The Czech government has expelled a Prague-based Belarusian journalist, accusing her of being “a key collaborator of the Russian military intelligence service.”
Natalia Sudlianková, a long-established journalist who has worked with prominent networks such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was added to a list of sanctioned individuals this week.
A Russian man named Alexey Shavrov, allegedly Sudlianková’s commanding officer, was also listed.
Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavský said that the Czech secret service had uncovered convincing evidence that Sudlianková worked for the Russian state’s intelligence agency GRU.
“The activities of this influence agent Sudlianková were financed directly from Russia,” he said. “In recent years, she has been paid tens of thousands of euros in cryptocurrencies.”
The 60-year-old journalist had been covertly working for several Russian organizations, according to Czech officials, and had arranged for several articles to be published in local media outlets on the instructions of the GRU.
Czech Radio reported that she also allegedly carried out activities on behalf of sanctioned oligarch Alisher Usmanov and cooperated with Russian state’s nuclear energy firm, Rosatom.
“Both Natalia Sudlianková and Alexey Shavrov pose a risk or even a threat to the security of the Czech Republic. Sanctions are undoubtedly needed,” Lipavský said.
Officials will now recommend EU-wide sanctions on the duo, who have had their assets frozen. Sudlianková, who has lived in the Czech Republic for decades, will have to leave Czech territory within 30 days, according to reports.
Another man with links to Sudlianková also had his assets frozen on Friday, Czech news site iDNES reported.
The journalist arrived in the Czech Republic in 1999, according to reports. She apparently fled Belarus because of her opposition to President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime and was granted asylum.
She was employed by RFE/RL – which has its European headquarters in Prague – as an editor of the broadcaster’s Belarusian service. A 2002 press release described her as a “longtime political activist” who was subject to an arrest warrant handed out by the Belarusian government.
Sudlianková later became the editor of the Russian-language Prazsky Telegraf, contributed to several publications in the Czech and Russian languages, and was quoted in publications such as the New York Times.
Following the sanctions announcement this week, one of her colleagues told Czech Television he was “shocked,” but another said there had been questions about her backstory.
A Russian man named Alexey Shavrov, allegedly Sudlianková’s commanding officer, was also listed.
Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavský said that the Czech secret service had uncovered convincing evidence that Sudlianková worked for the Russian state’s intelligence agency GRU.
“The activities of this influence agent Sudlianková were financed directly from Russia,” he said. “In recent years, she has been paid tens of thousands of euros in cryptocurrencies.”
The 60-year-old journalist had been covertly working for several Russian organizations, according to Czech officials, and had arranged for several articles to be published in local media outlets on the instructions of the GRU.
Officials claimed she had ties to Russia’s state-financed Fund for the Support and Protection of the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad, an institution subject to EU sanctions and described as a vehicle “used to confirm the main propaganda messages of the Kremlin.”Czech counterintelligence uncovers Belarusian agent working for Russia's GRU in Prague
— Radio Prague International (@RadioPrague) April 3, 2025
Belarusian journalist Natalia Sudliankova has been ordered out of the country and placed on the Czech national sanctions list. More here:https://t.co/vfubmPxLNc
Czech Radio reported that she also allegedly carried out activities on behalf of sanctioned oligarch Alisher Usmanov and cooperated with Russian state’s nuclear energy firm, Rosatom.
“Both Natalia Sudlianková and Alexey Shavrov pose a risk or even a threat to the security of the Czech Republic. Sanctions are undoubtedly needed,” Lipavský said.
Officials will now recommend EU-wide sanctions on the duo, who have had their assets frozen. Sudlianková, who has lived in the Czech Republic for decades, will have to leave Czech territory within 30 days, according to reports.
Another man with links to Sudlianková also had his assets frozen on Friday, Czech news site iDNES reported.
Sudlianková ‘fled Lukashenko’s regime’
The journalist arrived in the Czech Republic in 1999, according to reports. She apparently fled Belarus because of her opposition to President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime and was granted asylum.
She was employed by RFE/RL – which has its European headquarters in Prague – as an editor of the broadcaster’s Belarusian service. A 2002 press release described her as a “longtime political activist” who was subject to an arrest warrant handed out by the Belarusian government.
Sudlianková later became the editor of the Russian-language Prazsky Telegraf, contributed to several publications in the Czech and Russian languages, and was quoted in publications such as the New York Times.
Following the sanctions announcement this week, one of her colleagues told Czech Television he was “shocked,” but another said there had been questions about her backstory.
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