The Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia banned the foundation of Mikhail Zygar and Ilya Khrzhanovsky

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia recognized the XZ gGmbH foundation, created by writer and journalist Mikhail Zygar and director Ilya Khrzhanovsky, as an undesirable organization in the country. State Duma deputy Andrey Lugovoi reported this on social networks.

Lugovoi demanded to ban the organization at the beginning of October, according to the response published by the Prosecutor General’s Office. The agency reported that the fund was banned in Russia in mid-February. Russian laws provide for criminal liability for citizens cooperating with organizations included in the list of undesirables.

According to Lugovoi, the fund registered in Germany threatens the political system in Russia “with the help of culture, art and human values.” The deputy accused the organization of “irony and mockery” of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

XZ gGmbH was created for the development of cultural, historical and educational projects, Zyhar told Radio Svoboda. The fund supported several media projects about Russian history. Now the organization supports the “Bridge” project, which helps people to persuade acquaintances and relatives who repeat the theses of Russian propaganda.

Zygar, now teaching at Princeton, linked Lugovoi’s request with the publication of his book “War and Punishment” about Russian myths about Ukraine that led to the 2022 war. He drew attention to the fact that the deputy turned to the prosecutor’s office a few days after the presentation of the book in Berlin.

Lugovoi gained notoriety in 2006, when Great Britain accused him of murdering Alexander Lytvynenko, a former employee of the Russian special services who had emigrated to London.

In January, the deputy threatened citizens who had left the country and opposed the Kremlin’s policy. “Anyone who tries to harm his homeland, his country, the citizens of the Russian Federation, will be left with nothing and die there like the last dog,” Lugovoi said on Duma television (the video was noticed by the editors of “Ostroozhno, Novosti”).