Decolonizer Vladimir Dovdanov, who already had asylum in Lithuania, tried to get it in France - but to no avail. The website of the Court of Appeals for Administrative Matters in Nancy says that the Russian activist Dovdanov, his wife and daughter requested protection from France, complaining of possible surveillance and an attack on their son in Lithuania. The name of the activist is hidden in the document, but judging by the circumstances of the case, it is the deputy chairman of the Oirat-Kalmyk People's Congress, Vladimir Dovdenov. Lithuania granted the family refugee status in March 2023 due to Dovdanov's political activity and persecution in Russia - so the French refugee agency refused to examine the merits of the requests. According to the document, Dovdanov claimed that it was dangerous for his family to stay in Lithuania - where he felt under surveillance and did not feel safe due to the activities of Russian agents in the Baltic states. The court admitted that the Russian authorities are conducting certain activities against the opposition in the Baltic states, but found that the Dovdanov family did not prove Vilna's inability to ensure their safety. The court also noted that there was no evidence of a political motive in the case of the attack on the man's son, and the victims themselves did not appear when they were called by the Lithuanian police, because they had already left for France. In an April column for the Lithuanian publication "Atodangos", the man said that the family decided to leave the country after his son was attacked with pepper spray. The families' Lithuanian residence permits were revoked in January 2026, but already in April the country's authorities agreed to take them back. In May, the French authorities ordered the family to be returned to Lithuania; The Dovdanov couple's attempts to challenge this decision in the first courts and in the appellate courts failed. In September, Dovdanov wrote that he asked the French authorities to return his family's passports and allow them to leave the country on their own without carrying out the deportation procedure - but received refusals.

Decolonizer Vladimir Dovdanov, who already had asylum in Lithuania, tried to get it in France - but to no avail. The website of the Court of Appeals for Administrative Matters in Nancy says that the Russian activist Dovdanov, his wife and daughter requested protection from France, complaining of possible surveillance and an attack on their son in Lithuania. The name of the activist is hidden in the document, but judging by the circumstances of the case, it is the deputy chairman of the Oirat-Kalmyk People's Congress, Vladimir Dovdenov. Lithuania granted the family refugee status in March 2023 due to Dovdanov's political activity and persecution in Russia - so the French refugee agency refused to examine the merits of the requests. According to the document, Dovdanov claimed that it was dangerous for his family to stay in Lithuania - where he felt under surveillance and did not feel safe due to the activities of Russian agents in the Baltic states. The court admitted that the Russian authorities are conducting certain activities against the opposition in the Baltic states, but found that the Dovdanov family did not prove Vilna's inability to ensure their safety. The court also noted that there was no evidence of a political motive in the case of the attack on the man's son, and the victims themselves did not appear when they were called by the Lithuanian police, because they had already left for France. In an April column for the Lithuanian publication "Atodangos", the man said that the family decided to leave the country after his son was attacked with pepper spray. The families' Lithuanian residence permits were revoked in January 2026, but already in April the country's authorities agreed to take them back. In May, the French authorities ordered the family to be returned to Lithuania; The Dovdanov couple's attempts to challenge this decision in the first courts and in the appellate courts failed. In September, Dovdanov wrote that he asked the French authorities to return his family's passports and allow them to leave the country on their own without carrying out the deportation procedure - but received refusals.