Russia begins widespread freezing of bank accounts belonging to exiled cultural figures

Russian authorities have quietly begun freezing the bank accounts of prominent cultural figures who have emigrated. Political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann was the first to report this, on July 14, in her program Status. The freezes are carried out on the basis of an unofficial “secret list,” she said, with no notification to those affected. Schulmann said the decisions are made by an interagency commission on countering the financing of terrorism and extremist activity, and that most of those targeted are connected to the SlovoNovo festival and the Dar literary prize.

Around a hundred people connected to SlovoNovo have been affected, festival founder Marat Gelman told the independent Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo on July 21. In practice, he said, the freezes have become a real problem for only 15 to 20 people who still have assets in Russia. Some of those affected, Gelman said, “have long been designated foreign agents and extremists.”

Poet Anna Russ, a recipient of the Debut and Triumph prizes who participated in SlovoNovo in 2025, publicly announced that her own account had been frozen. BBC Russia spoke anonymously with two SlovoNovo participants in the same situation. Neither is designated a “foreign agent,” neither appears on Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service registry of terrorists and extremists, and neither is aware of any criminal proceedings against them. One told BBC Russia that access to their accounts was cut off without warning — they found out “completely by accident.”

The interagency commission gained the authority to freeze account funds in July 2025. The law, which its authors said was intended “to strengthen the security of Russia’s infrastructure,” allows the freezing of funds and assets “on suspicion” of involvement in “sabotage activities.” No court ruling or even an opened criminal case is required.

Yevgeny Smirnov, a lawyer with the human rights group Department One, told the independent Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo that the commission’s decisions are legally required to be published but are impossible to find, since the commission does not even have a website. Smirnov said lawyers have been encountering such cases over the past six to seven months.

The SlovoNovo Russian culture festival has been held since 2018. In 2025, Russian authorities designated it a “foreign agent.” Gelman has been on the foreign agents list since 2021, and in 2024 he was added to Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service’s registry of terrorists and extremists. The Dar literary prize, founded in 2024, was added to the foreign agents registry a year later.

In June, Russia passed a law allowing the seizure of assets belonging to defendants in administrative cases who have left the country. Under the new measure, property and accounts can be seized from anyone found to have committed a “violation against the interests” of the state — grounds include insulting the head of state or government officials, “discrediting” the military, calling for sanctions, or publicly comparing the Soviet Union to Nazi Germany. The assets will remain frozen until the person pays the fine. The law takes effect on September 1.