Ilya Novikov was denied the status of a lawyer in Russia

The Moscow Bar Chamber deprived Ilya Novikov of the status of a lawyer, accusing him of “behavior that undermines trust in the lawyer and the legal profession.” This is stated in her decision.

“Indecent behavior”, according to the chamber’s decision, was revealed in Novikov’s interview on the YouTube channel “Popular Politics” on May 2, 2022. The document quotes Novikov from the video: “The only language in which it is possible to speak with Putin is the explosions there at all kinds of Russian warehouses near Belgorod, near Perm.”

Novikov himself stated that the claims against him are not related to the interview, but to his anti-war position, and that “lawyer ethics as a separate subject does not exist.” “There is universal human ethics, which people probably understand in different ways. In my understanding, the first and main commandment of ethics is not to be on the side of evil. Do not participate in it. Where you can, oppose it,” Novikov’s explanation chamber quotes.

Novikov also called himself a “Ukrainian lawyer”: he has been living and practicing in Kyiv for several years. After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Novikov put a “fat cross” on all his affairs in Russia and does not intend to appear in the country “in the foreseeable future,” the chamber quotes the lawyer as saying.

In November 2022, the Ministry of Justice of Russia included Novikov in the list of “foreign agents”, later he was declared a federal wanted person.

Novikov defended captured Ukrainian military servicewoman Nadezhda Savchenko, human rights defender from Chechnya Oyub Tityev, and former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko in court. In addition to his professional activities, Novikov is known as a former player of the television club “What? Where? When?”, the owner of the Diamond Owl and two Crystal Owls.