Moscow: Russia has revoked the citizenship of journalist Roman Anin, citing allegations of discrediting the armed forces. The decision was announced by the interior ministry, with immigration officials reportedly taking this step due to crimes attributed to Anin, as reported by the state news agency TASS.
According to Ghana News Agency, Roman Anin serves as the editor-in-chief of the internet news portal Vazhnye Istorii (Important Stories). The portal gained attention for its investigations into the alleged daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin and its involvement in the Pandora Papers, an international effort to expose tax havens. In 2021, Russian authorities categorized Vazhnye Istorii as a foreign agent, and in 2022, they further escalated actions against it by labeling it as an undesirable organization, thereby banning its operations within the country. Consequently, Vazhnye Istorii now operates from Latvia.
Roman Anin, born in Moldova in 1986, acquired Russian citizenship in 2006. In March 2025, a Moscow court sentenced him and another journalist from the media outlet in absentia to 8.5 years’ imprisonment for ‘knowingly spreading false information about the Russian armed forces.’ In Russia, any reporting on the military’s actions in the Ukraine conflict that contradicts the official narrative is deemed a criminal offense under these charges.