Russia refuses to remove late opposition politician Alexey Navalny from official list of ‘extremists and terrorists’

Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring) has refused to remove the late Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny from its registry of “extremists and terrorists,” according to a response published by his widow, Yulia Navalnaya.

Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila, had submitted the request. In its reply, Rosfinmonitoring stated that Navalny’s inclusion remains justified because “the Federal Financial Monitoring Service has not received information, in the manner prescribed by law, about the termination of the criminal case (criminal prosecution).”

“Putin fears Alexey even after killing him. […] Why does Putin need this? Obviously, it’s not to prevent Alexey from opening bank accounts. That’s already impossible. Putin does it to scare you. He wants you to fear even mentioning Alexey’s name and gradually forget him. But no one will forget. We will, of course, appeal the ministry’s decision,” Navalnaya said.

She also noted that under Russian law, a person’s death constitutes “an unconditional basis for removal [from the list].”

In April 2024, lawyer Mikhail Benyash explained that agencies such as the Prosecutor’s Office, the Investigative Committee, the FSB, the Interior Ministry, and the Justice Ministry must provide Rosfinmonitoring with the necessary documentation to remove individuals from the list. According to Benyash, removal requires the termination of criminal prosecution, with death serving as “the basis for such termination.”