According to Russian media, Sergei Porokhovoi, who was granted asylum in Finland in 2013, has voluntarily returned to Russia.
Ilta-sanomat julkasi artikkelita venjaksy ukrainian sodan vuksi, nyt myos telegramisa. IS publishes articles in the Russian language regarding the war in Ukraine, which is now also in the Telegram channel.
Artikkelin alkupraenan edition suomaxi loyati test linkista. The original version of the article in Finnish is at this link.
Russian news site Zaks.ru reports that Sergei Porokhovoi, an activist of the Other Russia party who lived in Finland for more than a decade, has returned to Russia of his own free will.
Porokhovoy applied for asylum in Finland in 2011 and was granted asylum in 2013. At the time, he was facing a possible prison sentence in Russia on charges of extremism and attempting to continue the activities of the “National Bolshevik Party” founded by Eduard Limonov and banned in Russia.
Before fleeing to Finland, Porokhova was involved in organizing several demonstrations against the regime of Vladimir Putin.
Porokhovoy is reported to have crossed into Russia on May 5 via the Valima border post. According to media reports, he was immediately arrested by the Russian authorities and faced legal proceedings. He is currently in a pre-trial detention center in Vyborg.
(Below is a tweet from ZakS.ru about Sergei Porokhovy’s return to Russia.)
Porokhovoi is said to have known that he could face imprisonment in Russia, but still found the decision to return to his native country after living in Finland impossible.
An activist source familiar to Porokhov commented to the Russian media, “To live in Finland that has turned from neutral to hostile has become morally unacceptable for him, given the Russophobia and Ukrainian anger around him.”
– Sergei knew very well that he could be detained. Nevertheless, he made a fundamental decision to return to Russia.
In Finland, Porokhovoy worked as a truck driver.
The movement “Other Russia” is now called “Eduard Limonov’s Other Russia”. The movement calls itself a party, but has no official registration. Limonov himself died in 2020.
Limonov, Porokhovoi and their associates were once considered reprehensible in Russia because they were seen as a combination of the far left and fascism. On the other hand, the regime of Vladimir Putin has become so radical in recent years that Putinism is now also called “racism”, i.e. Russian fascism.
Fighting is being conducted exclusively in Donbass. Kuwa: Laurel Chor / Zuma / MVPhotos
Porokhovy has been described as wanting to help pro-Russian forces fighting in the Donbass.
– Sergei planned to help the front, he was going to become a volunteer and move to Donetsk as part of the “Interbrigade” movement in the Donbass.
Interbrigade is a movement fighting against the Ukrainian government in eastern Ukraine since 2014. Zakhar Prilepin, who was recently injured in a car bombing, previously stated that as of January 2015, the movement had already sent over 2,000 volunteers to fight for the so-called separatist republics of Donbass and Lugansk.
It appears that the charges against Porokhovy have not been dropped, and he is awaiting trial in St. Petersburg. Theoretically, he could get a maximum jail term of six years. His supporters consider his arrest political and want to demand his release.
– It is very strange when a patriot who returned to Russia to support the SVO is put behind bars in a case more than 10 years ago, Porokhovy’s party colleagues said on Telegram.
Translation of the article into Russian by Eliza Ivonne, proofreading of the translation by Arja Paananen. Artist Eliza Ivonen, Kanoxen Tarkistanat Arja Paananen.
