Russia’s FSB targets Anti-War Committee members over alleged terrorist activities

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has launched a criminal case against former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and 22 members of the so-called “Anti-War Committee of Russia” (ACR). 

They are accused of creating or participating in a terrorist community, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

"The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation has initiated a criminal case under Article 278 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violent seizure or retention of power) and parts 1 and 2 of Article 205.4 of the Criminal Code (organization of a terrorist community and participation in it) against the former CEO of Yukos, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and members of the 'Anti-War Committee of Russia' (Mikhail Kasyanov, Marat Gelman, Leonid Gozman, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Sergey Aleksashenko, Dmitry Gudkov, Sergey Guriev, Boris Zimin, Yevgeny Chichvarkin, Yevgeny Kiselev, Mikhail Kokorich, Yevgeny Kunin, Elena Lukyanova, Yuri Pivovarov, Konstantin Chumakov, Anastasia Shevchenko, Viktor Shenderovich, Garry Kasparov, Kirill Martynov, Maxim Reznik, Artur Smolyaninov, Ekaterina Schulman, and other unidentified persons)," the FSB’s Public Relations Center (PRC) said in a statement. 

Marat Gelman, Leonid Gozman, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Anastasia Shevchenko, and Garry Kasparov have been added to the list of terrorists and extremists by Russia’s Financial Monitoring Service. 

In addition, a criminal case has also been initiated against Mikhail Khodorkovsky under part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code (public calls for terrorist activity). The article on organising a terrorist community carries a penalty of up to life imprisonment; for violent seizure of power, up to 20 years; and for participation in a terrorist community, up to 15 years. 

"Thus, on April 30, 2023, the 'ACR' in Berlin (Germany) adopted the founding (charter) document of the movement — the so-called Berlin Declaration, which states the need to eliminate the current Russian authorities. In October 2025, with the participation of the movement in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a so-called platform of Russian democratic forces was created, which M. Khodorkovsky presents to Western countries as a 'founding assembly of the transition period' and an alternative to the Russian Federation’s authorities," the FSB noted. 

The statement reminded that Khodorkovsky and other ACR founders finance Ukrainian armed nationalist units recognised as terrorist organisations in Russia, and also engage in recruitment activities to enlist individuals into these formations for the subsequent implementation of a plan to seize power in Russia by force. 

"Investigative actions are currently being carried out against M. Khodorkovsky and his accomplices. Individuals involved in their activities will be held accountable in accordance with Russian law," the FSB emphasised.

By Khagan Isayev