will frequently travel to the Yaroslavl region. He suggested that he is not keen on re-entering politics, asserting that the Russian parliament has “lost its significance” and wields no real power.

His arrest and imprisonment occurred during a broader crackdown on local officials following President Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency in 2012.