A Volgograd activist reported pressure and threats from security forces.

Volgograd protester Vladimir Kruglyakov left Russia due to pressure from security forces. At the Mineralnye Vody airport, security forces threatened Kruglyakov and tore up his tickets for refusing to unlock his smartphone.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," Vladimir Kruglyakov was an active participant in protests in Volgograd from 2016 to 2021, and was repeatedly arrested and subjected to administrative penalties.

Volgograd political activist Vladimir Kruglyakov was threatened by security forces while attempting to leave Russia. According to the activist, after a lengthy interrogation at the airport, FSB officers warned him that he should not return to his homeland.

37-year-old Kruglyakov, a fuel company employee and graduate of the Volgograd Cooperative Institute of the Russian University of Cooperation, attempted to fly to Turkey from Mineralnye Vody Airport on April 4. During a security check, FSB officers became interested in him.

The officers escorted Kruglyakov to a separate room and asked him to unlock his phone. Vladimir refused, after which threats began to be leveled against him, including those of detention and torture.

“The tone of the conversation became much harsher. The officers took turns during the ‘conversation,’ some more polite than others. They threatened to keep me from leaving Russia, and one of them tore up my plane ticket. Then they monitored my social media, read my posts, information about me, and wrote something down on their computer. They promised problems upon arrival and return,” Kruglyakov told a Caucasian Knot correspondent.

The interrogation lasted about two hours. Vladimir noted that he took the security forces’ threats very seriously, although they ultimately went no further.

“I crossed the border, and the FSB officers themselves brought the entire plane ticket to border control. "I consider their actions illegal," he concluded. Kruglyakov is currently in Turkey.