In Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan and wanted by Russia

• Kazakhstan is no longer safe for people wanted by Russia. On 28 January 2026 an IT specialist, A. K., was detained in Almaty for jaywalking, deported the next day and arrested in Russia on treason charges. On 2 February 2026 a deserter, S. B., was handed to Russian military police even though he had applied for asylum and was awaiting a decision.
• Russians almost never get asylum there. According to the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights, none of the 22 detained Russians it has helped since 2022 received refugee status. In September 2026 the cassation court finally refused asylum to Mansur Movlaev (10 September) and Yulia Yemelyanova (24 September); Russia is seeking their extradition.
• Kyrgyzstan is not safe either. In 2023 activist Lev Skoryakin, whose extradition a court had already refused, was seized at night in Bishkek by security officers and flown to Russia the next day. Since 17 August 2026 Russia's Interior Ministry has had an expanded office in Bishkek, and the agreement provides for information exchange. Bishkek airport uses facial recognition: that is how a left-wing activist was detained at Russia's request in 2025.
• Deal with the police and the KNB (National Security Committee) only through a lawyer. In Kazakhstan you can invoke Article 19 of the Constitution and not testify against yourself. Do not sign minor-offence reports without a lawyer. Find a lawyer in advance, before any detention: lawyers are under pressure too, and in January 2026 a court stripped the licence of a lawyer who had handled Russians' asylum cases.
• If detained on an extradition request, apply for asylum at once with a lawyer: mistakes in the first application are hard to fix. You should not be handed over while the application is pending, but S. B.'s case shows you cannot rely on that. At the same time a lawyer can ask the UN Human Rights Committee for interim measures: on 23 February 2026 the Committee asked Kazakhstan not to extradite Movlaev, and the extradition was suspended. This buys time but does not guarantee protection.
• Have a lawyer check your temporary or permanent residence permit: the KNB is checking forged permits. Without one you may stay 90 days in 180. Expulsion goes to the nearest country (from Astana, to Russia).
• If you face a case or may be on a wanted list, do not enter Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan and do not change planes in Almaty, Astana or Bishkek: Yulia Yemelyanova was detained while changing planes in Almaty. Before any trip, check whether you are on a list (see 'Am I on a list?'). If you are already there, plan a move to a country with independent courts early: some Russians left for France and Germany while their extradition arrest terms ran out.
• Where to turn: the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights (a UNHCR partner, free help for asylum seekers), UNHCR in Almaty and Bishkek, in Kyrgyzstan the Adilet legal clinic (also a UNHCR partner), The Ark (Kovcheg), inTransit. Deserters: Go by the Forest ('foreign agent'). The Anti-War Committee's 'Consuls' help if you face deportation. The Anti-War Committee is designated 'terrorist' in Russia. If you have ties to Russia, contacting it can become grounds for a case under 'terrorism' articles. Write to the 'Consuls' only if deportation is a real threat, and after talking to a lawyer.

Designations of organisations in this guide: Anti-War Committee 'Consuls' (undesirable, terrorist, on Rosfinmonitoring list). Contacting them carries a risk: do not write from a phone that may be seized, and do not repost their materials.

current as of 27 September 2026. More: Meduza: interview with KIBHR lawyer Artur Alkhastov (undesirable); Mediazona: Kazakhstan is no longer safe (foreign agent); The Insider: Russia's Interior Ministry expands its office in Kyrgyzstan (undesirable); Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights: no Russian has received refugee status (in Russian); Novaya Gazeta Europe: Kazakhstan decided to extradite four Russian activists (in Russian) (undesirable); Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights: Kazakhstan handed a deserter to Russia (in Russian); Novaya Gazeta Europe: cassation court upholds asylum refusal for Movlaev (in Russian) (undesirable); Azattyq Asia: cassation court refuses asylum to Yulia Yemelyanova (in Russian); 24.kg: Lev Skoryakin found in a Moscow pre-trial prison (in Russian); UNHCR: contacts and partners in Kazakhstan; UNHCR: contacts and partners in Kyrgyzstan