On Monday, Russia added the writer Boris Akunin, who has lived in exile since 2014, to the list of “terrorists and extremists”, which is the latest example of repression against the Kremlin’s detractors, the AFP agency reported, cited by Agerpres.

Writer Boris AkuninPhoto: Serhiy Karpov / TASS / Profimedia Images

Under his real name Hryhoriy Shalvovich, the author was added to this list compiled by Rosfinmonitoring, the Federal Financial Monitoring Service, reports AFP.

“Terrorists declared me a terrorist,” the writer responded on Facebook.

In addition, the writer is the subject of an investigation for discrediting the army, which was opened last week, a source familiar with the case told the Interfax news agency on Monday.

Born in 1956 in Georgia, then a Soviet republic, Akunin is a writer known in Russia for his detective and historical novels, most notably the successful saga The Investigation of Erast Fandorin, about a hero living in the tsarist era.

He also wrote the “History of the Russian State”, a nine-volume work that tells about the development of the Russian state before the revolution of 1917.

Boris Akunin condemned Putin’s invasion and illegal annexation of Crimea

In 2014, Akunin opposed the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, after which he went into exile in London, where he currently lives. On February 24, 2022, a writer on Facebook complained about the start of an “absurd war.”

“Madness has won,” he wrote at the time. “Russia is ruled by a psychopathic dictator and, even worse, listens to his paranoia,” the writer added. The novelist became a co-founder of the “True Russia” project, which was supported by several cultural figures in exile, who oppose the Russian invasion of Ukraine and try to help Ukrainian refugees.

Several NGOs and publications have condemned the cultural purge in Russia since 2022, after artists who criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or who did not publicly support the government were demoted, fired or fled abroad.

Others were sentenced to prison. On the other hand, the authorities encourage, fund and value artists and cultural works that support the invasion of Ukraine, as well as an official discourse that is increasingly conservative and nationalistic.

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