generic Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza detained in Moscow
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition activist who has twice survived being poisoned, was detained in Moscow on Monday, his lawyer Vadim Prokhorov told the independent Russian news outlet Sota.
Prokhorov said Kara-Murza, 40, was arrested on charges of disobeying police orders, and faces up to 15 days in jail or a small fine.
A politician, author, and historian, Kara-Murza has been a vocal critic of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He has also spoken out against human rights abuses in Russia, and believes that is why he was poisoned in Moscow in 2015 and 2017.
He often appears on U.S. cable networks to discuss his opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and on Sunday spoke to MSNBC's Ali Velshi about Russia's independent media outlets being censored by the government. Kara-Murza told Velshi he understands why some opposition leaders leave, but he is "a Russian politician, Russia is my country, Russia is my home, and this is where I have to be." Velshi responded, "I'm worried for you, my friend."
On Monday, Kara-Murza went on CNN and described the Kremlin as "a regime of murderers." He said he has "no doubt that the Putin regime will end over this war in Ukraine," and at some point "there will be a democratic Russia after Putin."
Several of Kara-Murza's supporters went to the Khamovniki police station to show their support, and former Soviet dissident Aleksandr Podrabinek told Sota he thinks Kara-Murza was detained because Russian leaders were "angered by his courage."
