Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers raided the home of Mikhail Volkov, the father of exiled opposition figure and top Navalny associate Leonid Volkov, on Thursday morning.
Initial media reports suggested that Mikhail Volkov had been detained, but his son denied this. “The [search] operation is ongoing right now — I know this through his lawyer. I’ve had no contact with them, my parents,” Leonid Volkov wrote on Telegram.
Earlier, Russian state media, citing an FSB source, reported that a criminal case had been opened against Mikhail Volkov for allegedly financing an “extremist organization.” Investigators claim he sent money to Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, which his son led until 2023 and which has been banned in Russia. Leonid Volkov later said it’s unclear whether charges have actually been filed.
Mikhail Volkov, 69, is a professor of physics and mathematics.