BELGRADE -- A Russian diplomat and alleged spy expelled by the European Union for "illegal and disruptive actions" is serving as an election observer for upcoming parliamentary and local elections in Serbia as part of a mission with Europe's largest security body, an RFE/RL investigation has found.
Aleksandr Studenikin, 49, was listed as a counselor at Russia's permanent mission to the EU in Brussels when he and 18 other Russian diplomats were designated personae non gratae in April 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine two months earlier.
The EU said the blacklisted Russian diplomats engaged in activities "against the interests and security of the EU and its member states."
Now Studenikin is among a group of 30 election observers representing the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for Serbia's elections for parliament and 65 municipalities on December 17.
A media report had previously alleged that Studenikin was an employee of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). A senior European official with access to classified information also told RFE/RL that Studenikin works for the SVR, though Studenikin himself denies any intelligence links.
Studenikin is one of four Russians on the list of the long-term observers with the observation mission of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). These observers are responsible for monitoring the entire electoral process, "gaining an in-depth understanding of the overall administrative procedures and campaign environment," according to the OSCE.
The group also includes observers from the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Denmark, Belarus, and seven other countries.
While Studenikin's assignment in Serbia is temporary, the Balkan country has become a destination for Russian diplomats kicked out of the EU.
An investigation by RFE/RL in March found that at least three Russian diplomats with ties to Russian intelligence who were blacklisted by EU member states had resurfaced as accredited Russian diplomats in Serbia, one of the few European countries that has not leveled sanctions against Russia over the Kremlin's all-out war on Ukraine.
Their expulsions came as EU governments blacklisted hundreds of Russian diplomats following Moscow's February 2022 invasion, with several of these states citing alleged espionage as the grounds for expulsion.
The Serbian elections come amid mounting pressure on Belgrade from Western governments to impose sanctions on Moscow over Russian aggression in Ukraine. The ruling Serbian Progressive Party and President Aleksandar Vucic have held their coalition together with parties seen as strongly pro-Russian, while the pro-EU opposition has struggled to gain popularity in a country where a majority of the population sees Russia as a friendly nation.
Vucic has sought to balance Belgrade's aspirations to join the EU with its friendly relationship with Russia, which shares Serbia's Orthodox Christian heritage and has supported Belgrade in disputes with the West.
Russians working for the OSCE have previously encountered difficulties entering certain EU countries. Last year, Polish authorities declared two Russian employees of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly personae non gratae, saying they posed "a threat to state security." One of the employees, Darya Boyarskaya, was detained at the Lithuanian-Russian border while attempting to visit relatives in Kaliningrad.
OSCE member countries select the individuals they want to join an election-observation mission. The OSCE itself does not manage the recruitment of these observers, who are recommended by member states.
Studenikin, who previously worked at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, arrived in Serbia on November 19 to begin his work as an OSCE election observer.
Studenikin's group of observers is responsible for several municipalities in eastern Serbia, and he has met with local political representatives in Zajecar and Kladovo, near the borders with Bulgaria and Romania, respectively.
Studenikin has attended campaign events for both ruling and opposition parties in the region where he has been deployed, according to news reports and an RFE/RL source. Such activities are expected of long-term observers, according to the OSCE.
Reached by telephone in Serbia, Studenikin claimed to RFE/RL that the basis for his expulsion was information on his LinkedIn account, which included his employment with the OPCW.
"We had about 500 people expelled from Europe. It turns out that if you're Russian, you're a spy," he said. "Whether a diplomat or not, that doesn't matter to everyone."
An ODIHR spokesperson told RFE/RL that the organization had "not been informed" that the EU had declared Studenikin persona non grata. Election observers are selected by their respective countries and "must abide by the observer code of conduct," the spokesperson added.
"Any serious violation of the code will lead to the immediate withdrawal of an observer's accreditation," the spokesperson said.
RFE/RL sent inquiries about Studenikin's role as an election observer to the Serbian Foreign Ministry, the Serbian Central Election Commission, and Russia's permanent mission to the OSCE in Vienna. None responded in time for publication.
Asked about Studenikin's expulsion last year, the Belgian Foreign Ministry referred questions to the EU's External Action Service, which did not respond to an inquiry in time for publication.
'Contrary To Diplomatic Status'
Studenikin's inclusion on the EU blacklist announced in April 2022 was first reported in a joint investigation by the EU Observer and the Dossier Center investigative group. The EU Observer alleged that he works for the SVR.
The senior European official with access to classified information that RFE/RL spoke to also said Studenikin was an SVR employee, which Studenikin denied.
"Maybe I would like to work for someone [like that], but such an opportunity has not presented itself in my career so far. So, no, definitely not," he told RFE/RL.
In an e-mailed response to an inquiry about Studenikin, the SVR said it declined to comment.
The EU did not release the names of the 19 blacklisted Russian diplomats or directly accuse them of espionage, but said they engaged "in activities contrary to their diplomatic status."
"The European Union is acting in response to the illegal and disruptive actions by designated members of the Russian Mission against the interests and security of the EU and its member states," the EU said in a statement.
Studenikin's name still appears on the website of Russia's permanent mission to the EU, where he is listed as an adviser on industrial cooperation.
That list, which appears not to have been updated, includes multiple Russian diplomats who have since left Brussels. They include Denis Pavlov, a diplomat who has been dispatched to the Central African Republic to coordinate between Russian mercenaries and local police, a recent RFE/RL investigation found.
Chemical Weapons Background
Studenikin was not a career diplomat prior to joining Russia's permanent mission to the EU in 2014, according to his LinkedIn profile. With a military education in chemical defense, Studenikin worked at the OPCW, the 193-member organization with the stated task of permanently eliminating chemical weapons.
Russia has had a fraught relationship with the OPCW since 2018, when the organization confirmed that a powerful Soviet-era nerve agent known as Novichok was used in the near-fatal poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England. Britain has accused Russian military intelligence of responsibility in the attack.
Novichok was later identified as the substance used in a similar attack on Russian opposition activist Aleksei Navalny in 2020. Taken together, the discovery suggested the possibility that Russia had an undeclared, secret chemical-weapons program in contravention of international treaty.
Russia denies involvement in the Skripal and Navalny poisonings despite substantial evidence documenting the presence of Russian intelligence operatives connected to both incidents. Moscow also denies it maintains a secret chemical-weapons program.
In October 2018, Dutch and U.S. authorities accused Russian military intelligence of a plot to hack the computer systems of the OPCW.
Russia last month lost its reelection bid for a place on the OPCW's Executive Council, marking the first time in the organization's history that Moscow will not have a seat on the decision-making body.
A source who worked in the OPCW headquarters in The Hague for more than 10 years told RFE/RL that Studenikin came to the organization as an inspector but quickly moved to the International Assistance and Cooperation Department, responsible for supporting "state parties' efforts to meet their obligations under the convention" as well as "facilitating the national implementation and responding and dealing with threats involving toxic chemicals."
Leaked Russian tax records indicate that Studenikin has also worked as an expert at Russia's now-defunct Federal Agency on Industry, which, among other things, was responsible for fulfilling Russia's obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Studenikin's LinkedIn profile states that he completed several training courses related to protection against chemical weapons. These include sessions at Britain's main training center for protection against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats. RFE/RL was unable to establish when this purported training took place.
Studenikin told RFE/RL that his employment with the OPCW ended simply because his contract ended.
The OSCE handbook for long-term election observers like Studenikin states that for this role, the organization requests people "with experience in the administration of elections, election-related legal expertise, and/or comparative observation experience."
Studenikin's LinkedIn profile does not mention any experience in election monitoring or other work with the OSCE, whose work has frequently been criticized by Western governments as being paralyzed by Russia.
The OSCE held its annual summit in North Macedonia in November, with the foreign ministers of several member countries boycotting the meeting because of the presence of Russia's top diplomats, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Carl Schreck, Andrei Soshnikov, Sergei Dobrynin, and Mike Eckel contributed to this report
