France, Aug. 5 -- Nadezhdin, who attempted to challenge President Vladimir Putin in the 2024 presidential election, announced his departure in a video posted on the Telegram messaging service on Monday.

The 63-year-old politician appeared in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, although he did not say whether he intended to remain in France permanently.

"Good news: I'm alive and free. Unfortunately, not in Russia for the time being," he said, adding that he needed "to look around and figure out life going forward".

His departure follows several weeks of mounting legal and political pressure that effectively ended his attempt to contest elections for the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament.

Nadezhdin was added to Russi...