A Russian civil and gay rights activist, Kirill Kalugin, has applied for political asylum in Germany.
Kalugin, a vocal Kremlin critic, told RFE/RL on November 26 that he had left Russia on November 16 and officially asked for political asylum in Germany.
Kalugin said that he does not want "to risk his destiny because of the shortsightedness of the 84 percent of the Russian population," who support President Vladimir Putin.
Kalugin's statement about his intention to get asylum in Germany comes a day after media reports in Russia said another lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights activist from St. Petersburg, Artur Akhmetgaliyev, had applied for political asylum in Germany along with his partner.
In September, another activist from St. Petersburg, Natalya Tsymbalova, a founder of the group Straight Alliance for LGBT Equality, lodged a formal request for political asylum in Spain.
