Columnist And Outspoken Kremlin Critic Viktor Shenderovich Leaves Russia Amid Pressure Campaign

Prominent writer Viktor Shenderovich, an outspoken Kremlin critic, says he has left Russia because of a pressure campaign against him by officials, including his controversial designation as a "foreign agent."

Shenderovich, a columnist for The New Times, wrote on Facebook on January 10 that he decided to leave the country "until better times in Russia" after a libel probe was launched against him at the request of businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of President Vladimir Putin.

Shenderovich, 63, has criticized Prigozhin for allegedly leading the private Russian military contractor Vagner Group, a paramilitary force that Western governments say the Kremlin has been using in conflicts in Ukraine, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Mozambique, and the Central African Republic.

Last month Shenderovich was placed on the foreign agent list by the Justice Ministry. Russia's foreign agent laws require those designated to register with the authorities and label their content with an intrusive disclaimer, with criminal fines for not doing so.

Kremlin critics say the foreign agent designation brings up Soviet-era connotations and is intended to root out any independent, civic activity in Russia.

Many activists, journalists, and associates of jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny have left the country in recent months amid increasing pressure on independent media and those voicing dissent. Several of those to leave the country were on the foreign agent list.

"(My) departure is exactly what the Kremlin has been hinting at me to do over the last 20 years of endless and demonstrative criminality directed at me," Shenderovich wrote on Facebook.

"We're talking about the prospect of imprisonment."

Russia denies a link between the government and the mercenaries, often describing the paramilitary force as trainers or advisers, despite evidence they have been engaged in combat operations.

President Vladimir Putin has said the Vagner Group does not represent the Russian state and is not paid by it. He has also said private military contractors have the right to work and pursue their interests anywhere in the world as long as they do not break Russian law.

Prigozhin, who is believed to run the Vagner Group, is sanctioned by the United States, Britain, and the European Union “in connection with his dealings with the Russian Federation's Ministry of Defense and his efforts to subvert U.S. democratic processes.” Prigozhin has denied the international allegations.

Last year, he sued Shenderovich for comments the writer made during an interview on Ekho Moskvy radio.

A Russian court in December found Shenderovich guilty of slander for calling Prigozhin a “criminal” and a “murderer” during a show on Ekho Moskvy and ordered him to pay 100,000 rubles ($1,330) in damages.

At the end of December, Prigozhin’s company, Konkord, said it was looking at filing criminal charges against Shenderovich for the libel case, which under Russian law could result in a prison sentence of up to five years if found guilty.