The Moscow Prosecutor’s Office has approved an indictment and sent a new criminal case against writer Boris Akunin (real name Grigory Chkhartishvili) to court. This time, Akunin is accused of failing to fulfill the obligations of a “foreign agent.”

The case was initiated “based on the materials of the Moscow prosecutor’s office inspection,” according to the agency’s Telegram channel. Akunin is accused of posting at least 76 publications on his controlled social media channel from February to August 2025 without indicating that the materials were produced and/or distributed by a foreign agent or related to the activities of a foreign agent.

Over the past year, administrative protocols were drawn up against the writer twice for failing to indicate his “foreign agent” status. Previously, two administrative protocols would lead to a criminal case. Since mid-October, criminal cases against “foreign agents” can be initiated after just one administrative protocol.

In July 2025, a Russian court sentenced Boris Akunin in absentia to 14 years in a maximum-security colony, finding him guilty of aiding “terrorist” activities, “justifying terrorism,” and evading “foreign agent” obligations. Akunin stated that he does not recognize this court.

The “terrorism” charges were brought in 2023 after Akunin, in a conversation with pro-Kremlin pranksters Vovan and Lexus, expressed support for Ukraine. The criminal case for evading “foreign agent” duties was initiated in 2025. According to Mediazona, the prosecution claimed that between January and April 2025, Akunin posted at least 33 materials on his Telegram channel without indicating that they were related to “foreign agent” activities.