Vladimir Kara-Murza stated in his Telegram channel that the Russian embassy in the USA refused to issue him a foreign passport, citing a ban on leaving the country.
«In fact, bypassing the direct constitutional prohibition (Art. 6, Part 3), the Putin regime has reinstated the Soviet practice of stripping political opponents of their own country's citizenship. That is, formally, of course, no one is deprived of citizenship — but it is impossible to exercise it in practice without a valid passport», — noted Kara-Murza.
In 2023, the politician was sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of treason, spreading «fakes» about the army, and collaborating with an «undesirable» organization. In August 2024, he was released as part of a prisoner exchange. Kara-Murza crossed the German border with an internal document, as at that time the validity of his foreign passport had already expired.
At the end of last year, Russian passports at the Russian embassy in Lithuania were refused to be issued to the former heads of Navalny's headquarters in Tomsk and Ufa, Ksenia Fadeeva** and Lilia Chanysheva**. They were also exchanged in the summer of 2024.
* Recognized as a «foreign agent» in Russia.
** Included in the list of «terrorists and extremists».