Ilia Iachine

Ilia Iachine is a prominent Russian opposition figure known for his liberal stance against Vladimir Putin since the early 2000s. At the age of 41, he was serving as a municipal deputy in Moscow when he was arrested in June 2022 for publicly condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the atrocities committed against Ukrainian civilians. In December 2022, he was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. Following a significant prisoner exchange in August 2024, he was released and currently resides in Berlin. Recently, he visited Paris for meetings at the Élysée and Quai d'Orsay, where he expressed the profound impact of the war in Ukraine and the loss of fellow opposition leaders on his life.