Election expert Arkady Liubarev decided not to return to Russia due to the threat of reprisals.
He announced his decision to stay abroad on November 1 on Facebook. "The oppression is increasing, and the threats have already become tangible. And so, after going abroad one more time, I decided not to return," Liubarev wrote. He did not specify the name of the country where he intends to live.
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In the past, Liubarev returned to Russia after trips abroad, despite the advice of friends. According to him, at home he had working conditions and access to the archive, and he believed that the risk of serious retaliatory actions was low. He intends to continue his research and publications abroad.
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Liubarev is an expert on electoral legislation and electoral legislation, a candidate of legal sciences and the editor-in-chief of Electoral Politics magazine. Between the years 2013-2023 Golos served in the management of the Movement for Voting Rights. Together with Alexander Kinev, he wrote the book Parties and Elections in Russia 2008–2022: The History of Decline.
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We previously wrote that on September 25, Kinev was sent to pretrial detention on drug charges. He pleaded not guilty. Later, Slovo Zachita, citing a source in the FSIN system, reported two fractures of the tibia after the arrest and linked the injuries to torture. Lawyer Mikhail Biryukov reported at the time that Kinev was transferred to another cell with proper plumbing. Photo: Arkady Liubarv / Facebook.