Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza detained in Moscow

Vladimir Kara-Murza.
(Image credit: Julia Reinhart/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition activist who has twice survived being poisoned, was detained in Moscow on Monday, his lawyer Vadim Prokhorov told the independent Russian news outlet Sota.

Prokhorov said Kara-Murza, 40, was arrested on charges of disobeying police orders, and faces up to 15 days in jail or a small fine.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

He often appears on U.S. cable networks to discuss his opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and on Sunday spoke to MSNBC's Ali Velshi about Russia's independent media outlets being censored by the government. Kara-Murza told Velshi he understands why some opposition leaders leave, but he is "a Russian politician, Russia is my country, Russia is my home, and this is where I have to be." Velshi responded, "I'm worried for you, my friend."

On Monday, Kara-Murza went on CNN and described the Kremlin as "a regime of murderers." He said he has "no doubt that the Putin regime will end over this war in Ukraine," and at some point "there will be a democratic Russia after Putin."

Several of Kara-Murza's supporters went to the Khamovniki police station to show their support, and former Soviet dissident Aleksandr Podrabinek told Sota he thinks Kara-Murza was detained because Russian leaders were "angered by his courage."

Explore More
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.