Russian court orders arrest of journalist Alexander Nevzorov in absentia

A St. Petersburg court has ordered the arrest of journalist and publicist Alexander Nevzorov in absentia. The court's decision mandates a two-month pre-trial detention, to be counted from the moment of his extradition to Russia or his detention within the country.

Nevzorov faces criminal charges of financing extremism and failing to comply with 'foreign agent' obligations. These charges stem from a case opened in May 2025, concerning alleged fundraising for extremist purposes through his social media accounts. Investigators claim that Nevzorov and his wife, who have been declared an 'extremist association,' published links to collect funds for their aims.

Following the designation of the Nevzorovs as an 'extremist association' in 2024, the court ordered the confiscation of their land, house, and other property for the state. In February 2025, a court also seized an apartment belonging to Nevzorov's mother-in-law, Natalya Kolesnikova. The Russian Ministry of Justice had previously declared Nevzorov a 'foreign agent' in April 2022.

This latest ruling comes after Nevzorov was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison in 2023 for allegedly spreading "fake news" about the Russian military. The charges were related to his reporting on alleged war crimes in Mariupol and Bucha. Nevzorov is also known in Lithuania for his controversial 1991 film "Ours," which glorified Soviet paratroopers during the January 13 events in Vilnius. However, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Nevzorov publicly condemned the Kremlin's actions.