Moscow Court Upholds Detention of Political Analyst Alexander Kynev Despite Serious Injury

The Moscow City Court on Thursday rejected an appeal by Russian political analyst and consultant Alexander Kynev against his pre-trial detention. He is accused of attempting to sell a large amount of drugs, a charge that carries up to 20 years in prison according to the source. The ruling stands even though concern is growing over an injury he sustained during his arrest. The exiled news outlet Mediazona reported on the decision.

Arrest and injury

Kynev was detained at his Moscow apartment last month. He was later hospitalized inside a Moscow detention center with bone fractures and other injuries. A lower Moscow court had already ordered him held until Nov. 24, and details of the case have not been made public. He denies the charges.

He took part in the appeal hearing by video link, with his leg in a cast. His defense team says that without proper medical care and crutches he risks permanent disability. His attorney Vera Goncharova told the judge that if Kynev does not receive medical help soon, he will end up disabled. The judge nevertheless turned down a request for house arrest or other restrictions, and Kynev will stay in custody until at least Nov. 24.

Who Kynev is

Kynev has worked as a political consultant since the 1990s, when he was first involved in campaigns of the liberal Yabloko party. Over the years he has worked with several independent political organizations, including the now-disbanded election monitoring group Golos. He stayed in Russia despite growing political repression after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Until The Moscow Times was designated an "undesirable" organization in 2024, he wrote regular opinion columns for it.

Before his arrest, Kynev was a leading commentator on the State Duma elections held Sept. 18-20. He estimated that turnout and the vote share of the ruling United Russia party were far lower than the official results, and warned that the party's record haul of 349 of 450 seats could backfire on the Kremlin.