Lawmaker who revealed secret funerals of Russian paratroopers killed in Ukraine is removed from office

Lev Shlosberg, the Pskov regional parliament member who helped expose secret funerals held for Russian soldiers apparently killed in eastern Ukraine, has been booted out of office by his fellow lawmakers. The vote—41 in favor, three opposed—took place on September 24.

Before he was removed from the legislature, Shlosberg delivered a passionate speech about Russian democracy, saying, "The dream of a democratic life is what unites us. It's this dream that is today the most precious, invaluable capital in Russia. It's not subject to devaluation, and history gives us all the chance to realize this dream."

Dmitry Gudkov, a member of the federal parliament, also spoke at the Pskov legislature today, telling Pskov's lawmakers that their decision to remove Shlosberg would be illegal. Boris Vishnevsky, a legislative assembly member in St. Petersburg, showed up in Pskov, too, where he warned that individuals like Shlosberg, and not the people who voted him out of office, would earn a place in Russia's history books.

Alexey Sevastyanov, a deputy from the ruling United Russia party, called Shlosberg a "mouthpiece for the US State Department," and criticized Gudkov for lecturing Pskov's lawmakers. Communist deputy Alexey Fedorov, meanwhile, said he worries that removing Shlosberg from office could transform him into a "politician of federal significance," making it possible for him to win a seat in the Russian Duma in next year's elections.

On September 15, Pskov's district attorney appealed to the regional parliament, asking legislators to "take measures" against Shlosberg, whom prosecutors accuse of defending a nonprofit organization in court, despite a federal law barring sitting deputies from representing any group, if the deputy is not the legal representative of that group.

Shlosberg, for his part, says he is the nonprofit's legal representative. He believes his ouster is the work of Pskov Governor Andrey Turchak and his team.

According to Pskov's laws, members of the regional parliament can be removed if they fail to observe the restrictions placed on them when becoming lawmakers. It is under this statute that Shlosberg lost his job.

• Lev Shlosberg was the Pskov parliament's only member from the liberal opposition party Yabloko. He gained national prominence earlier this year, after publishing in his newspaper Pskovsaya Guberniya several articles about local paratroopers who were buried in the area, allegedly after being killed in eastern Ukraine. After he began publishing these materials, Shlosberg was viciously beaten near his home. The attackers were never found.