Police say local businessman helping to organize ‘trash protests’ outside Moscow is hiding his U.S. citizenship

Investigators in Volokolamsk have reportedly charged one of the leaders of local “trash protests” with failing to report his dual citizenship to the Russian authorities. According to The Village, Artem Lyubimov allegedly hid his American citizenship from Russia’s Federal Migration Service, risking a fine of up to 200,000 rubles (almost $3,000) or up to 400 hours of community service. Lyubimov says he isn’t a U.S. citizen.

• Artem Lyubimov, a businessman in Volokolamsk, has helped organize the city’s protests against the “Yadrovo” landfill, which locals say is responsible for an “ecological catastrophe.” In early 2018, dozens of school children in Volokolamsk fell ill and sought medical attention due to the effects of air pollution.
• On April 3, Lyubimov was jailed for two weeks after he supposedly resisted police orders. After the arrest, the authorities also raided Lyubimov’s business partners. State officials detained and harassed at least two other Volokolamsk entrepreneurs who helped facilitate the demonstrations against the trash dump.