The institution made this decision after analyzing the politician’s own request, collecting public and non-public information, and receiving an intelligence assessment.
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“A similar assessment had already been carried out when L. Volkov’s public statements on social networks were examined at the beginning of the year. Although these actions were performed quite recently, when considering the application for a permanent residence permit in Lithuania, it was requested to re-evaluate and weigh all possible risk factors,” Rokas Pukinskas, a representative of the department, told BNS.
L. Volkov has been living in Lithuania since 2019. He left Russia after the authorities initiated a criminal case against him. In 2021, Russia added the activist to the wanted list.
In Lithuania, L. Volkov initially stayed with a visa, and later received a temporary residence permit in the country.
In order to change it to a permanent one, the oppositionist, among other things, had to pass exams in both the state language and the fundamentals of the Constitution.
According to R. Pukinskas, this entire process was carried out “in strict compliance with legal acts and detached from any possible influence or pressure from outside.”
“During the consideration of the application, no information was received that would eliminate the possibility of issuing a permanent residence permit in Lithuania to Russian citizen L. Volkov,” said the representative of the Migration Department.
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At the beginning of the year, L. Volkov caused outrage in the public sphere when his private correspondence was made public. A screenshot circulated online showed the oppositionist rejoicing at the alleged assassination of Denis Kapustin, the commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps, which carried out raids in Russia during Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“A Nazi died, who by his very existence was a gift to Kremlin propaganda. Who, with his clownish ‘corps’, carried out vague tasks for the villainous village political technologist (former head of Ukrainian military intelligence Kyrylo – BNS) Budanov,” wrote L. Volkov.
“I hope that Kapustin’s cronies will follow. (Former head of the administration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Andriy – BNS) Yermak will be imprisoned, (V. Zelenskyy’s advisor Mykhailo – BNS) Podolyak will be imprisoned, Budanov and all the other propagandistic, hypocritical gang of thieves will be imprisoned. And then Ukraine will have a chance to win. But as long as it relies on people like Kapustin, it has no prospects,” he stated.
These statements were then criticized by Lithuanian leaders, and some politicians urged the Russian oppositionist to leave the country himself.
In response to this situation, the Migration Department asked the State Security Department (VSD) to assess whether the politician’s statements posed a threat to national security. Intelligence later concluded that no threat was found.
The oppositionist himself later stated that he regretted writing such a message, calling it foolish, emotional, and incorrect.
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The year before last, in March, L. Volkov was attacked in Vilnius in a car near his home.
