On February 14, on the eve of the anniversary of Alexei Navalny’s murder, the UK imposed sanctions on three individuals: Pyotr Fradkov, Vladimir Selin, and Artyom Chaika. Behind these names are: a Russian Deputy Minister of Defense and the son of a close Putin ally, the head of the federal agency overseeing arms exports, and a key figure in Alexei Navalny’s anti-corruption investigations—the son of a Russian Security Council member.
In its press release, the UK Foreign Office emphasized that "all three of these targets are also on the Navalny 50’ anti-corruption list," which ACF compiled as a sanctions response to the assassination of Russia’s leading opposition politician, ordered by Putin on February 16, 2024. This move not only marks another step toward ensuring that political crimes do not go unpunished but also highlights our organization’s role in identifying the weak spots of Putin’s regime. We appreciate this rare but significant recognition of ACF’s role and that of civil society in exerting international pressure on a regime that commits egregious crimes both domestically and abroad.
The three Navalny 50 lists were compiled by ACF in 2024 separately for the UK, the US, and the EU—the key actors in sanction policies targeting Vladimir Putin’s regime. Each list initially included 50 individuals from Putin’s inner circle, close oligarchs, well-known corrupt figures, and high-ranking officials. Sanctions against them represent a direct and painful blow to both Putin personally and the system he has built.
We hope that this step will be followed by others and that all three Navalny 50 lists will be fully adopted.