Leonid Volkov

Leonid Volkov Ph.D. is one of the leading figures of Russia’s democratic opposition and the political director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), the main organization of the anti-Putin and anti-war movement founded by Alexei Navalny. For more than a decade, he has been at the heart of the resistance against authoritarianism, advocating for transparency, free elections, and civil society in Russia.

Volkov played a central role in Alexei Navalny’s political campaigns, serving as campaign manager and chief of staff for the 2013 Moscow mayoral race and the 2018 presidential campaign. Under his leadership, Navalny’s team built an unprecedented nationwide grassroots network of 85 regional offices, more than 400 staff, and over 180,000 volunteers. These campaigns reshaped Russian politics and inspired a new generation of civic activism, despite ongoing state repression.

His political engagement has come at a high personal cost: since 2019, Volkov has lived in exile in Lithuania, facing 12 politically motivated criminal cases initiated by the Kremlin. He has been arrested seven times, spent over 120 days in jail, and was the target of a violent attack in Vilnius in 2024.

Beyond politics, Leonid Volkov is also a respected author, educator, and speaker. He is the bestselling author of Putinland, a Spiegel bestseller that analyzes how Putin’s Russia became an aggressor state, as well as Cloud Democracy, exploring how modern technology can transform electoral politics. He has taught at universities across Europe and the United States, including as a Visiting Professor of Practice at Wesleyan University and a Yale World Fellow (2018).

Volkov’s academic background includes a M.Sc. in Mathematics (2002) and a Ph.D. in Theoretical Computer Science (2006), both from Ural State University. This scientific and analytical foundation informs his approach to politics, strategy, and teaching.

As one of the most recognized Russian opposition voices worldwide, Volkov is a frequent keynote speaker at international conferences, corporate events, and leading universities. He appears regularly in global media and reaches millions through his online platforms, including his YouTube channel, where he comments on Russian politics to an audience of more than 160,000 subscribers, and through weekly appearances on Popular Politics, Navalny’s media channel with 2.5M+ subscribers.