Proving Ground - Family

On the family of journalist Alexander Nevzorov*, the authorities are practicing a technology for depriving property of Russians recognized as “foreign agents”

For almost a year and a half, the St. Petersburg prosecutor’s office has been trying to take away from the Nevzorovs* all the property they acquired during their life together.

The story of the Nevzorovs’ deprivation of various types of real estate began in the spring of 2023. Then the St. Petersburg prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit with the Primorsky District Court to confiscate the land plots that had belonged to them since the late 90s into the ownership of St. Petersburg. According to the family's lawyer, all the land was acquired directly from individuals, the owners of the plots, and not through some cunning shady schemes.

For more than a year, the prosecutor's office tried to take away these plots from the Nevzorovs, but the matter did not end with anything: in a civil process, it is not so easy to deprive the legal owners of their property; this requires serious grounds, which, apparently, the prosecutor's office did not have. That is why, according to Alexey Pryanishnikov*, who represents the interests of the Nevzorov family, in the spring of this year a case was brought against them to recognize them as an extremist association.

Alexey Pryanishnikov:

“Whatever the law on countering extremism, only organizations, not married couples, can be recognized as extremist associations. In addition, the law clearly states that the property of organizations is subject to liquidation in favor of the state after settlements with creditors if the organizations themselves are liquidated. But what kind of liquidation are we talking about in this case? Do they want to forcibly divorce the Nevzorovs? In fact, this law does not apply to a married couple!”

Nevertheless, at the beginning of July of this year, judge of the Oktyabrsky District Court Elena Nikolaeva decided to recognize the Nevzorovs as participants in an extremist association. The decision came into force immediately (although the Nevzorovs filed an appeal, which was not considered at that time). And on the same day, three plots of land in Lisy Nos, a car and shares in the authorized capital of Piter-Technoproject LLC - New Resources, which belonged to the spouses, were transferred to the ownership of the state (and not St. Petersburg, which the prosecutor’s office had been trying to achieve for more than a year to no avail).

But this court decision failed to completely deprive the Nevzorov family of land plots. As her lawyer said, there were four plots in total, located next to each other: they were bought at different times and combined. On one of them there is a residential building, and the court “stumbled” over this plot: blockade survivor Natalia Kolesnikova, mother of Lydia Nevzorova, lives in the house.

Natalia has been registered in this house since it was purchased by the family in the late 90s, and lives in it permanently. This is really her only home. To date, the final fate of this site and the residential building has not been decided by the court.

The second wave of attacks on the property of the Nevzorov family began in mid-November of this year. This time the apartment on Lenin Street was raided. Information that the St. Petersburg prosecutor's office demanded that the apartment be seized appeared in the Telegram channel of Daria Lebedeva, head of the United Press Service of the St. Petersburg Courts.

As Alexey Pryanishnikov told our publication, this apartment was inherited by Lydia Nevzorova. In 2022, before her departure from Russia, she registered an apartment in the name of her mother, Natalia Kolesnikova, through a purchase and sale transaction. Now the prosecutor’s office is trying through the court to recognize the deal as sham in order to return Lydia Nevzorova’s apartment, and then take it away, as has already happened with plots of land and other family property.

Alexey Pryanishnikov:

“All these actions of the prosecutor’s office have no other meaning than to punish the Nevzorovs financially. In the hope that Alexander Nevzorov will shut up and stop broadcasting on YouTube and Telegram channels.”

Alexander Nevzorov himself in his YouTube channel spoke ironically about the actions of the St. Petersburg prosecutor’s office and court decisions:

“Thinking that they are somehow hurting and upsetting me, they hit completely innocent people around me - for example, the blockade survivors. I don’t care – I can always earn a living and pay for my child’s education in any country. But what amazes me in all this is the frivolity and stupidity of the judges who carry out the will of the regime on political grounds - do they think that it will always be like this <...>?”

To date, the Nevzorov spouses have been denied an appeal against recognition as an extremist association. And the courts of the Primorsky and Petrogradsky districts will have to consider two more claims for deprivation of the family’s property. A hearing in the case of confiscation of a plot of land and a residential building in which Natalia Kolesnikova lives and is registered is scheduled for December 5. It is not known exactly when the fate of the apartment on Lenin Street will be decided, although Daria Lebedeva has already stated that the court hearing will definitely take place in December.

Alexey Pryanishnikov:

“In general, this is a complete disregard for the principles of legality by the prosecutor’s office and the courts. This is censorship in a harsh form, for the implementation of which a form of material punishment is used. That is, in fact, confiscation of property without criminal punishment. And judging by the development of events in general, the authorities will be able to use similar methods later on all their other citizens.”

REFERENCE
Alexander Nevzorov left Russia even before the criminal prosecution. In March 2022, two criminal cases were opened against him under the article on “fake news”. In April 2022, the journalist was added to the register of “foreign agents”, and in the same year Nevzorov was given two fines under the article on failure to fulfill the duties of a “foreign agent” due to the lack of appropriate markings in publications. In February 2023, he was sentenced in absentia to 8 years in prison. In October 2023, he was fined for failing to provide the Ministry of Justice with reports on his activities; in December of the same year, he was fined for lack of labeling on a post on Alexander’s Telegram channel.

* The Russian authorities added “foreign agents” to the register.