ABOUT Kara-Murza
Vladimir Kara-Murza began his public life as a journalist with Echo of Moscow, the BBC, RTVi, and Kommersant, before entering politics as deputy leader of the People’s Freedom Party and candidate for the Russian Parliament. A close colleague of Boris Nemtsov, he became one of the foremost advocates of international accountability, helping to secure Magnitsky sanctions in the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Canada, and Australia against officials responsible for corruption and human rights abuses.
His advocacy came at enormous personal cost. Twice he was poisoned and left in a coma, with subsequent investigations by Bellingcat, The Insider, and Der Spiegel linking the attacks to officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service. In April 2022, he was arrested in Moscow for denouncing the invasion of Ukraine and the crimes committed by Russian forces. Tried in secret and convicted of “high treason,” he was sent to a Siberian penal colony, where he endured long periods in solitary confinement until his release in 2024 as part of the largest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War.
Even in prison Kara-Murza continued his work, contributing columns to The Washington Post that were awarded the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. He has authored and contributed to books on Russian history and politics, directed three documentary films, and led international efforts to honor the memory of Boris Nemtsov, including the naming of streets in Washington, D.C., and London. He currently serves as vice president of the Free Russia Foundation, senior advisor at Human Rights First, and senior fellow at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. Kara-Murza holds an M.A. in History from Cambridge University (Trinity Hall), where he is an honorary fellow.
