Russia intimidates Ksenia Maximova and RDS
On 11 September, the Russian authorities designated RDS an “undesirable organisation”. This decision is clearly intended to force us to cease our activities — yet another attempt by the Putin regime to silence those who oppose the war and dictatorship. Any interaction between Russian citizens and us can now result in a fine under Article 20.33 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences, while funding from Russian citizens or residents can lead to criminal prosecution under Article 284.1 of the Russian Criminal Code. In light of this, we ask our supporters to delete old RDS reposts, as Russian courts consider content posted online to constitute a “continuing offence”. We also advise exercising extreme caution when attending our events, and especially when buying our merchandise, purchasing event tickets or simply transferring money to us: in Russia, all of these activities could land you in prison. We will publish more detailed safety guidance soon.
At the same time, the FSB placed our director, Ksenia, on the wanted list under a terrorism-related charge and added her to the list of extremists and terrorists. It is obvious that Ksenia is not involved in terrorism, intimidating the public, promoting violence or pursuing a policy of terror. Nor is RDS seeking to undermine the constitutional foundations of the Russian Federation, as the designation of “undesirable organisation” implies. These sinister labels — foreign agent, undesirable organisation, terrorist — are applied by Russian state agencies to opponents of the regime: people they disapprove of who speak out against the invasion of Ukraine, autocracy and repression in Russia. The accusation itself becomes both proof of guilt and a sentence with no right of appeal — a very convenient arrangement for the Putin regime.
But that was not the end of it. At the end of the month, the FSB issued a press release and, alongside it, an “anonymous comment” in which an unnamed FSB officer called us puppets of foreign intelligence services, “Vlasovites 2.0”, and concluded: “their fate is sealed”. The Kremlin-controlled media quickly got the hint: it was time to unleash the hounds. Reports about us appeared immediately in Komsomolskaya Pravda, TASS, RIA Novosti, Izvestia, Gazeta.ru, Argumenty i Fakty and other media outlets. By evening, the heavy artillery had rolled in: Channel One, Rossiya-1, NTV, REN TV, RT and TV Centre all featured reports about Ksenia and RDS in their prime-time news bulletins. By this point, the story had acquired some new details: RDS had apparently become a terrorist organisation, and Ksenia Maximova had supposedly become Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s mistress (this “fact” even made it into "Vesti", the news programme on Rossiya-1).
Video transcript:
London and the British security services have always used certain categories of Russian citizens as tools of political pressure and hybrid warfare against our country. Since the start of SVO (note: the “special military operation”, war against Ukraine), we have observed an intensification of British efforts to consolidate the so-called Russian opposition abroad. These efforts are aided by Russian citizens who have left the country, sympathise with the Kyiv regime and are prepared to take the enemy’s side. These are Vlasovites 2.0 (note: Vlasov was a Soviet WW2 traitor-general). They are brought together by various communities and resistance movements, presenting their activities as natural forms of civic engagement. However, such activities are impossible without the coordination and oversight of the security services. Behind the façade of self-organisation lie controlled political projects. The aims of these efforts are obvious. London seeks to create the illusion, for the outside world, that an alternative centre of power is emerging within the Russian émigré community, ready to replace the authorities in Moscow. These people are used as displays to showcase a different Russia, which, on closer inspection, turns out to be nothing more than a projection of the interests of the British Crown. British attempts to create puppet organisations under the guise of a democratic alternative and use them to undermine the country’s security are doomed to fail. The counterintelligence services know by name every individual who has chosen to tie their fate to London and wishes to see Russia defeated. Their every step is seen; their fates are sealed. We will not repeat Khrushchev’s mistakes by granting amnesty to the Banderites (note: Bandera was a Ukrainian nationalist and Resistance fighter).
Full text of the FSB press-release:
The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation has opened a criminal case under Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code (participation in the activities of an organisation recognised as a terrorist organisation under Russian law) against Russian citizen Ksenia Konstantinovna Maximova, born on 16 January 1986, who is a functionary of the organisation Russian Democratic Society UK, active in the United Kingdom, and the so-called consul in the United Kingdom for the Antiwar Committee of Russia movement, which has been designated a terrorist organisation by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. Immediately after the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, the above-mentioned individual established Russian Democratic Society UK in London in the interests of the British elites, bringing together Russian relocants living in the United Kingdom. Through Russian Democratic Society UK and its members, Maximova organised the collection of funds, equipment and other forms of assistance in the interests of the Kyiv regime. As head of the organisation, the Russian citizen turned the Russian Democratic Society UK into a platform for speeches by individuals harbouring plans to seize power by force and change Russia’s constitutional order, in particular the leadership and members of the Antiwar Committee of Russia movement. The platform was also used to hold events in support of extremist organisations such as the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), spread fake news about the actions of the Russian Armed Forces, and organise activities on behalf of Western handlers aimed at psychologically harassing Russian officials in the United Kingdom, among other things. Maximova has been placed on the federal and international wanted lists and added to Rosfinmonitoring’s list of “Organisations and Individuals with Regard to Whom Information Is Available Concerning Their Involvement in Extremist Activities or Terrorism”. Investigative actions are currently being carried out against the Russian citizen and her accomplices. The FSB of Russia will continue its efforts to neutralise terrorist activities initiated by London using Russian relocants.
The FSB’s inventive approach is striking: direct threats against Russian émigrés are now delivered not through official press releases, but via media leaks, read out — like messages from terrorists — by faceless security officers speaking in disguised voices. In this monologue delivered facing a wall, there is Vlasov, there is Bandera, and there is the whole range of florid expressions that once belonged to the pages of tabloids. By an astonishing coincidence, on that very same day, a small “investigative outlet” published an article about RDS, notable for just one thing: screenshots of Ksenia Maximova’s hacked correspondence from 2024. The absence of any remotely serious compromising material in the article underlines that the purpose of the publication was not to expose us, but to intimidate us. It is the very same “their names are known, their every step is seen” line from the FSB video.
But the regime’s dogs may bark, and still the caravan moves on. The image of a “different Russia” that we are building is not a façade for the British intelligence services, but the result of the work of our activists and supporters. Yes, our work has become more dangerous, but it has not become any less necessary. Thank you to everyone who has supported us and continues to do so. RDS will continue its anti-war, pro-democracy work thanks to the efforts of our activists and the support of our community. And if you have no reason to fear persecution in Russia, we would be very grateful for your support on Patreon.
