Russian law enforcement authorities have arrested former State Duma lawmaker from the Communist Party Oleg Mikhailov on charges of publicly justifying terrorism, his regional party team said Wednesday.
Mikhailov has headed the Communist Party branch in the northern republic of Komi since 2014 and served as a State Duma member between 2021 and September 2026. In last month’s parliamentary elections, he lost his seat to a rival from the ruling United Russia party.
Komi’s Communist Party branch said in a social media post that Mikhailov was arrested at a Moscow airport after returning from a vacation.
The charge against Mikhailov of publicly justifying terrorism stems from old social media posts in which he allegedly supported jailed sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky and leftist activist Sergei Udaltsov.
“We believe the charges are revenge by Goldshtein and United Russia,” the party wrote on the VKontakte social media platform, referring to the regional head of Komi, Rostislav Goldshtein.
A court hearing where a judge will decide whether to place Mikhailov in pre-trial detention is scheduled for Thursday. He could face up to seven years in prison if found guilty.
Mikhailov’s arrest follows the August detention of Communist Party firebrand Nikolai Bondarenko in the southern Saratov region on “extremism” charges over an old social media post featuring a photo of the late opposition activist Alexei Navalny.
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