Russian opposition politician and former lawmaker Dmitry Gudkov announced on Sunday that he had left Russia and is in Ukraine due to pressure from the Russian authorities in the run-up to the September parliamentary elections.
“I am approaching Kiev,” he wrote on a Facebook page, and the authenticity of his post was confirmed by Agence France-Presse.
Goodkov claimed that sources close to the Kremlin had told him that if he did not leave the country, he would be arrested and involved in a “fake” criminal case.
Dmitry Goodkov was arrested on June 1 on charges of failing to pay debts for the lease of a commercial space belonging to the Moscow Municipality during the period 2015-17. Together with an aunt, they are considered “suspects of damage to foreign property”. In early April, Dmitry Goodkov announced that he intends to run in the parliamentary elections to be held in September 2021 and is discussing running with the Yablako party.
It should be noted that the Russian authorities have also prosecuted his father, also a former MP, Gennady Gudkov, for illegal acquisition or possession of a firearm, because 50 bullets for a Makarov pistol were found in his apartment.
Gennady Gudkov is a retired former FSB officer. For a long time he owned one of Russia’s largest security companies and had a firearms license. He was a member of the State Duma from 2004-2012. Dmitry Goodkov followed in his father’s footsteps. In 2003, they became both members of the People’s Party of the Russian Federation, and when the party merged with the “Fair Russia” party, Gennady became a member of the political bureau of the party presidency, while Dmitry became a party spokesman.
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