Former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, a Russian opposition politician who criticized Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine, said on Friday that he had left Russia temporarily but hoped to return.
Kasyanov, who headed the first government led by Vladimir Putin between 2000 and 2004, told AFP in a written message that he was not currently in Russia. “I hope it does not last long,” he added.
Kasyanov, 64, declined to give further details or reveal his whereabouts.
After Putin ousted him, Kasyanov joined the Russian opposition and became a vocal critic of the Kremlin. Kasyanov leads the People’s Freedom Party, or Parnassus.
In an interview with Deutsche Welle in mid-May, Kasyanov criticized what he described as the Kremlin’s “brutal war” against Ukraine.
Konstantin Marzlikin, a senior member of Parnassus, said he had been in regular contact with Cassianvin, but did not know where he was, where he was stationed or when he left the country.
He added: “He is not in Russia at the moment.
Tens of thousands of Russians, including prominent Kremlin critics, have fled Russia since the conflict began in late February.
Alexei Navalny, Putin’s most prominent opposition and anti-corruption activist, is serving a prison sentence.
In March, his sentence was extended to nine years after he was convicted of embezzling funding for his political organizations and insulting the court, a charge he denies as politically motivated.
Source: Lebanon Debate
