Russian journalist whose home address was posted online by lawmaker says she has left country ‘until better times come’

Russian journalist Asya Kazantseva has left Russia “until better times come,” she announced in a Facebook post on Sunday night.

Kazantseva said she’s relocated to Tbilisi in response to growing pressure and harassment from the Russian authorities and state-controlled media as well as the repeated cancellations of her public lectures, which she said will jeopardize her ability to earn a living if it continues. In the lead-up to Russia’s upcoming presidential election, she added, the Kremlin wants to “clear its information space of undesirable elements as much as possible.”

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kazantseva has been arrested multiple times for taking part in anti-war protests, including once when she was nine months pregnant. She cited the risk of being sent to prison while having a newborn as another reason for her emigration.

In December 2023, Russian State Duma deputy Andrey Lugovoy shared a message containing Kazantseva’s address on his public Telegram channel. The post said it was published “for people who want to personally convey to Asya that betraying one’s country is the worst sin of all.” After reviewing the situation, the State Duma's Ethics Committee ruled that Lugovoy had not violated any ethics rules.