Navalny has been wanted in Russia since December 29

Alexey Navalny has been on the federal wanted list since December 29, 2020. The corresponding decree of the FSIN Moscow Department was published by Mash.

Lawyer Vadim Kobzevconfirmed the information about the search to Mediazona. In a comment to MBKh Media, he said that Navalny did not know about the search when he announced his decision to return to Russia on January 17 on January 13.

“We learned about this today, after he announced [his return to Russia],” Kobzev said.

Kobzev told Open Media that he had not specifically communicated with Navalny about the search, but he was confident “that this does not in any way affect his intention to return.”

The search is related to the Yves Rocher criminal case , in which Navalny was given a suspended sentence and a five-year probationary period. It ended on December 30, 2020.

• In the search order, the Federal Penitentiary Service says that the politician is "evading control" (which was imposed on him as a person sentenced to a suspended sentence). Because of this, on January 11, the Federal Penitentiary Service asked the court to replace Navalny's suspended sentence in the Yves Rocher case with a real one.
• Navalny has been in Germany since August 2020. He was taken there for treatment after he fell ill on a Tomsk-Moscow flight. An examination showed that he was poisoned with a toxin from the Novichok group. Journalists and independent investigators have found that FSB officers may have been involved in the poisoning.