<ul class="summary-list"><li>Putin critic Vladimir Kura-Murza was arrested outside his home in Moscow on Monday.</li><li><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/15/vladimir-kara-murza-jail-letter-russia/">In an op-ed written from jail</a>, he said he met many other anti-war activists. </li></ul>Putin critic and <keyword id="11901409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="washington-post" source="Orion">Washington Post</keyword> columnist <keyword id="13597600" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="vladimir-kara-murza" source="Orion">Vladimir Kara-Murza</keyword> wrote from jail that hundreds of Russian anti-war protesters are being detained alongside him in a new op-ed published Friday by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/15/vladimir-kara-murza-jail-letter-russia/">The Washington Post</a>.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/washington-post-columnist-arrested-in-moscow-after-criticizing-putin-2022-4">He was arrested</a> on Monday — the same day that he<a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2022/04/11/russia-putin-poison-vladimir-kara-murza-bigpicture-cnnplus.cnn"> was interviewed by CNN</a> — where he called Putin's government "a regime of murderers." In his op-ed, he detailed how he was arrested and how the Kremlin spun it."When I returned home on Monday evening and began to park my car, five or six police officers of the Second Special Regiment of Moscow's Main Internal Affairs Directorate, who had been waiting at the entrance, rushed at me, hustled me into their minibus, took away my phone and drove me to the Khamovniki police station," Kara-Murza wrote in the op-ed.In his most recent op-ed, which he submitted from jail through his lawyer, he claimed that his arrest was due to his anti-war position and that his sentencing process was highly political.Kara-Murza has routinely campaigned against Putin's regime and says he survived two poisonings in 2015 and 2017, according to The Post. Independent investigative units like Bellingcat <a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2021/02/11/vladimir-kara-murza-tailed-by-members-of-fsb-squad-prior-to-suspected-poisonings/">claimed that FSB agents involved in Alexei Navalny's poisoning</a> also tailed Kara-Murza before poisoning him — a claim the Kremlin denies. "In fact, no one hid it. When the officers of the Khamovniki Police Department, who brought me to Special Detention Center No. 2 in Khoroshevo-Mnevniki to serve out my sentence, rang the doorbell, they said: 'Here's a political for you,'" Kara-Murza wrote, referring to jailed anti-war protesters. '"They should have called you from headquarters.'"Kara-Murza claimed that he spent the first day "in a stone box measuring 2-by-3 meters" and met other war critics, noting there were hundreds of protesters of all ages in jail for taking action against the war."When you are told that no one protests against the war in <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword>, don't believe it," Kara-Murza wrote. "The night, as you know, is darkest just before the light.He also offered a glimmer of hope in the fight against Putin's regime and for free speech in the country."As <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/10/boris-nemtsov-murder-bellingcat-investigation/?itid=lk_inline_manual_15">Boris Nemtsov</a> liked to say: 'We can do it.' Russia will be free. I've never been so sure of it as I am today," he wrote.Kara-Murza's arrest came weeks after Putin introduced and the Russian parliament subsequently passed a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/news-outlets-cnn-bloomberg-bbc-suspending-operations-russia-putin-law-2022-3">draconian media censorship law</a> that allows the government to jail journalists who report what the Kremlin deems to be "fake" <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">news</keyword> about the military.Reporters and private citizens can be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison, and cannot use the word "war" publicly to describe the war in <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword>.Washington Post publisher and CEO Fred Ryan sent Insider a statement earlier in the week saying that Kara-Murza "has been relentless and courageous in his efforts to bring the truth about his country's leadership to light.""Following poisonings and other grave threats, this outrageous detention is the latest move in <keyword id="11899444" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="vladimir-putin" source="Orion">Vladimir Putin</keyword>'s ongoing effort to silence Kara-Murza and hide the truth about the atrocities Putin is committing in the Russian people's name," Ryan said in the statement. "No one should be deceived by the Russian government's trumped-up charges and smears, and Kara-Murza should be released immediately."The columnist's wife, Evgenia Kara-Murza, demanded her husband's release in a tweet."Twice have the Russian authorities tried to kill my husband for advocating for sanctions against thieves and murderers, and now they want to throw him in prison for calling their bloody war a WAR," she <a href="https://twitter.com/ekaramurza/status/1513678359871606787">tweeted</a>. "I demand my husband's immediate release!"

Putin critic writes op-ed from jail claiming that police have imprisoned hundreds of Russians protesting the war in Ukraine

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="13597600" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="vladimir-kara-murza" source="Orion">Vladimir Kara-Murza</keyword> faces up to 15 days in jail for disobeying police orders, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/11/prominent-russian-opposition-activist-detained-in-moscow">The Guardian reported</a>. </li><li><keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword> has increased <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-legislature-pass-law-punish-false-information-ukraine-jail-time-2022-3">punishments against journalists</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-arrests-anti-war-protesters-ukraine-invasion-2022-2">anti-war activists</a> since the invasion began.</li></ul>Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian journalist and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-dissident-kara-murza-trump-putin-2017-3">outspoken critic of the Kremlin</a>, was arrested on Monday in Moscow on charges of failing to obey police orders, his lawyer told the independent Russian <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">news</keyword> outlet <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CcN2Tuwsbv3/">Sota</a>.He faces up to 15 days in jail or a small fine, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/11/prominent-russian-opposition-activist-detained-in-moscow">the Guardian reported.</a> It is unclear whether Kara-Murza's <keyword id="42737" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="arrest" source="Orion">arrest</keyword> is linked to his vocal opposition to the invasion of <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword>, but his detainment comes at a time when the Kremlin is increasing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-legislature-pass-law-punish-false-information-ukraine-jail-time-2022-3">arrests of journalists</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-arrests-anti-war-protesters-ukraine-invasion-2022-2">anti-war activists</a>. "[I]t seems to me that they are very annoyed by his behavior and actions with regard to the taking up of sanctions against Russia and for other reasons," Aleksander Podrabinek, a prominent Russian human rights activist and supporter of Kara-Murza told <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CcOSOKHIQ3x/">Sota</a> about the arrest. "But mostly I think they are outraged by his courage."Kara-Murza has previously said he was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-dissident-kara-murza-trump-putin-2017-3">poisoned on two separate occasions</a> for his critiques of <keyword id="11909347" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="putin" source="Orion">Putin</keyword>, once which <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putins-accused-of-poisoning-critic-2015-5">almost killed him due to acute kidney failure</a> and the second left him in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vladimir-kara-murza-poisoned-undefined-substance-2017-2">a medically induced coma</a> for several days. Translations by Nikita Ilyich Angarski.

Prominent Putin critic arrested in Moscow

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A top aide to <keyword id="11910356" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="alexei-navalny" source="Orion">Alexei Navalny</keyword> says <keyword id="11899444" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="vladimir-putin" source="Orion">Vladimir Putin</keyword>'s war in <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword> "speeds up his demise."</li><li>"The people in the political and economic elite have seen their lifestyles turned upside down," Vladimir Ashurkov told Insider.</li></ul>A top aide of the imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says Russian President Vladimir Putin has accelerated his own downfall by launching an unprovoked war in Ukraine."The beginning of the end of Putin started some time ago. But I'm confident that this war has made many people in <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword> and outside of Russia unhappy with him. The people in the political and economic elite have seen their lifestyles turned upside down, their fortunes decimated," Vladimir Ashurkov, the executive director of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, told Insider.Putin's war in Ukraine has led countries across the globe to impose broad, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-will-announce-sanctions-on-putin-ukraine-invasion-cnn-2022-2">unprecedented economic sanctions</a> on Russia. The conflict has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-invasion-of-ukraine-backfired-united-west-in-unprecedented-ways-2022-2">united the West in major ways</a> and reinvigorated the NATO military alliance. The <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international" source="Orion">international</keyword> community has also turned against Moscow, with the UN General Assembly voting in early April to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-suspended-from-un-human-rights-council-over-ukraine-invasion-2022-4">suspend Russia</a> from the UN Human Rights Council.Two months after the February 24 invasion, the Russian military has struggled to make any major gains and has turned its attention to the eastern Donbas region after failing to take Kyiv. It's estimated that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2022/apr/25/russia-has-lost-15000-troops-since-start-of-ukraine-invasion-says-uk-defence-secretary-video">up to 15,000 Russia troops</a> have been killed in Ukraine so far, with a staggering number of Russian generals among the dead.Average Russians are seeing brands they have become accustomed to like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/list-all-the-companies-pulling-out-of-russia-ukraine-war-2022-3#2-ikea-2">McDonald's and Ikea</a> leave their country because of the war, and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/inflation-russia-hits-highest-since-early-2002-2022-04-20/">inflation is soaring to record levels</a>.Even with Navalny imprisoned, the Kremlin critic's organization senses an opportunity and is working to counter Russian propaganda that obscures or denies the brutal realities of the Ukraine war, while continuing to investigate corruption among Putin's inner circle."This makes Putin highly unpopular and it affects everybody. I do believe that this speeds up his demise," Ashurkov said.<h2>'It was never really easy for Russian opposition ever'</h2><div type="image" title="Vladimir Putin grinning" height="1332" width="1776" msid="91135050" hostid="261"></div>But taking down Putin, who has been in power for roughly two decades, will not happen overnight.The Russian leader has gone to extraordinary lengths to quash opposition and stifle dissent. Navalny, the Kremlin's most prominent critic, is a prime example. The anti-corruption campaigner was poisoned in Siberia with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok in August 2020 and nearly died. Putin has been condemned worldwide over Navalny's poisoning, though he's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-denies-poisoning-navalny-says-russia-wouldve-finished-the-job-2020-12">denied any involvement</a>.After receiving treatment in Germany, Navalny returned to Moscow in early 2021 and was promptly arrested. He was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for violating parole, including during treatment in Germany, from a 2014 embezzlement conviction. His imprisonment led to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navalny-top-aide-says-putin-was-dumb-imprison-him-symbol-2021-6">mass protests</a> in Russia.Last month, Navalny saw <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navalny-quotes-the-wire-in-tweet-after-being-sentenced-to-9-more-years-2022-3">nine years</a> added to his sentence by a judge who was personally promoted by Putin to a higher court just days before. Human-rights groups have <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/03/russia-opposition-leader-aleksei-navalny-sentenced-to-9-years-in-prison-in-cynical-deprivation-of-his-human-rights/">decried the charges against Navalny</a> as politically motivated.Navalny has continued to criticize Putin from prison and has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alexei-navalny-urges-global-protests-putins-russia-brutal-ukraine-war-2022-3">called on Russians to vehemently oppose the war in Ukraine</a>. And though Navalny's political network was banned in Russia last year after being dubbed "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navalny-political-network-banned-in-russia-lawyer-arrested-in-moscow-2021-4">extremist</a>," his foundation hasn't ceased its efforts to expose corruption.<div type="image" title="Vladimir Ashurkov and Alexei Navalny" height="1333" width="1778" msid="91135051" hostid="261"></div>But with Navalny in prison and a new crackdown on independent media amid the faltering Ukraine war, keeping the Russian opposition movement alive is no easy task. Ashurkov, who lives in exile in London, said it's "not safe for our staff to work in Russia." The foundation relocated staff members to Lithuania in 2021, establishing a new office in Vilnius, after the "extremist" designation."The last year and a half have been difficult for us and for the whole democratic movement and independent journalists in Russia. This has been made many times more difficult since the war with the Ukraine started two months ago," Ashurkov said, calling the situation "quite an ordeal." Shortly after launching the war in Ukraine, Putin signed a law that could see people sentenced to up to 15 years for spreading "<a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/03/04/putin-signs-law-introducing-jail-terms-for-fake-news-on-army-a76768">fake news</a>" about the Russian military. Thousands of <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/07/1084967986/russia-arrests-more-protesters">anti-war protesters</a> in Russia have been arrested."Over the last two months, we've seen the last independent media outlets in Russia closed," Ashurkov said. "Many people emigrated. Repression increased. Our good friend and ally Vladimir Kara-Murza has been <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/04/22/kremlin-critic-kara-murza-faces-prison-on-war-fakes-charges-a77462">put in detention</a> for basically a speech that he has given in the US on the war. It is tough, but it was never really easy for Russian opposition ever.""We continue our work," he added. The Anti-Corruption Foundation is primarily focused on three areas at present, he added, including expanding its social-media presence — particularly on YouTube — and attempting to break through Putin's propaganda blitz (reaching Russians via virtual-private-network connections), anti-corruption investigations, and an increased focus on sanctions.The Anti-Corruption Foundation this week released a list of more than 6,000 people "who are involved to different extent in various aspects of the war in Ukraine and who we believe should be considered for sanctioning," Ashurkov said.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Leonid Volkov (@leonidvolkov) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1518963321944350721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2022</a></blockquote>"These are the big things we are trying to do in these difficult conditions," he added.Navalny's allies are constantly preparing for "when the situation in Russia changes and a political crisis emerges," Ashurkov said. "And we're confident that this war has actually expedited and brought forward to this stage. We are quite optimistic."<h2>'The situation is quite dire for everybody'</h2><div type="image" title="alexei navalny" height="1666" width="2222" msid="91135052" hostid="261"></div>Ashurkov said that Navalny continued to play a key role in the foundation's work and that he remained in contact with Navalny through lawyers."Our team and his family communicate with Alexei through a lawyer that visits him on weekdays for about an hour," Ashurkov said. "And during this time he scribbles his handwritten notes to his family and to us, and he reads whatever materials we sent him. Despite being in prison, he's still very much an integral part of our team."But it's not clear how long that line of communication will remain available, particularly given the recent extension of Navalny's sentence."We don't know whether he will be moved," Ashurkov said. "It's still up in the air."Navalny went on hunger strike in prison last year while demanding proper medical care, and there were grave concerns among his allies that he was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-alexei-navalny-ends-hunger-strike-2021-4">on the verge of death</a>. Ashurkov said Navalny's health "seems fine" at the moment but that didn't mean he's not still in danger."Russian security services have shown us that they can do all kinds of bad things in all parts of the world," Ashurkov said. "Navalny has already been poisoned.""He remains in Russian prison — not a particularly safe place," he added. "So we are concerned, but for now he feels OK."He went on to describe Navalny's story as being "one filled with miracles.""A miraculous recuperation after a murder attempt, an <a href="https://apnews.com/article/alexei-navalny-poisoning-underpants-202f470c2d1c19151b9deb564d94e8f9">epic call</a> to one of his assassins, a return to Russia despite all the threats," he said. "He will defy whatever threats come his way in the future as well."But Ashurkov also underscored dangers extending well beyond Navalny, Russia, and Ukraine."I don't think anybody on planet Earth has a secure future when there is a maniac with a nuclear bomb banging it around," he said of Putin. "The situation is quite dire for everybody."

Top Navalny aide says the 'beginning of the end' for Putin began 'some time ago' and the Ukraine war 'speeds up his demise'

How Vladimir Putin became one of the most feared leaders in the world

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A top Ukrainian military official's wife was diagnosed with heavy metal poisoning, officials said. </li><li>Marianna Budanova is recovering in a hospital after falling ill, Ukrainian media reported.</li></ul>The wife of Ukraine's top military intelligence official is recovering in a hospital after being poisoned by heavy metals, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday.Marianna Budanova, the wife of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-running-out-of-resources-faces-reckoning-ukraine-spy-chief-2023-9">Kyrylo Budanov</a>, who serves as head of Ukraine's defense intelligence agency, was diagnosed with heavy metals poisoning but survived, a spokesperson for the agency told <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-poisoning-budanova-kyrylo-budanov-wife-2a71ce108f5bd4d7dfb57b46657f1943">The Associated Press</a> this week. Officials did not offer additional details about the incident or about who was behind the attack but said an investigation was ongoing.Local Ukrainian media were first to report the poisoning and said the metals deployed were not ones used domestically, suggesting the attack may have been intentional, The AP reported. The heavy metals used in such poisonings can include arsenic and mercury, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/28/poisoning-intelligence-chief-ukraine-russia/">The Washington Post reported.</a>Both Budanov and his wife have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0nI0Jp_7Zc">previously said</a> they moved into his office soon after Russia's invasion in February 2022 and stay together nearly all the time. The couple are believed to still live there, indicating the poison may have been intended for him, The AP reported.In an October 2022 interview with Ukraine's Elle magazine, Budanova described how she and her husband prepared for Russia's invasion on the eve of the February 2022 attack."We got together and went to his place of work, and since then we have not been home," she told the outlet.While the motive and perpetrator behind Budanova's poisoning remains unclear, an expert on Russia and Ukraine said Russia is the obvious suspect.Simon Miles, an assistant professor at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy and a historian of the Soviet Union and US-Soviet relations, pointed to Russia's extensive <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-putin-assassinations-involve-poison-2020-8">history of using poison </a>against its enemies, including in suspected attacks against opposition leader Alexei Navalny, double agent Sergeĭ Skripal, and journalist and politician Vladimir Kara-Murza.Russia's penchant for poison points to "a precedent and pattern for this type of behavior," Miles told Business Insider. "Russia is very much a viable suspect for it, naturally the prime one."The Russian government did not immediately acknowledge or comment on Budanova's poisoning.A spokesperson for the Ukrainian defense agency told local media earlier this year that Budanov — who accurately predicted <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-did-russia-invade-ukraine-putin-politics-motive-2023-6">Russia's full-scale invasion</a> before the February 2022 attack on Kyiv — has survived 10 assassination attempts made by Russia's state security service.Targeting officials' family members can be an effective way of dissuading them from serving their country "for fear of what it means not for them, who might be willing to take the risk, but for others on whom it's unfair to impose that risk, like spouses and children," Miles said.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/11/28/7430689/">Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported</a> that several other agency personnel were also exposed to the heavy metal poison but did not need treatment. The outlet cited security sources who said Budovna was most likely targeted via her food.Since the war began, Ukraine has managed to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-is-proving-it-can-kill-russias-most-valuable-officers-2023-7">take out several Russian military leaders</a> via assassination."Perhaps the Kremlin's 'defense' would be that this is a tit-for-tat cycle and not unique to Russia in this war," Miles said.

Ukraine says spymaster's wife is recovering after being poisoned by heavy metals, and an expert believes Russia is a prime suspect

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A prominent Putin critic and Washington Post columnist <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/04/12/kara-murza-arrest/">was arrested</a> in Moscow on Monday.</li><li>According to The Post, he was arrested after criticizing the Kremlin in a CNN interview.</li></ul>Putin critic and Washington Post columnist Vladimir Kara-Murza was arrested in Moscow on Monday after criticizing Putin in a televised interview the same day, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/04/12/kara-murza-arrest/">according to The Post.</a>Kara-Murza is a politician who has routinely campaigned against Putin's regime and says he survived two poisonings in 2015 and 2017, according to The Washington Post. Independent investigative units like Bellingcat <a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2021/02/11/vladimir-kara-murza-tailed-by-members-of-fsb-squad-prior-to-suspected-poisonings/">claimed that FSB agents involved in Alexei Navalny's poisoning</a> also tailed Kara-Murza before poisoning him, a claim the Kremlin denies.Kara-Murza had also lobbied the US to pass the Magnitsky Act in 2012 and has advocated for sanctions against figures close to Putin. His arrest came on the same day that he <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2022/04/11/russia-putin-poison-vladimir-kara-murza-bigpicture-cnnplus.cnn">was interviewed by CNN</a>, where he called Putin's government "a regime of murderers." The arrest also came weeks after Putin introduced and the Duma passed a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/news-outlets-cnn-bloomberg-bbc-suspending-operations-russia-putin-law-2022-3">draconian media censorship law</a> that allows the government to jail journalists who report what the Kremlin deems to be "fake" news about the military. Reporters and private citizens can be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison, and cannot use the word "war" publicly to describe the war in <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword>.Washington Post Publisher and CEO Fred Ryan said that "Vladimir Kara-Murza has been relentless and courageous in his efforts to bring the truth about his country's leadership to light.""Following poisonings and other grave threats, this outrageous detention is the latest move in Vladimir Putin's ongoing effort to silence Kara-Murza and hide the truth about the atrocities Putin is committing in the Russian people's name," Ryan said in the statement. "No one should be deceived by the Russian government's trumped-up charges and smears, and Kara-Murza should be released immediately."In one of Kara-Murza's most recent columns for The Post on March 7, he <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/07/west-must-help-russians-learn-truth-about-war-ukraine-independent-media/?itid=lk_inline_manual_17">wrote</a> that "Within a single week, all — literally, all — of <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword>'s remaining independent media voices have been silenced in a coordinated effort by the prosecutor general's office and the government's main censorship agency."The columnist's wife, Evgenia Kara-Murza, demanded her husband's release in a tweet."Twice have the Russian authorities tried to kill my husband for advocating for sanctions against thieves and murderers, and now they want to throw him in prison for calling their bloody war a WAR,"<a href="https://twitter.com/ekaramurza/status/1513678359871606787"> she tweeted.</a> "I demand my husband's immediate release!"

A Washington Post columnist who says he's been poisoned twice was arrested in Moscow after criticizing Putin in an interview

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58de521b77bb70c3008b54fc-2400/ap17088732922831.jpg" alt="lindsey graham" data-mce-source="Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP" data-mce-caption="Senate Appropriations Committee member Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., with the committee's ranking member Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 29, 2017, during the committee's hearing on &amp;quotCivil Society Perspectives on Russia.&quot;">Manuel Balce Ceneta/APSenate Appropriations Committee member Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., with the committee's ranking member Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 29, 2017, during the committee's hearing on "Civil Society Perspectives on Russia."</img></div></div></div>WASHINGTON - Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza told Congress last week that there is no equivalence between the US' political system and Putin's Russia, as President Donald Trump implied in a recent interview with Fox <keyword id="6355005" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="News">News</keyword> host Bill O'Reilly.In the February interview, Trump acknowledged O'Reilly's premise that Putin is a "killer," but said "we have a lot of killers" in the US, too.Kara-Murza, who was testifying before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on foreign operations, said "that kind of false equivalence" between the US and Russia "is one of the Kremlin's oldest propaganda tools."Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who chairs the subcommittee, and Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy announced during the hearing that they are trying to push a "counter-Russia account" through the Senate that will help fund frontline states and organizations that oppose President Vladimir Putin's agenda."It is in the American taxpayers' interest that we push back against Putin's efforts to dismantle democracies around the world," Graham said. "Hopefully this counter-Russia account will empower people to push back more effectively," Graham added, "and hopefully the Senate as a whole passes new sanctions on Russia for interfering in our election."Among those who testified at the hearing in favor of more support for anti-Putin activists was Kara-Murza, who said he has been poisoned twice since 2015 for opposing the Kremlin."Twice in the past two years - in May 2015 and in February 2017, both times in Moscow - I experienced a sudden onset of symptoms consistent with poisoning that led to multiple organ failure and left me in a coma and on life-support," said Kara-Murza, who was a close friend of opposition figure Boris Nemtsov before Nemtsov was assassinated outside of the Kremlin in the spring of 2015. "The official diagnosis was 'toxic action by an undefined substance,'" Kara-Murza said. "Both times doctors assessed my chances of survival at about 5%, so I am very fortunate - and very grateful - to be here today."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58de51d877bb70f13a8b4f28-2400/ap17088722706241.jpg" alt="kara-murza" data-mce-source="Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP" data-mce-caption="Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 29, 2017, before the Senate Appropriation Committee hearing on &amp;quotCivil Society Perspectives on Russia.&quot;">Manuel Balce Ceneta/APRussian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 29, 2017, before the Senate Appropriation Committee hearing on "Civil Society Perspectives on Russia."</img></div></div></div>Kara-Murza's testimony came three days after Russia saw its biggest anti-corruption protests since 2011. More than 1,500 protesters were detained in the demonstrations, which were largely peaceful, including the high-profile opposition figure Alexey Navalny. Kara-Murza said he was surprised at the turnout, especially given the recent spate of mysterious deaths that have been linked back to the Kremlin."It seems that Russians' self-awareness as citizens is becoming stronger than their fear," Kara-Murza said. "We have never seen corruption [in Russia] on this scale."When Graham asked what kind of signal it would send if the US decided to cut the funds it has made available to dissident organizations and frontline states to combat Putin's influence, Kara-Murza replied that it would signal to the Russian leader that he should "carry on.""For too long the leaders of Western democracies have just been ignoring Putin's actions and moving on," Kara-Murza said. "US administrations of different parties have tried a friendly approach with Putin. But for him, accommodation and compromise is a sign of weakness.""We've been saying for years that it's only a matter of time before Putin's domestic oppression turns into external aggression," he added. "He interfered in Ukraine's 2004 elections, and then went for the gold last year with the US elections."Kara-Murza cautioned, however, that it is not American muscle that Russians want - it is a promise that the US will "call things what they are, and stay true to the values and principles on which this country was founded.""It is not the job of Mr. Trump or Ms. Merkel or anyone else to effect political change in Russia, and we never would ask them to," Kara-Murza said, referring to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "The only thing we ask for from our friends in the international community is that you are honest and open about whats happening in Russia." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/former-state-department-collusion-trump-russia-constitutional-crisis-2017-3">Former State Department official: Evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia would create a 'constitutional crisis'</a></h3> <div> <div> <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="loYnZqYTE6EQIP_PYW5cHcxXJcfuDXku" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> <script> if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; } RunFunctions.push(function() { var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'loYnZqYTE6EQIP_PYW5cHcxXJcfuDXku',{ autoplay: 'false' }); }); </script> <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div> </div> <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script> </div>

'Poisoned' Russian dissident: Trump echoed 'one of the Kremlin's oldest propaganda tools'

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b869dece199f319008b574c-1971/joe biden john mccain.jpg" border="0" alt="joe biden john mccain" data-mce-source="William Thomas Cain/Getty" data-mce-caption="Joe Biden, left, will be among the 15 pallbearers at John McCain's, left, Washington, D.C. memorial service on Saturday." data-link="https://www.gettyimages.com/license/862141928" /><a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/license/862141928">William Thomas Cain/Getty</a>Former Vice President Joe Biden will be among the 15 pallbearers at John McCain's Washington, DC memorial service on Saturday.</div></div></div><ul><li>A famous group of 14 men and one woman will serve as pallbearers for Sen. John McCain's memorial in Washington, DC on Saturday.</li><li>The six-term senator and war hero will have multiple ceremonies in Arizona and Washington this week.</li><li>McCain selected bipartisan senators, statesmen, and former presidents to honor his memory.</li><li>President Donald Trump is not invited.</li></ul><hr />The pallbearers for Sen. John McCain's memorial service in Washington, DC on Saturday will be full of famous faces.Among the 14 men and one woman who will carry the late Arizona senator's casket at the <a href="https://www.johnmccain.com/press/programdetails/nationalcathedral/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Washington National Cathedral ceremony</a> include an A-list actor, a former vice president, and a billionaire. Highlighting his unyielding tough stance on Russia, an outspoken Putin critic will also be a pallbearer.Former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama will be among the few eulogizing McCain, but current <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/john-mccain-funeral-trump-obama-bush-2018-8">President Donald Trump is not invited</a>.McCain notably asked his two presidential election opponents to speak at his funeral, and chose bipartisan pallbearers to carry his casket and honor his six terms in the US Senate and 22 years in the US Navy.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a342af64aa6b53c358b4bb1-2000/rtr1xxgc.jpg" border="0" alt="john mccain ss" data-mce-source="Kevin Lamarque/Reuters" data-mce-caption="U.S. President George W. Bush and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain walk toward the Oval Office of the White House in Washington March 5, 2008. McCain scored victories in Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island on Tuesday to complete his improbable comeback from the political graveyard last summer to become his party's standard-bearer." />Kevin Lamarque/ReutersFormer President George W. Bush and then-presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain walk toward the Oval Office on March 5, 2008.</div></div></div>Sens. Kelly Ayotte, Lindsey Graham and Joseph Lieberman, son Jimmy McCain, daughter Sidney McCain, former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, and daughter Meghan McCain will also speak at the DC ceremony. Full details are available on <a href="https://www.johnmccain.com/press/programdetails/nationalcathedral/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this website</a>, and a <a href="https://www.johnmccain.com/memorials-and-services/nationalcathedral/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">livestream will be available here starting at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday</a>.Former Vice President Joe Biden will eulogize McCain in Arizona on Thursday and serve as a pallbearer in DC on Saturday. The two grew close during their many years serving in the Senate together, and Biden's son, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-comforts-meghan-mccain-john-mccain-cancer-2017-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beau, died of the same brain cancer McCain had</a>.Saturday's high-profile ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral will follow <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/john-mccain-funeral-trump-obama-bush-2018-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">multiple memorials</a> in McCain's adopted home state, Arizona, on Wednesday and Thursday, and lying in state at the US Capitol on Friday.A <a href="https://www.johnmccain.com/press/programdetails/baptistchurch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">separate list of pallbearers and ushers</a> will be honoring McCain at his memorial in Phoenix, as well.<h2>Here's the full list of pallbearers for the DC memorial, with descriptions provided by the event's organizers:</h2>Warren Beatty: Friend. Actor and filmmaker, and political activist. He received 14 Academy Award nominations for his work as an actor, director and screenwriter.Former Vice President Joseph Biden: Friend. Former Vice President of the United States, six-term United States Senator from Pennsylvania, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.Michael Bloomberg: Friend. Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bloomberg L.P. Served three terms as Mayor of the City of New York. Recognized as one of the nation's leading philanthropists.Secretary William Cohen: Friend. Founding partner of the Cohen Group. Formerly, the United States Secretary of Defense, three-term Senator from the State of Maine, and three term United States Representative from the Second District of Maine.Stephen Dart: Friend. Businessman.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b7340c064dce819008b4ff9-2000/gettyimages-977634180.jpg" border="0" alt="Michael Bloomberg" data-mce-source="Tim P. Whitby/Getty" />Tim P. Whitby/GettyFormer New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.</div></div></div>Richard Davis: Friend. Partner and Chief Operating Officer at Pegasus Capital Advisors, LP. Formerly, national campaign manager for Senator McCain presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2008, Special Assistant to President Reagan.Carla Eudy: Friend, President, the Eudy Company. Longtime fundraiser.Sen. Russ Feingold: Friend. Visiting Professor at Marquette University Law School. Formerly, three-term United States Senator from Wisconsin and US Special Envoy to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.Sen. Phil Gramm: Friend. Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Former Vice Chairman of UBS Investment Bank, three-term United States Senator from Texas, and three-term United States Representative from the Sixth District of Texas.Sen. Gary Hart: Friend. Author and attorney. Professor at the University of Colorado at Denver. Formerly, US Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, Co-chairman of the US Commission on National Security for the 21st Century, and two-term United States Senator from Colorado.Vladimir Kara-Murza: Friend, Vice Chairman of Open Russia, and Chairman of the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom.Gov. Tom Ridge: Friend. Formerly United States Secretary for Homeland Security, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and seven-term United States Representative from the 21st District of Pennsylvania. Veteran of the Vietnam War.Mark Salter: Friend. Author, Formerly, Chief of Staff to Senator McCain.Fred Smith: Friend. Founder, Chairman and President of FedEx. Formerly, an officer in the United States Marine Corps. Veteran of the Vietnam War.Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse: Friend. Serving his second term as United States Senator from Rhode Island. Formerly, Attorney General for the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations; US Attorney for the District of Rhode Island.<h2>Remembering the life and legacy of John McCain:</h2><ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/john-mccain-memorials-tributes-politicians-military-2018-8">Former presidents, congressional leaders, and the military commend John McCain's storied life and service</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lindsey-graham-and-john-mccain-friendship-death-2018-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sen. Lindsey Graham gives an emotional statement after John McCain's death</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meghan-mccain-statement-father-death-2018-8">'We know that his flame lives on, in each of us': Meghan McCain remembers her father</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/john-mccain-best-quotes-2018-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">10 of John McCain's best quotes on courage, happiness, and character</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/10-photos-of-john-mccains-navy-career-and-lasting-impact-2018-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">10 photos show John McCain's heroism in Vietnam and his lasting impact on the US military</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/john-mccain-biography-2017-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The incredible life of John McCain, in photos</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/john-mccain-net-worth-real-estate-charity-2018-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A look at the life and fortune of John McCain, who has a sprawling real estate portfolio and donated $1.7 million in book sales to charity</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mccain-reveals-how-he-found-out-he-had-brain-cancer-2018-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In his new book, McCain revealed how he found out he had brain cancer</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/john-mccain-refused-early-release-as-a-pow-in-vietnam-2018-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As a POW in Vietnam, John McCain refused release until his fellow prisoners were freed, making him a hero in the eyes of many</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russell-senate-office-building-john-mccain-rename-leaders-join-call-2018-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Politicians are backing Sen. Schumer's call to rename the Russell Senate Office Building for John McCain</a></li></ul> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-to-north-korea-defector-2018-8">A North Korean defector's harrowing story of escape</a></h3> <div> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/DihAKWFg-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script> </div> </div>

A star-studded cast including Joe Biden and Michael Bloomberg will serve as pallbearers at John McCain's memorial service in DC

<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/536118ec6bb3f7186f0c4b47-1200-858/282085.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="Hollywood Sign" width="480">Getty </img></div></div>The family of former Kremlin media chief Mikhail Lesin is apparently living quite large in Los Angeles.
Their lavish Hollywood lifestyle, which has provided an entré into the movie business and has brought them into the orbit of the industry's biggest A-list stars, has some wondering where the family's money came from. 
According to U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), after leaving the Russian government in 2009, Lesin "moved his immediate family to Los Angeles, California, where he acquired multiple residences at a cost of over $28 million." In a letter sent to Attorney General Eric Holder last month, Wicker <a href="http://www.wicker.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/8beaa73a-341b-4b51-8843-d2aacafc1708/2014-07-29-letter-to-ag-holder-re-lesin.pdf">requested a Department of Justice investigation</a> into whether Lesin's real estate purchases were part of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or Anti-Money Laundering statutes.
"That a Russian public servant could have amassed the considerable funds required to acquire and maintain these assets … raises serious questions," Wicker wrote.
Real estate purchases are just one aspect of Lesin's family's business interests in Los Angeles. Since last year, Lesin's son, Anton Lessine, has produced four major Hollywood movies with stars including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, and Woody Allen.
On Aug. 1, Radio Free Europe's Luke Johnson and Carl Schreck <a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/lesin-wicker-real-estate/25477122.html">published a report on Wicker's request for a probe into Lesin's finances</a>. Citing documents provided by the senator's office, the report noted evidence that Lesin and his son had linked business interests. According to Radio Free Europe, Lesin <a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/lesin-wicker-real-estate/25477122.html">bought three properties</a> in the Los Angeles area. One of these was a 13,000-square-foot Beverly Hills home purchased by Dastel Corporation for $13.8 million in August 2011. Records show Lessine was a corporate officer of the company. Radio Free Europe also identified a corporation in which Lesin's daughter, Ekaterina Lesina, was an officer, which purchased a $5.6 million Beverly Hills home in 2012. (Despite the different surnames, Business Insider has confirmed these family relationships.)
According <a href="http://www.wicker.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/8beaa73a-341b-4b51-8843-d2aacafc1708/2014-07-29-letter-to-ag-holder-re-lesin.pdf">to Wicker's letter</a>, the elder Lesin was "Russia's Minister for Communications and Mass Media from 1999-2004." Radio Free Europe reported that Lesin "played an instrumental role in solidifying state control" over an independent television network and subsequently was "seen as the mastermind" behind Putin's launch of the international news network RT, which U.S. officials have described as a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kerry-rt-propaganda-bullhorn-russia-today-2014-4">"propaganda bullhorn" for Moscow</a>.
Critics say the Lesin family fortune is troubling because Putin and his cronies have a reputation for corruption - illegally enriching themselves and spiriting their wealth out of Russia. 
"Putin and his inner circle have enriched themselves through the seizure of private assets, using dubious legal maneuvers, coercion, and intimidation," said a senior Capitol Hill aide who spoke to Business Insider about Lesin. "Ironically, even Putin's cronies know that they too may fall out of favor. As such, tens of billions of dollars are cloistered and concealed in banks and investments throughout the world."
"The modus operandi of Putin's corrupt inner circle has been to siphon the money out of Russia and into their foreign accounts and foreign assets," noted Vladimir Kara-Murza, a member of the federal council of the People's Freedom Party, an opposition party in Russia. That way, he added, the funds are "completely closed from any scrutiny" inside Russia. He said these tactics are the reason the U.S. government has attempted to sanction top members of Putin's regime and their business associates.
Despite the concerns about Russian officials' getting their money into the U.S., Lesin's son, Anton Lessine, has managed to invest in some very high-profile projects. 
<div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53eec1d96bb3f7881f812214-1200-924/arnold-schwarzenegger-7.jpg" border="0" alt="Arnold Schwarzenegger" width="480">APArnold Schwarzenegger at the Los Angeles premiere of "Sabotage" on March 19.</img></div></div>Lessine's career as a Hollywood producer appears to have begun in earnest around 2012, when he was <a href="http://deadline.com/2012/08/qed-to-produce-finance-fright-film-haunt-325400/">attached as a producer to the horror movie "Haunt,"</a> which was produced and financed by a company called QED International. On <a href="http://www.qedintl.com/bios/bill-block/">its website</a>, QED is billed as "a leading independent motion picture production, financing and sales distribution company." Business Insider reached out to QED CEO Bill Block, who also was credited as a producer for "Haunt," and he referred us to a spokesperson who did not respond to our request for comment. After "Haunt," Lessine <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4839602/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr9">was credited</a> as an executive producer on three QED films; 2013's "Fading Gigolo," "Sabotage," which debuted in March, and "Fury," which is set to be released in October.
These projects boasted some serious star power. "Fading Gigolo" starred John Turturro and Woody Allen. "Sabotage" featured Arnold Schwarzenegger as an elite DEA agent. Brad Pitt starred in "Fury" and also executive produced the movie along with Lessine.
Lessine could not be reached for comment on this story. Ilya Tsipis, who has <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilyatsipis">a Linkedin page describing him as the president of Dastel Corporation</a> and is listed in records as the company's registered agent, did not respond to a request for comment. Business Insider also attempted to call Lessine's sister, without success. Lessine's father, Putin's former media czar, could not be reached for comment. 
Lessine is hardly the first person with controversial foreign connections to be drawn to the movie business in Hollywood. Saadi Qaddafi, the son of the late former Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, enjoyed a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/09/business/09beckerman.html">short-lived stint as a movie producer</a> before his father was deposed in a bloody revolution. Earlier this year, LA Weekly <a href="http://www.laweekly.com/2014-01-02/news/remington-chase-stefan-martirosian/">published a lengthy report</a> documenting the backgrounds of producers Remington Chase and Stefan Martirosian, which included "convictions for cocaine trafficking; ties to the Russian oil business, the Armenian government and the African diamond trade ... stints as federal informants," and alleged links to a contract killing in Moscow. 
Peter Newman, who <a href="http://gradfilm.tisch.nyu.edu/object/NewmanP.html">heads the joint MBA/MFA graduate program at the Tisch School of the Arts at </a><a href="http://gradfilm.tisch.nyu.edu/object/NewmanP.html">NYU</a> and has produced more than 30 films including 2005's "The Squid And The Whale," told Business Insider that "dumb money," or financing from inexperienced investors who are new to the industry, has a long and colorful history in Hollywood. Given the difficult economic climate, Newman said, the Industry's appetite for such financing had only increased in recent years.
"The major studios at present really would rather not develop, produce, or finance motion pictures," he explained. "They'd rather do it off balance sheets, because the economics of making movies, especially big movies, just are very, very dicey."
Additionally, Newman said it is movies made outside the studio system that are more likely to involve questionable financing. Specifically, he pointed to larger independent films produced by companies like QED and then are distributed by other studios.
"The studio is basically saying, 'Deliver the movie with such and such, and such and such, and we'll pay this much to promote it in the United States.' But they're not really getting their hands dirty," said Newman.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53eec1536da811cc1f812218-1200-924/liana-liberato.jpg" border="0" alt="Liana Liberato" width="480">APLiana Liberato, who starred in "Haunt," which was produced by Anton Lessine.</img></div></div>Three of the four major films produced by Lessine - "Fading Gigolo," "Haunt," and "Fury" - followed this model. They were produced by QED and distributed by a studio. "Sabotage" was produced and distributed by QED. Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is the worldwide distributor for "Fury," did not respond to a request for comment on this story. Millenium Entertainment, which distributed "Fading Gigolo" in the U.S., and IFC Midnight, the American distributor for "Haunt," also did not respond to requests for comment.
For larger movies made outside the studio system, Newman said, it is especially important to have cash up front to secure an A-lister.
"The agencies basically say, 'If you want a Brad Pitt, or a Bruce Willis, or whatever ... there has to be $20 million in the bank," Newman explained. 
This star power is critical because these movies need to guarantee foreign box office in order to secure further financing. A proven marquee name is the best way to do this. 
"These projects you're talking about are really large independent films that the studios handle the U.S. distribution of, and the equation is usually, there is a foreign sales agent selling territories," Newman continued.
Given this system, it's not hard to see why people with cash to burn - whatever their backgrounds - are so popular with movie production companies. And the financiers benefit as well: In addition to the chance to clean up their money, an association with a global celebrity can help otherwise controversial figures add some shine to their reputations.
"The economics of filmmaking itself are so dicey and then you add in the vanity factor of people wanting to be around famous people and attractive people," Newman said. "It's sort of a deadly chemical mix that has been around for a long time and will continue to happen as long as there's a film business." 
Furthermore, in his decades of making movies, Newman claims he's seen few checks and balances that are likely to keep Hollywood's hands off dirty money.
"Observationally, I really have seen very little vetting going on," Newman said. "You know, the only vetting that goes on in Hollywood is, does the check clear?" 
There's no evidence that Lesin's money came from corruption. But the suggestion that Putin's inner circle has a reputation for making money through less-than-legal means and getting that cash out of the country is well established. Furthermore, as Wicker said in his letter requesting the investigation, the "considerable" sums used by Lesin for his real estate transactions seem questionable for a "public servant." 
Lesin's son's filmmaking activities would seem to raise similar issues. That the two have linked business dealings is already clear in the case of one real estate property. Additionally, Lessine does not seem to have any history of involvement in film financing or other major business deals in the U.S. prior to his father's departure from the Kremlin and subsequent spending spree in LA's real estate market. 
Lesin's critics in Washington say that without forceful government intervention, corrupt money spirited out of Putin's Russia will continue to be laundered in the U.S. 
"Money laundering is like electricity, which follows the path of least resistance," the Hill aide said. "Without robust sanctions from the U.S. and the international community, Putin's cronies will continue to stash their plundered loot beyond the scope of U.S. jurisdiction. Time will tell whether the crisis in Ukraine will stir the international community into substantive action."
Meanwhile, Lessine's forthcoming production, "Fury," opens October 17.

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