Roman Anin, a well-known independent media editor living in Latvia, acquired Russian citizenship in 2006, although he is originally from Moldova. The Russian Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday that Anin had been stripped of his Russian citizenship because he was accused of spreading false information about that country’s army in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the TASS agency reported. State media and official sources confirmed the proceedings involving a journalist widely seen as a critic of the military offensive ordered by President Vladimir Putin in February 2022.
According to the TASS agency and reported by international media on the same day, the decision to revoke citizenship concerns Anin, 39, the main manager and editor-in-chief of the Important Stories portal. This media, which is officially called a “foreign agent” in Russia, is currently carrying out its information work on Latvian territory due to restrictions in force in Russia. The main accusation is based on the alleged deliberate dissemination of data that the authorities consider to be false and which, according to officials, tarnishes the image of the armed forces in connection with the war in Ukraine.
The move by the Russian Interior Ministry comes after a series of court cases involving both Anin and his colleague Ekaterina Fomina, a journalist for Important Stories. A Moscow court sentenced them to eight years and six months in prison in March, finding that both had committed the crime of “deliberately spreading false information about the armed forces,” the TASS news agency reported. This verdict is part of a criminal policy that has been intensified since the beginning of the conflict and aimed at stopping the public discrediting of the Russian armed forces.
As reported by the Interior Ministry and confirmed by TASS, Anin has been seen as an active opponent of the official narrative about the war in Ukraine in recent years, which led him to leave Russia and continue his investigations and journalistic activities abroad. The revocation of citizenship represents one of the harshest retaliatory measures against critics who are not currently imprisoned in the country.
The Important Stories portal headed by Anin, which was classified as a “foreign agent” by the Russian regulatory apparatus, moved the team out of the country due to difficulties in conducting independent journalism on the territory. From Latvia, the media continued to publish content related to the conflict and the actions of the Russian government, explained the TASS agency, confirming international media reporting on the situation of independent media in the post-Soviet environment.
The deprivation of citizenship for those deemed to be dissidents or spreaders of “misleading” information has recently been imposed under legislation that has been tightened since the start of the invasion of Ukraine. These changes to the law allow authorities to take action against those they consider to pose a threat to national security or the reputation of the armed forces through their publications.
Anin’s case joins a series of administrative and judicial measures affecting Russian journalists in practice or in exile that press organizations and international observers see as a structural offensive against media outlets that are not aligned with the Moscow government. As TASS and international media point out, these measures typically include blocking platforms, labeling them as “foreign agents,” and monitoring the activities of reporters working abroad.
Ekaterina Fomina, the other journalist affected by the prison sentence imposed in March, like Anin, remained outside Russia until the date of the announcement, which is why neither was present at the trial that sentenced them to long prison sentences. Accusations of spreading fake news have increased since February 2022, when the Russian authorities adjusted the legal framework for criminal prosecution of information that contradicts the official line in the conflict with Ukraine.
The state agency TASS and the Russian Interior Ministry itself reported, citing various media outlets, that the decision against Anin meant his loss of civil rights in Russia and the impossibility of returning as a citizen. According to information disseminated by TASS and reported by other media, the mechanism used by the authorities complies with the provisions of recent regulations enshrined in the tightening of controls over information related to the war.
The episode highlights the situation of Russian journalists outside the country who continue their research and publishing work and face legal and even administrative measures such as deprivation of citizenship, penalties in absentia or persecution through designation as “foreign agents”. The Anin-directed film “Important Stories” remains active in Latvia, where the journalist and his team continue to publish reports about the war and the censorship mechanisms introduced by the Russian authorities, TASS said in reporting the news.
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