Russia has taken a dramatic new step in criminalizing dissent by designating the U.S. arm of Anti‑Corruption Foundation (ACF), originally founded by Alexei Navalny, as a terrorist organization, putting it in the same legal category as extremist groups such as ISIS and al‑Qaeda. The designation, issued behind closed doors by Russia’s Supreme Court, marks a turning point in the Kremlin’s decade-long crackdown on opposition voices. In an interview with TVP World, former Navalny adviser Vladimir Milov said the move reflects growing Kremlin anxiety. “There is a very significant increase of anti-government and anti-war sentiment in Russia… beneath the surface, the negative sentiment is building up,” he said. With tightly controlled parliamentary elections scheduled for September 2026, authorities appear intent on suppressing even the possibility of organized dissent. Though Navalny died in a remote penal colony in 2024, ACF continues to operate abroad under the leadership of his widow, Yulia Navalnaya. Inside Russia, however, its presence has all but vanished amid a wave of arrests targeting journalists, lawyers and volunteers linked to the movement. Milov warned that the Kremlin aims to sever the last remaining ties between Russian civil society and its diaspora-driven opposition: opposition networks inside Russia are now “effectively criminalized.” Many citizens, he said, are afraid even to protest alone, knowing they risk lengthy prison terms. Yet he argued that modern Russian opposition retains a deeper democratic memory than in Soviet times and estimated millions still quietly reject the current regime. For the Kremlin, the terrorist designation also broadens fear beyond Russia’s borders: the label grants Russian security services extraterritorial powers, raising concerns about surveillance or operations targeting activists abroad. Milov said that sustained Western pressure remains essential. Weakening President Vladimir Putin’s authority, he argued, is the only viable path toward rebuilding civil society and reviving Russia’s pro-democratic forces.
