Russia’s internal security agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB), has launched a sweeping criminal investigation against prominent exiled opposition figures-including former oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky and several well-known Kremlin critics-accusing them of attempting to seize power by force and form a terrorist organization. The move marks one of Moscow’s most aggressive attempts yet to criminalize political dissent abroad and signals deepening tensions with Europe over engagement with Russian opposition movements.

The FSB’s announcement on October 14 alleged that Khodorkovsky and members of the Anti-War Committee of Russia, an organization formed in February 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine, were plotting to overthrow the Russian government. The agency’s statement accused the committee of “violent seizure of power” and “organizing and participating in a terrorist community,” claiming the group was preparing for an armed coup against the constitutional order.

Among those named were several high-profile opposition figures, including former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, chess grandmaster and democracy advocate Garry Kasparov, political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann, and veteran dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza. The list also reportedly includes other exiled journalists, activists, and former officials now living in Europe.

For the Kremlin, the move comes at a politically sensitive moment. Just ten days earlier, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) had announced the creation of a “Platform for Dialogue” with Russian democratic forces in exile. The platform, viewed by European lawmakers as a step toward supporting independent Russian voices, was immediately denounced in Moscow as an attempt to “legitimize extremist organizations.” The timing of........

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