Ilya Ponomarev Explained

Ilya Ponomarev
Order:Member of the State Duma
Term Start:24 December 2007
Term End:10 June 2016
Birth Date:6 August 1975
Birth Place:Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Nationality:Russian
Citizenship:Ukraine (since 2019)
Known For:Work with Skolkovo Foundation and hi-tech parks, sole vote against annexation of Crimea, position against Russian war in Ukraine, participation in protest movement in Russia
Occupation:Businessman, politician
Children:2
Party:
Otherparty:Congress of People's Deputies (2022–present)
Allegiance: Ukraine
Branch: Territorial Defense Forces
Serviceyears:2022–present
Battles:2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Native Name Lang:ru
Constituency:A Just Russia, Novosibirsk Oblast party list

Ilya Vladimirovich Ponomarev (Russian: Илья́ Влади́мирович Пономарёв, Ukrainian: Ілля Володимирович Пономарьов|Illia Volodymyrovych Ponomariov; born 6 August 1975) is a Russian-Ukrainian politician who was a member of the Russian State Duma from 2007 to 2016.

He was the only member of the State Duma not to vote in favour of the Russian gay propaganda law (he abstained) and to vote against Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014.[1] [2] In 2015, while in the United States, Ponomarev was formally charged in Russia with embezzlement, which he called politically motivated.[3] In 2016, he was impeached for not performing his duties, and he went into exile in Ukraine, where he obtained Ukrainian citizenship in 2019.[4] [5]

Following the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ponomarev stated that he had joined Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces, and he denounced the invasion. Ponomarev also endorsed acts of sabotage and arson in Russia,[6] and launched a Russian-language opposition television channel called February Morning (Russian: text=Утро Февраля|translit=Utro Fevralya). Following the killing of Darya Dugina, Ponomarev has claimed to have been in contact with a hitherto-unknown group called the National Republican Army which he said claimed responsibility for the killing. He claims not to be a member but a supporter who is trusted to receive press releases.[7] Ponomarev's claims have been treated by observers with scepticism.[8]

Ponomarev is the author of the book, Does Putin Have to Die?: The Story of How Russia Becomes a Democracy after Losing to Ukraine, released by Skyhorse Publishing.[9]

Early life and education

Ponomarev was born in Moscow. He holds a BSc in physics from Moscow State University and a Master of Public Administration from the Russian State Social University. He started his career when he was 14 years old at the Institute for Nuclear Safety (IBRAE), Russian Academy of Sciences. Ponomarev was one of the founders of two successful high technology start-ups in Russia, the first one (RussProfi) when he was sixteen years old. His first job position was at the Institute for Nuclear Safety (IBRAE) at the Russian Academy of Sciences. In 1995 and 1996, Ponomarev acted as a representative of the networking software company Banyan Systems in Russia, creating one of the largest distributed networks in Russia for the now-defunct oil company Yukos. Following jobs at Schlumberger and Yukos in the late 1990s, he became a successful technology entrepreneur. From 2002 to 2007, Ponomarev served as the chief information officer of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.[10]

Career

Ponomarev held the role of vice president at Yukos Oil Company, at the time the largest Russian oil and gas corporation. Ponomarev's duties during those four years included those of corporate CIO, and chief executive of Yukos' subsidiary company ARRAVA IMC, which specialized in advanced oilfield technologies and services. Ponomarev later founded the Siberian Internet Company, which was the origin of prominent Internet projects in Russia such as Gazeta.ru. He also spent time as the Director for Business Development and Marketing for Schlumberger Oilfield Services, and the vice president for strategy, regional development, and government relations at IBS, which was at that time the largest Russian system integration and software consulting company.

From 2006 to 2007, Ponomarev served as the national coordinator for the "high-tech parks task force", a $6 billion private-public project to develop a network of small communities across the country to foster innovation and R&D activities.

In December 2007, Ponomarev was elected to the State Duma,[11] representing Novosibirsk. In the Duma, Ponomarev chaired the Innovation and Venture Capital subcommittee of the Committee for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship, and the Technology Development subcommittee of the Committee of Information Technologies and Communications. He introduced and secured passage of legalization of limited liability partnerships in Russia, the Net Businesses Act, and tax breaks for technology companies.

Ponomarev's political views are considered to be "unorthodox left": a progressive libertarian position. Some people describe him as "neo-communist", and critics inside the Communist Party of Russia have identified him as "neotrotskyist".[12] Ponomarev's policy goals included the following:

Internationally, Ponomarev advocated a broader "Northern Union" between the nations of Europe, the Americas, and the former USSR,[17] but strongly criticizes the American model of globalization exemplified by the IMF, the WTO and the G8 structures.[18] He describes his proposals as "social globalism",[19] and is critical of nationalism and clericalism.[20] He also criticized the privatization process in Russia, and blamed its neoliberal architects for the failure to establish a true democracy in Russia.[21]

From 2012 to 2014, Ponomarev was involved in International Business Development, Commercialization and Technology Transfer for the Skolkovo Foundation, managing the project initiated by Pres. Dmitry Medvedev to create Skoltech: a university established jointly by Russia and MIT.[22]

In April 2014, Ponomarev organized a coalition of opposition groups for the election of the Mayor of Novosibirsk, and withdrew his own candidacy to support the coalition's candidate: Communist Anatoly Lokot, who won the election.[23]

He was a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (IT), Council for Foreign and Defense Policies, and the Council for National Strategy, and a fellow at the Open Russia foundation. He also chaired the Boards of Trustees of the Institute of Innovation Studies (a think tank working on legislation for high-tech industries) and the Open Projects Foundation (an investment vehicle for projects in crowdfunding, crowdsourcing and open government). In 2010 Ponomarev co-founded the Korean-Russian Business Council (KRBC).. In 2014, Ponomarev founded the Institute of Siberia, an analytical center focused on the regional development of Siberia.

During his political career, he was a member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation from 2002 to 2007, and a member of the Central Committee of the social-democrat political party A Just Russia from 2007 to 2013. In the spring of 2014, he took part in forming an alliance between Greens and Social Democrats.

Opposition to Putin

In 2012, Ponomarev and fellow MP Dmitry Gudkov took a leadership role in street protests against Putin's rule. Following the 4 March presidential election, in which Putin was elected for his third term as president, Ponomarev accused the government of rigging the election, claiming that it should have been close enough for a runoff. In May, Ponomarev criticized Putin's decision to retain Igor Shuvalov in his cabinet despite a corruption scandal.[24] The following month, Ponomarev and Gudkov led a filibuster against a bill by Putin's United Russia party which allowed large fines to be imposed on anti-government protesters; though the filibuster was unsuccessful, the action attracted widespread attention. Later, Ponomarev joined other political leaders in a successful challenge to the legislation before the Constitutional Court, overturning some of its provisions.

In June 2012, Ponomarev made a speech in the Duma in which he called United Russia members "crooks and thieves", a phrase originally used by anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny. In September of that year, Duma members voted to censure Ponomarev and bar him from speaking for one month. United Russia members also proposed charging him with defamation.[25]

In July, he strongly criticized the government response to the widespread flooding in Southern Russia Krymsk, which killed 172 people.[26] Together with several other civil activists, including Alyona Popova, Mitya Aleshkovsky, Danila Lindele and Maria Baronova, he organized a nationwide fundraising campaign which generated almost one million dollars in small donations to aid flood victims.

In December 2012, Ponomarev was the most vocal critic of the Dima Yakovlev Law, which restricted international adoption of Russian orphans (he was the only MP to vote against the bill in the first reading, and one of only eight opponents during the final reading). In 2013, Ponomarev was the only MP who refused to support the gay propaganda law. On 20 March 2014, Ponomarev was the only State Duma member to vote against the accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation following its annexation.[27]

Internet censorship

In 2012, Ponomarev supported[28] [29] the Internet Restriction Bill, with the stated purpose of fighting online child pornography and drug sales, introduced by fellow Just Russia parliamentarian Yelena Mizulina. Critics compared the results to those of the Chinese Internet firewall:[30] [31] a RosKomCenzura blocklist of censored pages, domain names, and IP addresses. Ponomarev claimed that he wished to ultimately limit government involvement in Internet regulation and allow more self-regulation,[32] but Maxim "Parker" Kononenko (a Russian blogger and journalist) accused[30] [33] Ponomarev of acting in the commercial interests of a technology company which had Ponomarev's father Vladimir as a member of the board of directors[34] According to the law, all Internet providers are obliged to install expensive DPI hardware, which it was believed would be sold by said company. However, the company ultimately never sold any DPI servers, and Vladimir Ponomarev resigned from the board to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

In July 2013, Ponomarev stated during a meeting of the Pirate Party of Russia that his support for Mizulina's bill had been a mistake[35] ; he later voted against new initiatives by the Russian government to restrict Internet freedom, and became instrumental in the campaign against the "Russian version of SOPA".[36] Despite this, Ponomarev is portrayed by some other opposition activists (such as Alexei Navalny and Leonid Volkov) as a "censorship lobbyist", which Ponomarev claims is due to unrelated political disagreements and the struggle for influence over the Russian Internet community.[37]

Leonid Razvozzhayev incident

In October 2012, the pro-government news channel NTV aired a documentary which accused Ponomarev's aide Leonid Razvozzhayev of arranging a meeting between a former opposition leader, the Left Front's Sergei Udaltsov, and Givi Targamadze, a Georgian official, for the purpose of overthrowing President Vladimir Putin.[38] A spokesman for Russian investigators stated that the government was considering terrorism charges against Udaltsov, and Razvozzhayev, Udaltsov, and Konstantin Lebedev, an assistant of Udaltsov's, were charged with "plotting mass riots".[39] Razvozzhayev fled to Kyiv, Ukraine, where he applied for asylum from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, but disappeared after leaving the office for lunch.[38] He resurfaced in Moscow three days later, where the website Life News recording him leaving a Moscow courthouse, shouting that he had been abducted and tortured.[40] A spokesman for Russia's Investigative Committee claimed that Razvozzhayev had not been abducted, but had turned himself in freely and volunteered a confession of his conspiracy with Udaltsov and Lebedev to cause widespread rioting.

Vladimir Burmatov, a United Russia MP, called on Ponomarev to resign from the State Duma for his association with Razvozzhayev.[41]

In August 2014, both Udaltsov and Razvozzhayev were sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

Russian annexation of Crimea and accusations of embezzlement

Ponomarev was the only member of the State Duma to vote against annexation of Crimea during the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[2] [1] [42] Despite his criticism of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution as being driven by an alliance of neoliberals and nationalists, he justified his position in the Duma by saying that it was necessary to maintain friendly relations with the "brotherly Ukrainian nation" and avoid military confrontation, and argued that Russia's actions in Crimea would push Ukraine outside the traditional sphere of Russian influence and possibly provoke further expansion of NATO.[43] After the 445–1 vote, many people called for his resignation. He was the target of public demonization including a huge billboard in the center of Moscow describing him as a "national traitor".[44] [45] He was also threatened with censure and expulsion, but responded that deputies cannot be prosecuted or removed because of the way they vote, and the parliament took no further action regarding the status of Ponomarev as deputy.[46]

In August 2014, while he was in California, federal bailiffs froze Ponomarev's bank accounts and announced that they would not allow him to return to Russia, due to an ongoing investigation.[47] He began living in San Jose, California,[48] but since 2016 is a permanent resident of Ukraine's capital Kyiv, effectively in exile.[49] In April 2015, the Duma attempted to revoke his constitutional protection from criminal prosecution.[50]

Russian investigators claimed Ponomarev had embezzled 22 million rubles earmarked for the Skolkovo technology hub, an accusation Ponomarev describes as politically motivated.[51] Russian investigators alleged that Skolkovo vice-president Aleksey Beltyukov had paid Ponomarev about $750,000 for ten lectures and one research paper; Ponomarev was initially not prosecuted for this because of his parliamentary immunity, but a court ordered him to return a part of the money. However, later in 2015, the Moscow Bauman Court heard Ponomaryov's case in absentia and decided to arrest him, issuing an international warrant. Despite not residing in Russia, Ponomarev continued to hold his parliamentary position, and would technically have remained an active member of the Duma until the September 2016 Duma election.[52] [53]

On 10 June 2016, the State Duma impeached Ponomarev for truancy and not performing his duties. It was the first application of the controversial 2016 law that allows Duma to impeach its deputies.[54] [55]

Exile

Ponomarev told The Daily Beast in April 2016 that he lived in Ukraine's capital Kyiv full-time. Ukraine granted him a Ukrainian temporary residence permit. The government of Ukraine under Petro Poroshenko granted Ponomarev Ukrainian citizenship in 2019.[56]

From exile he continued to speak to the Western press as a commentator on deteriorating Russia–Ukraine relations and clampdown on dissent in Russia.[57] After fellow former Russian MP Denis Voronenkov was shot and killed in Kyiv on 23 March 2017, Ponomarev was given personal protection by the Ukrainian Security Service.[58] Voronenkov was on his way to meet Ponomarev when he was shot.

Response to 2022 invasion of Ukraine

Following the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ponomarev joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In an interview with Meduza, Ponomarev claimed he had joined the Territorial Defense Forces and "took up a machine gun." Ponomarev explained his joining the Ukrainian forces as "not fighting against [Russia], I'm fighting against Putin and Putinism and Russian fascism," and compared his service to Ukraine to Willy Brandt's assistance to the Allies against Nazi Germany.[59]

With the war continuing, Ponomarev launched a Russian-language YouTube-based video news outlet called "February Morning", an accompanying Telegram-based news service "Rospartizan", as well as a central website utro02.tv.[60] [61] [62] [63]

Profiling the operations in June 2022, The Guardian notes that the outlets cover anti-government "partisan" activity in Russia, such as attacks on military recruitment centers, and endorse them to the extent of including instructions on bomb-making and operations security tradecraft. Asked whether he should be called a "foreign agent", similar to other journalists branded by the Kremlin under Russian 2022 war censorship laws, Ponomarev replied "I would be proud if they called me that. Terrorist, extremist, it's an act of recognition."[64]

Ponomarev has been outspoken against what he views as the comfort and complacency of Russians including those privately opposed to Putin. Either in spite or because of his own exile, since the outbreak of war he has exhorted Russians not to flee the country but to fight the regime. He has gone so far as to support Kaja Kallas's call for Schengen Area states to cease issuing tourist visas to Russian nationals and restricting the movement to refugees who have fought the regime.[65]

In a May 2022 conference of exiles in Vilnius sponsored by the Free Russia Forum, Ponomarev appealed to attendees to support the arsons of military commissariats in Russia. A Spektr () reporter noted an indifferent response from the attendees.[66]

In a June 2022 interview with Tim Sebastian of Deutsche Welles Conflict Zone, Ponomarev maintained that Putin "wants to crush NATO, that's his strategic goal." Ponomarev is despondent about the democratic process in Russia: "What Vladimir Putin.. taught Russians.. is that there is no way to get rid of him through the elections process."[67]

Assassination of Darya Dugina and claims about National Republican Army

See also: National Republican Army (Russia).

Ponomarev and his media outlets came to the attention of Western news outlets following the 20 August 2022 car bomb assassination of Darya Dugina. Ponomarev personally read a statement claiming responsibility for the attack from a hitherto-unknown group calling itself National Republican Army (NRA) . The statement condemned both Dugina and her father, Eurasianist political philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, who was nearly killed in the same attack. Ponomarev spoke enthusiastically about the assassination, calling it a "[A] new page in Russian resistance to Putinism. New—but not the last."[68] [69] [70]

Ponomarev also used both February Morning and Rospartizan to publicize the purported manifesto of National Republican Army declaring Vladimir Putin an usurper and public enemy to be destroyed. The statement calls for the mutiny of Russian military to end to "fratricidal war between the Slavic peoples." The purported manifesto also calls for the adoption of the white-blue-white flag in place of the Russian tricolor; the white-blue-white flag motif had previously been adopted by February Morning on air and in social media profiles.[71] [72] [73] [74] [75]

Russia's state-owned TASS news agency quoted the Federal Security Service claimed the assassin was a Ukrainian citizen named Natalya Vovk.[76] Ponomarev told Meduza that his contacts deny that Vovk directly carried out the attack, while also leaving open the possibility that she had some other undisclosed role. Ponomarev also claimed that he contributed to her escape from Russia, and called her "a person who deserves protection."[77] [78]

In an interview about the Russian NRA conducted by for the Kyiv Post, Ponomarev acknowledged his support of the group while disavowing his own membership, and denied having direct foreknowledge of its actions. Ponomarev's account describes the NRA as being a "a network" rather than an organization, which consists of clandestine cells that are compartmentalized and autonomous. He describes the group as having "a slight left-leaning orientation," and that it "embraces social justice, gets rid of oligarchs, and moves away from the new-liberalism approaches of Yeltsin and Putin." Asked about the reaction from fellow exiles and dissidents to his support of partisan activity, Ponomarev claimed to have been disinvited from an opposition meeting.[79]

In a subsequent interview with Spektr, Ponomarev agreed with his interviewer Lev Kadik's characterization of his own role vis-a-vis the NRA as similar to the role of Gerry Adams and Sinn Féin vis-a-vis the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), and claimed that his role is limited to providing publicity, helping fugitives, and providing technical assistance; he denied providing weapons. In addition, Ponomarev offered parallels to the relationship of African National Congress and its armed wing UMkhonto we Sizwe.[80]

Criticism and skepticism

, The Guardian and Associated Press articles concerning the death of Dugina and its aftermath state that the claim of a National Republican Army responsibility cannot be confirmed.[81]

In an interview with Ponomarev for Meduza, both the interviewer Svetlana Reiter and the editor note skepticism about his claims about the Russian NRA, his accommodations of Putin in his Duma career, and the source of his wealth. Separately, Meduza managing editor Kevin Rothrock questioned Ponomarev's integrity, the existence of the NRA, and implied that both Dugin and Dugina were "civilians" who should not have been targeted.[82]

Sergey S. Radchenko, the Distinguished Professor at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, told Deutsche Welle he found the claim of responsibility and manifesto to both be "dodgy."

Citing the livestream of Yulia Latynina, Cathy Young mused on the possibility that Ponomarev is a "a grifter trying to sell a good story," but noted that the NRA manifesto's appeal to patriotism is not suggestive of black propaganda.[83]

Deutsche Welle's reporter in Kyiv Roman Goncharenko said that "there are more questions than answers" about the group, and noted that the group's purported manifesto employs a call to action "fight like us, fight with us, fight better than us!" inspired by the Deutscher Fernsehfunk children's television show that aired in both East Germany and the Soviet Union until 1991.

Asked about the reaction from fellow exiles and dissidents to his support of partisan activity, Ponomarev claimed to have been disinvited from an opposition meeting. This was later specified to be a forthcoming meeting in Vilnius in August 2022, co-organized by prominent liberal dissidents Garry Kasparov and Mikhail Khodorkovsky under the name of the Russian Action Committee . Ponomarev responded by mocking the gathering as the "Committee of Inaction."[84] [85]

Congress of People's Deputies

Ponomarev is one of the original organizers[86] and Executive Council member of the Congress of People's Deputies, which is a "...transitional parliament established upon the initiative of 59 Russian deputies, of various levels, from the federal to the municipal, to exercise legislative power after the coming final collapse of the regime of Vladimir Putin – who is a usurper of power.[87] "

The Congress of People's Deputies met for the first time in Warsaw in November 2022. A second meeting of the Congress was held in Warsaw on 20–23 February 2023.[88]

Personal life

Ponomarev is divorced from Kateryna, a journalist.[89] He has a son (born 1995) and a daughter (2000).[89] [90] His mother, Larisa Ponomareva, was an MP in the upper house of Russia's Parliament, the Federation Council, until September 2013, when she was forced to resign following her lone vote against the Dima Yakovlev Law. Ponomarev is a nephew of Boris Ponomarev, Secretary for International Relations of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Ponomarev's grandfather Nikolai Ponomarev was the Soviet ambassador to Poland.

On 1 August 2024 Ponomarev's house in Kyiv Oblast was damaged by a Russian drone strike. He and his wife were injured and hospitalised. Ponomarev claimed this was Russia's fifth assassination attempt "and most successful."[91]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gorelova . Anastasia . Russian deputy isolated after opposing Crimea annexation . Reuters. 25 March 2014 . 24 December 2015.
  2. Unanimous Russia: Crimea Marks Open Season on Enemies. Antonova, Maria . Russian Life. 57. 3. May–June 2014. 28 January 2019. 29 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190129010220/https://www.questia.com/magazine/1G1-371193058/unanimous-russia-crimea-marks-open-season-on-enemies. dead.
  3. Web site: Russia accuses deputy who opposed Crimea seizure of embezzlement. Reuters. 24 June 2015.
  4. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/08/putin-s-nemesis-dmitry-gudkov-dishes-on-his-achilles-heel.html Putin's Nemesis Dmitry Gudkov Dishes On His Achilles’ Heel
  5. Web site: 2016-12-27 . Екс-депутат Держдуми РФ дав слідству свідчення у справі Януковича . Ex-deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation testifies in the investigation of the Yanukovych case . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20161229031335/http://pda.pravda.com.ua/news/id_7131075/ . 2016-12-29 . 2022-08-25 . Ukrainska Pravda (Ukrainian: Українська правда) . uk.
  6. Web site: Заикнулись о вооруженной борьбе. "Спектр" понаблюдал за антивоенной конференцией Форума свободной России в Вильнюсе . 2022-08-24 . Спектр-Пресс . ru-RU.
  7. Web site: "Мы находимся на войне". Илья Пономарев о неизвестной до убийства Дугиной "НРА" и своей роли в ней . 2022-08-24 . Спектр-Пресс . ru-RU.
  8. Web site: Owen . Andy . 2022-08-24 . As Ukraine marks its independence, Russia's war now haunts the streets of Moscow . 2022-08-24 . The New European . en-GB.
  9. Web site: Does Putin Have to Die? . 2022-08-24 . Skyhorse Publishing . en-US.
  10. Web site: Defeat Could Widen Split in Communist Party . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714221947/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-88388960.html . dead . 14 July 2014 . Francesca Mereu . 11 December 2003 . The Moscow Times . 22 October 2012.
  11. News: Working Russia's Streets, and Its Halls of Power . David M. Herszenhorn . 23 June 2012 . The New York Times . 5 January 2013 . https://archive.today/20130105040955/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/world/europe/ponomarev-works-to-change-russia-from-the-inside.html?_r=1& . 22 October 2012 . live .
  12. Web site: Наташа Барч, Антон Баумгартен, Рудольф Гаримов и Виктор Зайцев "Неотроцкисты", паяльники и все такое... . Natasha Barch, Anton Baumgarten, Rudolf Garimov and Victor Zaitsev "Neo-Trotskyists", soldering irons and all that... . 14 August 2014 . unfit . https://web.archive.org/web/20140616060305/http://left.ru/2008/12/burtsev181.phtml . 16 June 2014 .
  13. Web site: Ilya Ponomarev: When fathers fail, youth should continue . Versia. ru. 24 December 2015.
  14. Web site: Ilya Ponomarev and Alyona Popova: Stop feeding Moscow! . Tayga.info . 14 August 2014 . 14 August 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140814060709/http://tayga.info/details/2011/12/02/~106131 . dead .
  15. Web site: Ilya Ponomarev: program of the left . Ilya Ponomarev's blog . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160127162149/http://ilya-ponomarev.livejournal.com/471053.html . 27 January 2016 .
  16. Web site: Ilya Ponomarev and Karin Clement: What is modern left in Russia . Polit.ru. 24 December 2015.
  17. Web site: Ilya Ponomarev about opposition, Siberian and agreements with Kremlin . Tayga.info . 14 August 2014 . 14 August 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140814061007/http://tayga.info/video/2013/02/03/~111388 . dead .
  18. Web site: Ilya Ponomarev: our main problem is ourselves . Moscow Vedomosti.
  19. Web site: Two years of movement . Vasily Koltashov.
  20. Web site: Kiev checkpoint for Russian left . Ilya Ponomarev's blog . 24 December 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160127162149/http://ilya-ponomarev.livejournal.com/639620.html . 27 January 2016 .
  21. Web site: Modern left in Russia . Ilya Ponomarev. Myshared.ru. 24 December 2015.
  22. Web site: MIT SkolTech Program . 2019. mit.edu. 27 May 2019.
  23. Web site: Putin's party loses mayor race in Russia's third largest city . GlobalPost . 4 April 2014 . 11 April 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140408113316/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140407/putins-party-loses-mayor-race-russias-third-largest-city . 8 April 2014 .
  24. Web site: Russian leader Putin names new Cabinet . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714223747/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1A1-a866f649499c45b9995978c0e93ae27c.html . dead . 14 July 2014 . Vladimir Isachenkov . 21 May 2012 . Associated Press . 22 October 2012.
  25. News: Russian Parliament Bars Opposition Lawmaker From Speaking . Andrew Roth . 26 October 2012 . The New York Times . 30 January 2013 . https://archive.today/20130130182452/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/29/world/europe/russian-parliament-silences-opposition-lawmaker-ilya-v-ponomarev.html?_r=0 . 22 October 2012 . live .
  26. News: Heavy Rain in Southern Russia Brings Deadly Flash Floods . Andrew E. Kramer . 7 July 2012 . The New York Times . 31 January 2013 . https://archive.today/20130131080145/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/world/europe/fatal-flooding-in-southern-russia-after-heavy-rain.html?_r=0 . 22 October 2012 . live .
  27. News: Taylor . Adam . Meet the one Russian lawmaker who voted against making Crimea part of Russia . The Washington Post. 19 March 2014 . 24 December 2015.
  28. Web site: Сегодня в Думе рассматривают закон об интернете во втором (и в третьем) чтении. Правда о законе . Ponomarev's blog, Livejournal.com . Today, the Duma is considering the law on the Internet in the second (and third) reading. The truth about the law . 7 November 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130706033418/http://ilya-ponomarev.livejournal.com/512193.html . 6 July 2013 .
  29. News: Russian Duma Passes Internet Censorship Bill. The Wall Street Journal. 11 July 2012. Lukas I. Alpert.
  30. News: "Kитайский интернет" в России, а также – почему Илья Пономарев голосовал за интернет-цензуру . "Chinese Internet" in Russia, and also – why Ilya Ponomarev voted for Internet censorship . Эхо России (общественно-политический журнал). 26 November 2012.
  31. Web site: Заявление членов Совета в отношении законопроекта № 89417-6 «О внесении изменений в Федеральный закон "О защите детей от информации, причиняющей вред их здоровью и развитию" . Statement of Council Members Regarding Draft Law No. 89417-6 "On Amendments to the Federal Law "On the Protection of Children from Information Harmful to Their Health and Development" . Совет при Президенте Российской Федерации по развитию гражданского общества и правам человека. 30 January 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20121028171623/http://president-sovet.ru/council_decision/council_statement/zayavlenie_chlenov_soveta_v_otnoshenii_zakonoproekta_89417_6.php. live. 28 October 2012.
  32. Web site: More over Internet self-governing law . Ilya Ponomarev . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160127162149/http://ilya-ponomarev.livejournal.com/513137.html . 27 January 2016 .
  33. Web site: Почему Илья Пономарев голосовал за реестр запрещенных сайтов . Идiотъ: Махим Кононенко's blog. Why Ilya Ponomarev voted for the register of banned sites . 14 November 2012.
  34. News: Полиция обыскала офис холдинга "Инфра инжиниринг" Константина Малофеева . Police searched the office of Konstantin Malofeev at the "Infra Engineering" holding . Ведомости. 12 November 2013.
  35. Web site: Пиратский Митинг Против Закона Против Интернета: Tupikin . Pirate Rally Against Law Against Internet: Tupikin . Tupikin.livejournal.com . 29 July 2013 . 24 December 2015.
  36. Web site: Dirty tricks while passing new Internet legislation . Ilya Ponomarev . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130627041053/http://ilya-ponomarev.livejournal.com/586061.html . 27 June 2013 .
  37. Web site: Why Navalny called me a jerk . Ilya Ponomarev . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140318014211/http://ilya-ponomarev.livejournal.com/627727.html . 18 March 2014 .
  38. News: Opposition Figure Wanted in Russia Says He Was Kidnapped and Tortured . David M. Herzenhorn . 22 October 2012 . The New York Times . 7 June 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140607021141/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/world/europe/leonid-razvozzhayev-russian-opposition-figure-says-he-was-kidnapped-and-tortured.html?_r=0 . 22 October 2012 . live .
  39. Web site: Russia must investigate claims Leonid Razvozzhayev was abducted and tortured . 24 October 2012 . Amnesty International . 27 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141027185937/http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/russia-must-investigate-claims-leonid-ravozzhayev-was-abducted-and-tortured . 22 October 2012. live.
  40. Web site: http://lifenews.ru/news/104270 . ru:Леонид Развозжаев признался в организации беспорядков на митинге 6 мая на Болотной площади в Москве . ru . 22 October 2012 . . 24 October 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121024213531/http://lifenews.ru/news/104270 . 22 October 2012. live.
  41. Web site: The Seizure of Leonid Razvozzhayev . Brian Whitmore . 23 October 2012 . Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty . 27 October 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121027152346/http://www.rferl.org/content/the-seizure-of-leonid-razozzhayev/24748788.html . 22 October 2012. live.
  42. News: Bidder . Benjamin . Propaganda im Ukraine-Konflikt: Intellektuelle fliehen aus Putins Russland . Propaganda in the Ukraine conflict: intellectuals flee Putin's Russia . de . . 8 September 2014 . 26 August 2021 . 8 September 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140908230350/https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/ukraine-russland-jagt-die-intellektuellen-aus-dem-land-a-990452.html.
  43. Web site: И снова про Украину – Илья Пономарёв . And again about Ukraine – Ilya Ponomarev . Ilya-ponomarev.livejournal.com . 24 December 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160127162149/http://ilya-ponomarev.livejournal.com/635493.html . 27 January 2016 .
  44. News: MacFarquhar . Neil . 2014-03-28 . Odd Man Out When Vote Was 445-1 on Crimea . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-08-22 . 0362-4331.
  45. News: Taylor . Adam . 2015-03-23 . A year ago he was the only Russian politician to vote against annexing Crimea. Now he's an exile. . . 2022-08-22.
  46. News: Odd Man Out When Vote Was 445-1 on Crimea. 28 March 2014. The New York Times. 26 November 2018.
  47. Web site: Ilya Ponomarev: Opposing Putin's empire of swindlers and thieves . rabble.ca . 7 December 2015.
  48. News: Rosie Gray. Russia Today Should Be Regulated As Lobbyists, Opposition Lawmaker Says. 6 May 2015. BuzzFeed News. 23 March 2015. Last August, Ponomarev found out that he had been charged with illegally funneling money from a startup foundation he was involved with, charges he has said are "fabricated" and really meant as payback for his Crimea vote. Since then, Ponomarev has been living in San José..
  49. News: Taylor . Adam . A year ago he was the only Russian politician to vote against annexing Crimea. Now he's an exile. . The Washington Post. 24 December 2015.
  50. http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/world/europe/russian-lawmakers-take-step-to-remove-putin-critic.html "Lawmakers Take Step to Remove Putin Critic"
  51. News: Russia Lawmaker Who Opposed Crimea Probed . Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 9 June 2015 .
  52. News: Lone Russian Lawmaker To Oppose Crimean Annexation Faces Fraud Probe . Radiofreeeurope/Radioliberty . Radio Free Europe.
  53. Web site: Ilya Ponomarev, a Lone Warrior Who Stands Up to Putin. Newsweek. 30 April 2015.
  54. News: 12 June 2016 . Илью Пономарева лишили мандата депутата Госдумы РФ . ru . Ilya Ponomarev was deprived of the mandate of the deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation . .
  55. News: Госдума лишила Илью Пономарева депутатского мандата . The State Duma deprived Ilya Ponomarev of his deputy mandate . TASS. 10 June 2016.
  56. Web site: Petrenko . Victoria . 2019-05-17 . Poroshenko grants Ukrainian citizenship to ex-member of Russia's Duma Ponomarev – May. 17, 2019 . 2022-08-22 . KyivPost.
  57. Web site: 2016-07-21 . BBC World News – HARDtalk, Ilya Ponomarev, Modern Russia like '1930s Germany' says Ilya Ponomarev . 2022-08-25 . BBC . en-GB.
  58. Web site: Walker . Shaun . 23 March 2017 . Denis Voronenkov: former Russian MP who fled to Ukraine shot dead in Kiev . 23 March 2017 . The Guardian.
  59. Web site: 28 April 2022 . Ukraine: Explosions in central Kyiv amid UN chief's visit – as it happened . 29 April 2022 . DW.com.
  60. Web site: Andrew Stanton . 2022-06-07 . Journalists looking to topple Putin are targeting two types of Russians . 2022-08-21 . Newsweek . en.
  61. Web site: Утро Февраля – YouTube . 2022-08-21 . YouTube.
  62. Ptak . Guillaume . The Telegram-Powered News Outlet Waging Guerrilla War on Russia . en-US . Wired . 2022-08-30 . 1059-1028.
  63. News: Beardsley . Eleanor . Eleanor Beardsley. A scrappy newscast in Kyiv aimed at Russians counters Putin's propaganda machine . NPR . 26 March 2023.
  64. Web site: Harding . Luke . 2022-06-07 . Russian-language Ukrainian TV channel aims to topple Putin . 2022-08-21 . The Guardian . en-UK.
  65. Web site: 2022-08-13 . 'The west doesn't want Russians partying in the streets of Europe': calls grow for a visa ban . 2022-08-23 . The Guardian . en.
  66. Web site: Kadik . Lev . 2022-05-22 . Заикнулись о вооруженной борьбе. "Спектр" понаблюдал за антивоенной конференцией Форума свободной России в Вильнюсе . Hinting at armed struggle: Spektr watched the anti-war conference of the Free Russia Forum in Vilnius . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220522131612/https://spektr.press/zaiknulis-o-vooruzhennoj-borbe/ . 2022-05-22 . 2022-08-25 . Спектр-Пресс . ru-RU.
  67. News: Sebastian . Tim . Does Putin want to 'crush' NATO? Conflict Zone . YouTube . DW News . 29 June 2022.
  68. Web site: 2022-08-21 . Илья Пономарев: "Ответственность за взрыв автомобиля Дарьи Дугиной взяла на себя "Национальная республиканская армия"" . Ilya Ponomarev: "The "National Republican Army" takes responsibility for the explosion of Darya Dugina's car" . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220821180142/https://utro02.tv/2022/08/21/ilya-ponomarev-zachital-manifest-naczionalnoj-respublikanskoj-armii-likvidacziya-dari-duginoj-eto-akcziya-soprotivleniya-prestupnoj-vlasti-putina/ . 2022-08-21 . 2022-08-21 . February Morning (Russian: Утро Февраля) . ru.
  69. Web site: 2022-08-21 . Ex-Russian MP claims Russian partisans responsible for Moscow car bomb . 2022-08-21 . The Guardian . en.
  70. News: 2022-08-21 . Suspected car bomb kills daughter of Russian nationalist known as 'Putin's brain' . Associated Press . 2022-08-21.
  71. Web site: ЗАЯВЛЕНИЕ НАЦИОНАЛЬНОЙ РЕСПУБЛИКАНСКОЙ АРМИИ (НРА) ОТ 21.08.2022 . STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN ARMY (NRA) DATED 08/21/2022 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20220821215144/https://t.me/rospartizan/965 . 21 August 2022 . 2022-08-21 . Rospartizan Russian: Роспартизан . ru . Telegram .
  72. Web site: 2022-08-21 . В РОССИИ СОЗДАНА НАЦИОНАЛЬНАЯ РЕСПУБЛИКАНСКАЯ АРМИЯ, ОСУЩЕСТВИВШАЯ ПОКУШЕНИЕ НА ДУГИНА . NATIONAL REPUBLICAN ARMY IS ESTABLISHED IN RUSSIA, RESPONSIBLE FOR ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF DUGIN . 2022-08-25 . YouTube . February Morning (Russian: Утро Февраля) . ru .
  73. Web site: Утро Февраля . February Morning . 2022-08-22 . YouTube.
  74. Web site: Утро Февраля VK . 2022-08-22 . vk.com . en.
  75. Web site: @utrofevralya24 . 2022-08-22 . Twitter . en.
  76. Web site: FSB solves Darya Dugina's murder, masterminded by Ukrainian secret services . 2022-08-22 . TASS.
  77. Web site: "Они видели, что в машину садятся два человека. И думали, что второй – Дугин" Интервью Ильи Пономарева. Он комментирует убийство Дугиной от лица мистической "Национальной республиканской армии", которая, по его словам, устроила этот взрыв . "They saw two people getting into the car. And they thought that the second one was Dugin". Interview with Ilya Ponomarev. He comments on the murder of Dugina on behalf of the mystical "National Republican Army", which, according to him, staged this explosion. . 2022-08-22 . Meduza . ru.
  78. Web site: 'Our task is to finish off Putin' Ex-lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev on Daria Dugina's death, the National Republican Army, and bringing down the Russian regime . 2022-08-23 . Meduza . en.
  79. Web site: Smart . Jason Jay . 2022-08-23 . Exclusive interview: Russia's NRA Begins Activism – KyivPost – Ukraine's Global Voice . 2022-08-23 . KyivPost.
  80. Web site: "Мы находимся на войне". Илья Пономарев о неизвестной до убийства Дугиной "НРА" и своей роли в ней . "We are at war." Ilya Ponomarev about the "NRA" unknown before the murder of Dugina and his role in it . 2022-08-24 . Спектр-Пресс . ru-RU.
  81. Web site: Sabbagh . Dan . Harding . Luke . 2022-08-21 . Ukraine braces for intensified attacks after Moscow car bomb killing . 2022-08-21 . The Guardian . en.
  82. Web site: Rothrock . Kevin . The Russia Guy #199 . 2022-08-23 . Telegram . The Russia Guy.
  83. Web site: Young . Cathy . 2022-08-25 . The Dugina Killing Aftermath . 2022-08-25 . The Bulwark . en-US.
  84. Web site: The Russian Action Committee . 2022-08-23 . Комитет действия . ru-RU.
  85. Web site: 2022-08-23 . Илья Пономарев: "Ненасильственный протест в России мы уже проходили" . Ilya Ponomarev: "We have already gone through non-violent protest in Russia" . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220823230738/https://utro02.tv/2022/08/23/ilya-ponomarev-nenasilstvennyj-protest-v-rossii-my-uzhe-prohodili/ . 2022-08-23 . 2022-08-23 . utro02.tv . ru.
  86. News: Brennan . David . 2 November 2022 . Russian Revolutionaries Prepare for Post-Putin Future . Newsweek .
  87. Web site: Homepage for Congress of People's Deputies . Congress of People's Deputies . 7 December 2022 . 16 March 2023 . 11 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230511193041/https://rosdep.org/en/glavnaya-english/ . dead .
  88. Web site: 15 February 2023 . Second Plenary Session of Congress of People's Deputies 20 – 23 February 2023, Warsaw, Poland . Congress of People's Deputies . 16 March 2023 . 25 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230325165340/https://rosdep.org/en/second-plenary-session-of-congress-of-peoples-deputies-20-23-february-2023-warsaw-poland/ . dead .
  89. Web site: Small biography on Ilya Ponomarev. 1 August 2024. 20 January 2023. . uk.
  90. Web site: Ilya Ponomarev . ru . A Just Russia . 22 February 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120222164213/http://duma.spravedlivo.ru/membership/surrnames/?Id=30 . 22 October 2012 . live .
  91. News: 1 August 2024. Shahed drone wreckage hits home of Russian opposition figure in Kyiv Oblast. Ukrainska Pravda. 1 August 2024. English.
    News: 1 August 2024. Будинок російського опозиціонера Пономарьова під Києвом зазнав пошкоджень після атаки дроном: політик отримав численні поранення. Фото. The house of the Russian opposition Ponomarev near Kyiv was damaged after the drone attack: the politician was wounded many times. Photo. Obozrevatel. 1 August 2024. Ukrainian.