EU angers critics of Putin with visa curb on all Russians

Russian opposition figures have reacted with anger and dismay to a decision by the European Union to introduce a ban on multi-entry visas to the Schengen zone for Russian citizens, announced in recent days.

- Shaun Walker

“Starting a war and expecting to move freely in Europe is hard to justify,” said the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, when announcing the decision last Friday. She added that the tightened rules were a response to Russian drone incursions into European airspace and sabotage attacks linked to Russia.

Many in the Russian opposition, however, said the move would be counterproductive. “You can’t blame a whole country for the actions of its government,” said Ilya Yashin, a Russian opposition politician who was jailed in late 2022 for opposing the war in Ukraine, in a telephone interview. Yashin was freed in a prisoner exchange last year and now lives in Germany.

He said the visa decision was part of a trend of targeting ordinary Russians in the west, while members of Putin’s elite would “always find loopholes if they need to”.