France, Aug. 19 -- Nadezhdin, who attempted to challenge Russian President Vladimir Putin in the 2024 presidential election, has been barred from running as an MP in September's parliamentary elections.

Russian authorities have severely restricted independent reporting, public protest and criticism of the armed forces since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 - and having garnered strong public support for his anti-war stance, Nadezhdin was added to Russia's register of "foreign agents" in July.

When he was served with a summons to appear in front of the Investigative Committee - an invitation he says usually ends with being taken directly to court and then to prison - he fled to France with his wife, forced to...