Yevgeny Roizman, one of few vocal Kremlin critics still free, now facing risk of jail

MOSCOW — Opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman, who went on trial on Wednesday, has been one of the last vocal critics of the Kremlin and its offensive in Ukraine to remain in Russia and not behind bars.

But it seems not for much longer.

The popular former mayor of the Urals city of Yekaterinburg risks up to five years in jail for his remarks about Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine last year, Russia has intensified its crackdown on opposition voices.

Most prominent critics are either in jail or have fled the country.

Roizman, a tall and sporty 60-year-old, is a charismatic and sometimes controversial member of the opposition, known for his punchy tweets.

He did not hold back when speaking out against Russia’s Ukraine campaign as soon as it was launched over a year ago.

“Something horrible is happening, evil is prevailing. Absolutely vile evil is suddenly prevailing before our eyes,” he said in an interview with AFP last July.

Roizman’s weapon of choice was his Twitter account, where he posted hundreds of short satirical messages peppered with Russian swear words, as he denounced the Kremlin’s actions and state media.

“It’s short and brutal anti-propaganda,” he told AFP, saying he was inspired by works of French Renaissance writer Francois Rabelais known for his gallows humor.

While he has not been in police custody ahead of the trial, Roizman has been banned from using the internet and giving interviews, ending his Twitter campaign.

The charge against him is for “discrediting” the Russian army under legislation criminalizing criticism of the Ukraine offensive.

‘No fear’

Born to a Jewish engineer father and a Russian childcare worker mother, he served a prison sentence in his youth for theft.

In the 1990s, he became an entrepreneur when Yekaterinburg was an epicenter of gang warfare.

In 1999, he launched a campaign to fight drug use. The group was accused of stigmatizing drug addicts and forcing them into withdrawal by force.

Rights activists have questioned the center’s methods, which included handcuffing addicts to their beds and forcing heroin users to go cold turkey.

Its supporters however have reported a drop in drug-related deaths since the foundation was set up.

Roizman was a lawmaker between 2003 and 2007. In 2013, he snatched the mayoral seat from under the Kremlin’s nose, becoming Russia’s highest-profile opposition mayor.

In 2018, Russia abolished direct mayoral elections and Roizman resigned.

Determined to remain independent, Roizman did not officially join opposition parties or movements.

But he actively supported Alexei Navalny, who narrowly survived a poisoning attack in 2021 and was later jailed.

Roizman remained popular in his native Yekaterinburg, which observers say has shielded him from prosecution.

As many opposition figures and activists either fled or were forced into exile, Roizman said he would never leave the country where he was born.

Fellow opposition politician Ilya Yashin was recently sentenced to eight and a half years for discrediting the army and Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza was jailed for 25 years on charges including treason.

But Roizman has told AFP that he knew that he could be arrested at any moment.

“I have no illusions. But I also have no fear.”