Ilya Ponomarev

Ilya Ponomarev, born on August sixth, nineteen seventy-five, is a prominent Russian-born Ukrainian politician and entrepreneur. He served as a member of the Russian State Duma from two thousand seven until two thousand sixteen, where he made headlines for his principled stance against the Russian gay propaganda law, choosing to abstain from voting, and for opposing the annexation of Crimea in March two thousand fourteen.

In two thousand fifteen, while residing in the United States, Ponomarev faced formal charges of embezzlement in Russia, which he asserted were politically motivated. His tenure in the Duma ended in two thousand sixteen when he was impeached for failing to fulfill his duties. Subsequently, he sought refuge in Ukraine, where he was granted citizenship in two thousand nineteen.

With the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in two thousand twenty-two, Ponomarev joined Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces and vocally condemned the invasion. He has also endorsed acts of sabotage and arson within Russia and established a Russian-language opposition television channel named February Morning. Following the assassination of Darya Dugina, he claimed to have been in contact with a group known as the National Republican Army, which purportedly took responsibility for the act, although his claims have been met with skepticism.

In addition to his political activism, Ponomarev authored the book, Does Putin Have to Die?: The Story of How Russia Becomes a Democracy after Losing to Ukraine, published on October fourth, two thousand twenty-two by Skyhorse Publishing.