The Russian authorities have opened a criminal case against former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and 22 members of the Russian Anti-war Committee, accusing them of attempting to seize power by force (Article 278 of the Russian Criminal Code) and of organizing or participating in a terrorist organization (Parts 1 and 2 of Article 205.4). The state news agency TASS reported the charges, citing the Federal Security Service (FSB).
According to an FSB press release, those named in the case are Mikhail Kasyanov, Marat Gelman, Leonid Gozman, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Sergey Aleksashenko, Dmitry Gudkov, Sergei Guriev, Boris Zimin, Evgeny Chichvarkin, Yevgeny Kiselyov, Mikhail Kokorich, Eugene Koonin, Elena Lukyanova, Yuri Pivovarov, Konstantin Chumakov, Anastasia Shevchenko, Viktor Shenderovich, Garry Kasparov, Kirill Martynov, Maxim Reznik, Artur Smolyaninov, and Ekaterina Schulmann.
Khodorkovsky also faces separate charges of public incitement to terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2).
The FSB said the case was prompted by the signing of the “Declaration of Russian Democratic Forces” — also known as the Berlin Declaration — in 2023, which it claims called for the “liquidation” of Russia’s current government. The agency also pointed to the creation of a “Platform for Dialogue with Russian Democratic Forces” within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which Khodorkovsky allegedly presented to Western governments as a “constituent assembly for a transitional period.”
According to the FSB, Khodorkovsky and other members of the committee have financed “Ukrainian nationalist paramilitary units recognized as terrorist organizations in Russia” and have recruited individuals to join these groups “as part of a plan to seize power in Russia by force.”
“Investigative actions are currently underway against Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his accomplices,” the FSB said. “Those involved in their activities will be held accountable in accordance with Russian law.”