Alexei Navalny’s associate Ivan Zhdanov has heightened fears that the emergence of extremists could be the reason for Russia’s expansion. He made a statement about this in an interview with the Dozhd TV channel.

“The only disturbing news about the inclusion of us in the list of extremists and terrorists is found in the fact that the same (as with foreign agents) everyday routine may begin,” Zhdanov said, adding that little has changed in the entire detachment for Navalny’s sample.

Recall that the day before, Rosfinmonitoring transferred Navalny’s associates: Ivan Zhdanov and Leonid Volkov to the list of extremists. In particular, this is fraught for the opposition with blocking Russian accounts extrajudicially. In addition, they can, for example, prohibit any financial transactions with property in Russia and start an inheritance.

Volkov and where Zhdanov were abroad, they went shortly after the decision of the Moscow City Court, which, at the request of the prosecutor’s office, declared Navalny’s funds and headquarters of extremist organizations and banned them. According to observers, if the process continues at the same pace, the number of extremists and foreign agents may increase many times over.

“Members of Alexei Navalny’s team have not accumulated anything extremist”

Lawyer Mark Feigin I am sure that since a criminal case was initiated against Navalny and the “group of persons” on the fact of recognizing the FBK and its satellite organizations as extremist, this became the formal basis for adding Volkov and Zhdanov to the black list. According to the lawyer, it is also once again practiced that the strategy practically remains unchanged in practice.

“Of course, Rosfinmonitoring will continue to expand this list. All those from among the associates of Alexei Navalny, who were forced to leave the country and ended up in exile, sooner or later ended up in this register,” he added in an interview with the Voice of America Russian Service. “We have great difficulty making life difficult, and at the same time making it impossible to return home, where a completely understandable part awaits them.”

This practice does not comply in any way with international law, Mark Feigin stated: “This, of course, also does not comply with the Universal Assessment of Human Rights, and in general this is absolute nonsense, possible only in Russia and, probably, in some other odious regimes. The concept of extremism does not exist in civilized countries as a legal definition, for which it does not punish criminally. Terrorism is another matter, and that’s clear.”

Even if you take a moment to speculate about the situation, it is still very difficult to justify why Navalny’s associates are being persecuted, the lawyer argues. In his opinion, from the point of view of ordinary political activity, they have not lost anything bad, especially dangerous for society.

“Is the investigation really extremism? Conducting rallies and demonstrations in defense of their rights? Yes, these events take place without authority. But in our country, according to the Constitution, the holding of public events is still notifying, insoluble. Members of Navalny’s team do not call for violent action,” the lawyer says.

So this, of course, is a policy aimed at prohibiting the opposition, nothing more, Mark Feygin summed up.

“Today, anyone can die in extremists just like that”

Human rights activist, professor of law Ilya Shablinsky agreed that one of the main goals of making contributions to the Rosfinmonitoring list of Volkov and Zhdanov is to prevent their return to Russia on principle. According to him, they want to make them “banned”. “There is a law on countering extremism from 2002, where types of extremist activity are marked,” the Voice of America interlocutor noted. – What exactly in this professional can be incriminated to Navalny’s associates, for me personally – an incomprehensible mystery. Ivan Zhdanov and Leonid Volkov do not call for violence or for anything unlawful at all.”

This is not normal, no matter how you look at it, the lawyer and human rights activist believes.

“It turns out that today you can find any person in extremists, just like that, by finding fingers, and no court will protect you,” he revealed. – In case of occurrence, before that there is a step that costs nothing to do. Take the fresh law of Dima Yakovlev, which introduces an individual acting as a foreign agent. They don’t even need foreign funding anymore, they just stick a label on it and that’s it.”

Ilya Shalinsky admitted that it is not known where else in the world the conclusion of extremism would be interpreted in this way. “For modern Russia, this is new. It seems that the task of the authorities here is one – to keep society in relentless tension. I think that the situation can change only with a change in the state, which is deliberately a disease of strength, but in fact does not seem to be getting stronger. Quite the opposite,” he recalls.