Rising Russian political star leaves Libertarian Party leadership

Mikhail Svetov, who has become the public face of Russia’s Libertarian Party in recent months, has announced his departure from the party’s federal board. “I’ve stepped down from my position on the federal committee of the LPR [Libertarian Party of Russia],” Svetov tweeted, adding, “I haven’t left the party, don’t worry ^_ But I’ll be taking a break to work on my book and other projects.”

While the Libertarian Party is not officially registered as a political party in Russia, it still served as the central organizing body for the wave of opposition protests that swept Moscow in the summer of 2019. At one point, Svetov was jailed after he led negotiations with Moscow City Hall in an attempt to obtain a permit for one of the protests. His rise to public recognition has accompanied a new wave of interest in libertarianism in the former Soviet Union.