'I've done my job no worse than other deputies' This Russian municipal lawmaker has been working remotely for four years — from Dnipro, Ukraine

A municipal deputy from Russia’s far-eastern Zabaykalsky Krai has been performing his official duties remotely for four years while living in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. His story was first reported by the regional news outlet Zab.ru, which found a discussion of it in the minutes of a recent meeting by the district council’s ethics committee. Meduza outlines his explanation of the unlikely situation — and how his fellow lawmakers have reacted.

Mikhail Nosik was elected to the Kalar District Council in Russia’s Zabaykalsky Krai in 2020. According to the records of the council’s ethics committee, he moved to Ukraine in 2021 and has since participated in council sessions exclusively via video calls, casting votes remotely through a messaging app. At a meeting last month, members of the ethics commission questioned him about his prolonged stay in the country.

Nosik explained that he relocated to Dnipro to be closer to relatives and to undergo cancer treatment, which he said was more accessible there than at home. He claimed that after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he tried to leave the country but was unable to do so due to lacking the proper local documents. He said he contacted Russia’s Foreign Ministry and even reached out to the Russian Embassy in Turkey but was told that his only real option was to enter into a sham marriage to resolve his legal status.

Despite his circumstances, Nosik has continued to participate in council meetings online and vote on local decisions. He also claimed to hold remote consultations with constituents via VPN and argued that he has performed his job “no worse than other deputies.” In March 2022, he said, Ukrainian security forces raided his home after being tipped off by relatives. They confiscated 800 euros ($900), 50,000–80,000 rubles ($600–$975), and his car documents. According to Nosik, he managed to bribe them with two bottles of cognac and later moved to another address in Dnipro.

Nosik said he receives no salary for his council work and lives on a monthly pension of 27,000 rubles ($330). Because direct money transfers are unavailable, he has to convert the rubles into bitcoin and then into hryvnia, losing up to 30 percent of the amount in the process. He also stated that he does not hold Ukrainian citizenship or own property in the country.

The deputy made it clear that he does not intend to resign before the end of his term, which runs until December 2025:

The head of the Kalar District Council, Arkady Gromov, confirmed to the local news site Chita.ru that Mikhail Nosik is currently in Ukraine and unable to return to Russia.

The ethics commission concluded that “the forced residence of a municipal deputy in a foreign country currently in conflict with the Russian Federation poses a risk to his personal safety, prevents him from fully carrying out his duties, and raises questions about his ability to represent constituents objectively and impartially.” As a result, the commission initiated the process to terminate Nosik’s mandate early, citing his inability to perform core duties such as holding in-person meetings with voters.