Russian activist abducted in Bishkek amid growing pressure from the authorities

A Russian activist, Lev Skoryakin, has been abducted in the Kyrgyz capital, according to Russian opposition platforms.

Anarchist Skoryakin was taken from the hostel where he was staying in Bishkek, on the night of 16-17 October by several people, who introduced themselves as Kyrgyz criminal police officers, the Repressirovannyy Polk (Repressed Regiment) Facebook group, which reports on political suppression in Russia, said on Thursday.

It said that local activists had been unable to locate Skoryakin in any of Bishkek’s detention centres. He is wanted in Russia for protesting against the Russian government’s crackdown on political freedoms.

According to reports, previously Skoryakin was briefly detained by Kyrgyz police on 13 October, the day when Russian President Putin was visiting Bishkek. He was released after two hours, but the police kept his Russian identification document.

Skoryakin was also detained in June and held in Kyrgyz police custody for three months.

He is a member of the Russian Levyy Blok (Left Bloc) movement, which was created in 2015. He left Russia following his detention by Russian authorities for staging a protest outside the Federal Security Service headquarters in Moscow in December 2021.  

Kyrgyz authorities are currently holding in custody another Russian leftist activist Alyona Krylova, who is wanted in Russia for alleged extremism.

In the summer the Kyrgyz authorities deported to Russia anti-war activist Aleksey Rozhkov, who is facing prosecution over an arson attack on a military recruitment centre in the Siberian city of Yekaterinburg.

Russian activists who fled to Kyrgyzstan after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have complained about growing pressure on them.

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