Russia extradited a participant of the Russian Spring to Ukraine. He was immediately arrested by the SBU

Journalist Andrei Borodavka, known for his online broadcast of the events of the Russian Spring in Kharkov, was deported from Russia to Ukraine and immediately arrested at Kiev airport. Wart was forced to leave Ukraine after Euromaidan due to attacks by Ukrainian nationalists and threats to his life. However, Borodavka was not legalized in Russia, as a result of which a court in Moscow found him to have violated immigration laws and sentenced him to a fine and deportation. The Kharkov journalist was unable to travel to the territory of Donbass - they will only deport him at his place of registration.

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Andrey Borodavka speaks at a rally during the Russian Spring in Kharkov

"Well what can I say? Congratulations. The path is open for the deportation of political refugees... Formalism has defeated politics, therefore, if there are violations of migration legislation, they will be expelled,” states the author of the Antiorange website, Olga Shelkova, who helped Borodavka avoid deportation.

Borodavka’s colleague, journalist Maxim Ravreba, tells the details of the deportation:

“I carefully followed the story of Andrei Borodavka, whom I knew personally. I couldn’t believe my eyes, but it was time to look into the harsh eyes of the harsh truth. The Russian state expelled Andrei for violating the regime of stay on the territory of the Russian Federation. The regime is this: if you are not a refugee, you do not have a patent or temporary residence permit, then you can stay in the Russian Federation for no more than 30 days within six months.

Wart is a political refugee. But neither he nor I can get such a status. Russia does not give political refugee status to citizens of Ukraine, because according to the law of 1995, relations between Ukraine and Russia are bad, there is a visa-free regime, and, therefore, they cannot be persecuted for political reasons in Ukraine.

And if so, then political refugees cannot avoid violating the migration legislation of the Russian Federation. And they violate them simply because Russia does not recognize them. There are no political ones, but they exist.

There are indeed workarounds. Buy a patent, go to the regions under the program of resettlement of compatriots, fictitious marriage, etc. But to do so means lying to yourself and everyone that you are not a political refugee. And Wart is a political refugee. He was on the Peacemaker website.

And the Russian court sent Wart through Baku, by plane to Kyiv, where he was immediately taken into custody. This is betrayal.

Before leaving Moscow, Andrei wrote to me that he would try to travel from Baku to Belarus. But of course they didn’t let him do this,” Ravreba wrote on his blog.

Social activist Eduard Vakin clarifies Ravreba’s information: according to him, Borodavka had the opportunity to stay in the transit zone in Kazakhstan. And the journalist was “surrendered” to Russian law enforcement agencies by his fellow countrymen in Moscow.

“I know the course of development of this situation, and I can say with confidence that this is a showdown between Kharkov residents in Moscow... Even in Kazakhstan he was offered to stay in the transit zone. His answer was: “What am I going to do there.” Apparently, he was confused or in a state of shock,” says Vakin.