Former member of State Duma from Komi Republic detained
Oleg Mikhailov actively reported electoral violations at polling stations during the most recent State Duma elections, and his campaign poster featured an anti-war slogan.
News of the detention of former State Duma deputy Oleg Mikhailov was published by his political allies. The press service of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) committee in the Komi Republic reported that Mikhailov was detained at the airport after returning to Moscow from a holiday. It suggested that the politician had been detained on suspicion of justifying terrorism over social media posts he published in 2024 about sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky and Left Front leader Sergei Udaltsov. Both men were convicted of justifying terrorism and sentenced to five and six years in prison, respectively.
The Telegram channel ‘Voice of the Republic’, which is associated with Mikhailov, reported that his lawyer was being prevented from seeing him on what it described as spurious grounds. The politician faces a prison sentence of up to seven years. A court is expected to decide on a pre-trial restriction measure for him today.
Mikhailov has led the CPRF’s regional branch in Komi since 2014. He previously served as a deputy on the Syktyvkar City Council and the State Council of the Komi Republic. In 2021, he won election to the eighth State Duma in the Syktyvkar single-member constituency No. 18. In the region, he is known as one of the leading opposition figures, regularly criticising the local executive authorities and the ruling United Russia party.
Between 2018 and 2020, Mikhailov took part in protests against the construction of a waste landfill at Shies station in Arkhangelsk Region. According to the Communist politician, Shies became a byword — ‘a symbol of how people can organise themselves and defend their rights when those in power forget whom they are there to serve’.
‘For two years, together with activists, we maintained a continuous presence at the protest camps, brought journalists and anyone who wanted to take part personally in the fight to keep our land clean to Shies, helped provide the camp with equipment and supplies and, of course, organised rallies and pickets throughout the republic. The largest demonstrations took place in Syktyvkar, Ukhta and Zheshart. These efforts paid off: the barbaric plans to build the landfill were scrapped, and no rubbish from Moscow ended up in our forests,’ Mikhailov recalled.
In 2026, Mikhailov lost his bid for re-election to the State Duma, although he received the highest number of votes in Syktyvkar. He also actively reported electoral fraud at polling stations. It was largely thanks to his efforts that reports emerged of widespread coercion of students at Syktyvkar State University to vote, the discovery at one polling station of around 50 ballot papers already marked in favour of United Russia, and numerous instances of illegal campaigning. After voting ended, Mikhailov took part in a rally in Syktyvkar protesting against electoral fraud.
‘The key point here is how frantically they scrambled after the festering sore of their deceitful and cowardly rule was exposed by the actual discovery of ballot papers filled in for United Russia. The system rewards ruthlessness, but it does not forgive getting your hands dirty,’ Mikhailov observed. His own campaign leaflet carried the anti-war slogan: ‘Peace — no wars! Taxes — for the republic! Power — to the people!’
However, a month and a half before polling day, efforts were made to have Mikhailov removed from the election race. The move was prompted by a complaint from Georgy Borman, a Syktyvkar resident who alleged that Mikhailov had engaged in illegal electioneering on social media. The Komi electoral commission sided with Borman, ruling that an administrative offence report should be drawn up against Mikhailov and that the disputed material should be removed from public view. Mikhailov himself described Borman’s complaint as an act of informing on him to the authorities.
‘When my political opponents have no substantive arguments to counter my points, they file complaints against me. The electoral commission is supposed to investigate those complaints and establish the truth. At the same time, I believe the names of those who inform on others should be made public, so that everyone knows who they are and can avoid falling victim to the dirty tricks they may play,’ the deputy said.
The CPRF’s Komi branch described the electoral commission’s decision as politically motivated. In the party’s view, the complainant’s real aim was to sideline the only independent candidate capable of mounting a serious challenge to the opposition’s rivals.’
