WORLD · VERIFIED DEVELOPMENT
Russian Pro-Peace Candidate Yulia Kuznetsova Resurfaces After Going Missing
WHY IT MATTERS
Kuznetsova's disappearance and subsequent reappearance raise concerns about her safety and the potential risks faced by opposition candidates in Russia.
What happened
Yulia Kuznetsova, a State Duma candidate from the Greens party, has posted a video message after disappearing for a day. In the message, she stated that a 'difficult conversation' with her husband led to her needing psychological and medical help. Kuznetsova was running in Moscow's Babushkinsky single-member district under the slogan 'For life, peace, and freedom.
' Her campaign had been endorsed by Navalny's Smart Voting project. Kuznetsova's associate filed a missing-person report after she could no longer be reached after a meeting with voters in Sokolniki. Police later contacted the associate, showing him a photograph of Kuznetsova and her husband, but did not disclose their location.
The police then suggested that the associate call off the search. Kuznetsova has since assured that she and her husband are fine and will return home soon.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Russian pro-peace parliamentary candidate Yulia Kuznetsova resurfaces after going missing, saying a ‘difficult conversation’ left her needing psychological and medical help
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