MOSCOW, October 14. /TASS/. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has initiated a criminal case on the creation of a terrorist community or participating in it against former Yukos oil company CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky (recognized as a foreign agent in Russia), as well as 22 members of the so-called "Russian Anti-War Committee," the FSB press office told TASS.
"The FSB opened a criminal case under Article 278 of the Russian Criminal Code (Forceful Seizure of Power or Forceful Retention of Power) and Article 205.4 (Creation of a Criminal Community or Participation in it) with regard to former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and members of the Russian Anti-War Committee, which include Mikhail Kasyanov, Marat Gelman, Leonid Gozman, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Sergey Aleksashenko, Dmitry Gudkov, Sergey Guriyev, Boris Zimin, Yevgeny Chichvarkin, Yevgeny Kiselyov, Mikhail Kokorich, Yevgeny Kunin, Elena Lukyanova, Yury Pivovarov, Konstantin Chumakov, Anastasia Shevchenko, Viktor Shenderovich, Garry Kasparov, Kirill Martynov, Maxim Reznik, Artur Smolyaninov, Yekaterina Shulman (all recognized as foreign agents in Russia - TASS) and other unidentified persons," the press office stated. Marat Gelman, Leonid Gozman, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Anastasia Shevchenko, and Garry Kasparov have also been designated as terrorists and extremists by Russia’s financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring.
In addition, the FSB also launched a criminal case under Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code (Public Calls to Carry Out Terrorist Activities) against Khodorkovsky. The Criminal Code article on the creation of a terrorist community may result in punishment of up to life imprisonment, an article on the forceful seizure of power entails up to 20 years in prison, whereas participation in a criminal community is punishable by up to 15 years.
"Thus, on April 30, 2023, at a meeting in Berlin, Germany, the Anti-War Committee adopted a founding document, the so-called Berlin declaration, which outlined the need to overthrow the current Russian authorities. In October 2025, the movement and Khodorkovsky contributed to the establishment of ‘a transitional constituent assembly’ under the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which positions itself as an alternative to the Russian authorities," the FSB stressed.
The press office noted that Khodorkovsky and the other founders of the Anti-War Committee fund Ukrainian armed nationalist units recognized as terrorist organizations in Russia and recruit people to join these units to carry out a plot to seize power in Russia by force.
"The cases against Khodorkovsky and his accomplices are now under investigation. All those involved in their activities will be held accountable in accordance with Russian legislation," the FSB press office concluded.