Blogger and Mathematician Mikhail Verbitsky was detained on June 12-13, 2026 at the “Zvartnots“ Airport in Yerevan at the official request of the Russian authorities.
According to data from the Armenian police, he is currently in the airport's pre-trial detention center while his legal status is being clarified.
The current actions of the Armenian law enforcement agencies are based on the fact that Verbitsky is internationally wanted by Russia. In January 2025, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs declared him wanted, and the Nagatinsky District Court in Moscow arrested him in absentia. A criminal case has been opened against the mathematician since the end of 2024 for "public justification of terrorism" or "calls for terrorist activity" (Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The reason for this was his publications on the Internet, in which he criticized Russian policy and the war in Ukraine, and according to investigators, he made direct calls for strikes on Russian territory.
Rosfinmonitoring has included him in the official list of "terrorists and extremists". The Armenian prosecutor's office must decide whether to approve the extradition request. By law, if Russia sends official documents, Verbitsky can be detained in custody for up to 40 days. If such a request is not received, local human rights activists from the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly note that he should be released after 72 hours.
Mikhail Verbitsky is a renowned mathematician who previously taught at prestigious institutions such as the Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Moscow, the University of Glasgow and the Free University of Brussels. In recent years, he has lived in Brazil and holds a professorship at the National Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics in Rio de Janeiro.
Verbitsky left Russia in 2015. He gained great popularity in the Russian-language Internet space at the beginning of the century as the creator of the alternative blog platform LJ.Rossia (known as “Tifaretnik“). He actively spoke out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and was one of the scientists who signed open letters of protest.