Washington Post columnist, prominent Kremlin critic arrested in Moscow

A Washington Post columnist and vocal critic of the Kremlin has been arrested in Moscow, his wife said in a social media post on Monday evening.

“Twice have the Russian authorities tried to kill my husband for advocating for sanctions against thieves and murderers, and now they want to throw him in prison for calling their bloody war a WAR,” Evgenia Kara-Murza said of her husband, Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Vladimir Kara-Murza is a columnist at the Post and has appeared on American cable news frequently in recent years, oftentimes criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government.

His reported arrest came the same day as an interview he gave to CNN, during which he predicted Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the international outrage it has sparked would bring an end to Putin’s rule.

“This regime that is in power today, it is not just autocratic. … It is a regime of murders,” he said on Monday. “It is important to say it out loud. And it is really tragic. I have no other word for this.”

Since the invasion began, the Kremlin has gone to great lengths to suppress information and independent media reports within its own borders critical of the war it is waging on Ukraine.

Putin himself has been accused of ordering the arrest and killing of journalists and opposition leaders during his time as Russia’s leader.

Vladimir Kara-Murza had accused the Kremlin of poisoning him on two separate occasions before Monday’s reported arrest. He is a longtime confidant of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was killed in 2015, the Post noted, and is a former candidate for the Russian parliament.

In a statement to The Hill on Tuesday, Post Publisher and CEO Fred Ryan applauded Kara-Murza, who he called “relentless and courageous in his efforts to bring the truth about his country’s leadership to light.” 

“Following poisonings and other grave threats, this outrageous detention is the latest move in Vladimir Putin’s ongoing effort to silence Kara-Murza and hide the truth about the atrocities Putin is committing in the Russian people’s name,” Ryan said. “No one should be deceived by the Russian government’s trumped-up charges and smears, and Kara-Murza should be released immediately.”

— Updated at 2:01 p.m.