I'm being deported to Russia from a third country

• First, ask for protection. Tell the police or migration service, orally and in writing, that you are asking for asylum (international protection) and fear returning to Russia; name the criminal case or other persecution. Demand a lawyer and an interpreter. Sign nothing without a translation, especially consent to 'voluntary departure': according to AIDA, deportations from Turkey are often recorded as 'voluntary return'.
• Deportation vs extradition. Extradition answers a Russian request in a criminal case; a court decides it, and in political cases it is usually refused. Deportation or removal is the expulsion of a foreigner for breaking migration rules: overstaying a visa, working without a permit, 'a threat to security'. It moves faster, and courts often don't examine what awaits the person in Russia. An inTransit coordinator calls deportation more dangerous than extradition precisely because of the speed.
• What happened in 2026. On 4 July Turkey deported Ariadna Litvinova to Russia, where she is accused in St Petersburg of 'discrediting' the army: she had overstayed her visa-free period and spent over a month in a removal centre. In Russia she was sent straight to pre-trial detention. After refusing asylum, Germany has been deporting Russians via Turkey, Georgia, Serbia and Armenia. Since early 2026 Kazakhstan has been extraditing and expelling political émigrés. In June 2026 the UAE handed two men to Russia on an Interpol request; one was accused of taking part in an 'illegal armed group'.
• Appeal deadlines are short. In Turkey a deportation decision is appealed to an administrative court within 7 days; the appeal suspends removal, but for 'security codes' there is almost no protection (AIDA). In Serbia you have 8 days against a refusal of entry and 15 days against the end of a residence permit or an order to leave. Find out the deadline in your country from a lawyer on the first day and ask for a copy of the decision.
• Urgent international measures. If removal is imminent, a lawyer can urgently ask the European Court of Human Rights for interim measures under Rule 39: this is possible in Council of Europe countries (Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Serbia, EU states) without waiting for the final domestic decision. In 2026 the Court used it to stop Georgia expelling activist Nikolai Belikov. In Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan lawyers ask the UN Human Rights Committee for interim measures. Such a measure guarantees nothing: in 2026 Georgia breached one once.
• UNHCR. Ask detention centre staff to put you in touch with UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency), or find contacts for your country at help.unhcr.org. UNHCR is not a lawyer, but in some cases it steps in when a person faces removal to where they are persecuted.
• Leaving for a third country. If you are being expelled for an administrative offence, ask to be allowed to leave for a third country at your own expense: Serbia usually gives a deadline to leave for a country of your choice, and in Georgia this was the outcome in the Kulanin case. Keep a valid international passport and money for a ticket at hand.
• If you are still being sent to Russia. Tell your family the flight and arrival time so they can arrange a lawyer in Russia in advance. If there is a case against you, you may be detained right at the airport, as Litvinova was. After detention, give no statements without your own lawyer (art. 51 of the Constitution).
• In advance, before anything happens. Watch your visa and residence permit deadlines, avoid minor offences, keep copies of evidence of persecution with a trusted person outside Russia, and don't go to a Russian consulate without a lawyer. Human rights groups advise people persecuted in Russia to avoid Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus and to choose countries with independent courts.
• Where to turn: Kovcheg (a 'foreign agent'; lawyers via the @kovcheglive_bot bot), inTransit, First Department (a 'foreign agent') if there is a criminal case or extradition request, UNHCR. In Georgia GYLA, in Armenia HCA Vanadzor, in Kazakhstan the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights, in Germany PRO ASYL. Be ready for a local lawyer to cost money. This is not legal advice.
• Since spring 2026 Serbia has been applying the '90 days in any 180' rule to Russians: those living on visa runs without a residence permit are fined and ordered to leave (The Moscow Times, 27.03.2026). This is an immigration measure, not extradition, but any forced departure is dangerous for someone wanted by Russia.

Countries: what sources say about extradition and expulsion

This is not Kompas' assessment but a summary of named sources as of their date. Where sources disagree, both views are shown.

current as of 7 October 2026. More: Meduza: Litvinova deported from Turkey; how to protect yourself (08.07.2026, in Russian) (foreign agent, undesirable); Radio Liberty: deported into pre-trial detention, how Turkey handed over Ariadna Litvinova (in Russian) (foreign agent, undesirable); Mediazona: Litvinova's trial begins in St Petersburg (31.08.2026, in Russian) (foreign agent); Meduza: where anti-war Russians may be extradited or deported (11.03.2026, in Russian) (foreign agent, undesirable); First Department: extradition and deportation (in Russian) (foreign agent); The Insider: Germany deports anti-war Russians via third countries (in Russian) (foreign agent, undesirable); URA.RU: the UAE hands two wanted men to Russia (04.06.2026, in Russian); AIDA (ECRE): Türkiye, removal and refoulement; ECtHR: Practice Direction on requests for interim measures (Rule 39); TV Rain: ECtHR tells Georgia not to deport Nikolai Belikov (in Russian) (foreign agent, undesirable); Kovcheg: get help (in Russian) (foreign agent); UNHCR Help: country information for refugees; The Moscow Times: Serbia starts expelling Russians without legal status (27.03.2026, in Russian) (foreign agent, undesirable)