The former campaign manager for liberal presidential candidate Boris Nadezhdin has been stripped of his Russian citizenship, he said Tuesday.
Dmitry Kisiev had headed Nadezhdin’s campaign headquarters during the 2024 presidential election that saw Vladimir Putin re-elected to six more years in office. Nadezhdin, who openly called for peace with Ukraine and advocated for democratic reforms, was barred from the ballot on technical grounds that critics say were politically motivated.
On Tuesday, Kisiev posted a photo on Telegram showing a Federal Security Service (FSB) document informing him that his citizenship had been revoked, citing his alleged “negative influence on political and social stability” and labeling him a threat to national security.
In 2023, Moscow passed legislation allowing the state to revoke acquired citizenship in cases involving “threats to national security.” Born in Crimea, Kisiev became a Russian citizen in 2014 after Russia annexed the peninsula from Ukraine.
Kisiev said police detained him in the Siberian city of Tomsk while he was on his way to a workout and brought him to a police station, where officers presented him with the FSB’s notice of revocation.
“It’s hard not to mention that the decision coincides with my active preparations for a State Duma campaign,” he wrote.
“In my view, this is a political move,” he said, adding that he would appeal the decision.
Kisiev is the founder of Candidates’ Headquarters, a civil society initiative that provides support to independent candidates for elected office.
He works with the New People party, which opposes many of the ruling United Russia party’s policies, and maintains continued cooperation with Nadezhdin, according to the independent Sota news outlet.
In March, a covert search was carried out at Kisiev's Moscow office. An unknown individual entered the premises and unsuccessfully attempted to disable the surveillance camera. According to New People, the intruder was later identified as a member of Russia’s security services.
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