Ex-Campaign Chief for Nadezhdin Loses Russian Citizenship Amidst Political Turmoil

The former campaign manager for liberal presidential candidate Boris Nadezhdin announced on Tuesday that he has lost his Russian citizenship.

Dmitry Kisiev led Nadezhdin’s campaign during the 2024 presidential race, which resulted in Vladimir Putin securing another six-year term. Nadezhdin, who openly advocated for peaceful resolutions to the conflict in Ukraine and pushed for democratic reforms, faced disqualification from the election due to technicalities that many believe had political motivations.

On Tuesday, Kisiev shared a photograph on Telegram of a document from the Federal Security Service (FSB) notifying him that his citizenship had been revoked. The notice cited his supposed «negative influence on political and social stability,» labeling him as a potential threat to national security.

In 2023, new laws were enacted in Moscow permitting the government to revoke citizenship in cases deemed as «threats to national security.» Born in Crimea, Kisiev became a Russian citizen in 2014 following the annexation of the peninsula by Russia.

Kisiev reported that he was detained by police in Tomsk, a city in Siberia, while heading to a gym and taken to a police station where officers showed him the FSB’s revocation notice.

“It’s hard not to point out that this decision comes at a time when I am actively preparing for a State Duma campaign,” he commented.

He described the decision as politically motivated and stated his intention to challenge it.

Kisiev is the founder of Candidates’ Headquarters, a civic organization that aids independent political candidates. He collaborates with the New People party, which opposes many policies of the ruling United Russia party, and continues to work closely with Nadezhdin, according to the independent news outlet Sota.

In March, a suspicious search took place at Kisiev’s office in Moscow, where an unidentified individual attempted to disable a surveillance camera without success. New People later identified the intruder as a member of Russia’s security services.