A Russian migrant in Georgia reported an FSB recruitment attempt.

FSB officers in Vladikavkaz coerced Russian citizen Roman Yevseyev, who moved to Georgia in 2022 but returned to Russia for one day at the end of 2025, to cooperate.

Yevseyev lived in Kemerovo until 2022, and moved to Georgia in the summer of 2022. He claims to have volunteered in Tbilisi and helped Ukrainian refugees.

"For me, this departure was a form of civil dissent with what was happening," Yevseyev was quoted as saying by the First Department* law firm.

In December 2025, Yevseyev decided to send his belongings to acquaintances in Russia, as he was considering leaving Georgia "due to changes in Georgian legislation." He planned to take a one-day trip—"arrive in Vladikavkaz in the morning, drop off the cargo, and return at night"—and saw "no particular risks."

When the activist went through passport control at Verkhniy Lars, a checkpoint officer "started calling someone." After this, according to Yevseyev, he was taken to a neighboring building for his first interrogation, which lasted several hours: security officers took his passport and phone, and "asked him to empty his pockets, strip to the waist, and show whether he had tattoos." He was then taken "to another, separate building, where access was by pass," where FSB officers were stationed.

He pressured me, telling me not to lie, saying they could throw me in the river.

According to Yevseyev, a security officer in civilian clothes, who showed no documents, immediately began threatening him, threatening to "send him to the SVO." The Russian was asked questions about his activities in Georgia and shown a video of a rally in support of Ukraine in Tbilisi—Yevseyev notes that he attended the event.

"He started showing photos of some people, asking who they were. I replied that I didn't know. He pressured me, telling me not to lie, (...) saying they could throw me in the river. After that, they took my photos, fingerprints, and a mouth swab. This was particularly disturbing," he said, noting that he spent more than four hours being interrogated in the second building. The police officer then took Yevseyev "to show his things," which by that point "someone had already rummaged through," and later that night the activist was allowed to enter Russia.

For me, it was a moment of true horror. I hadn't told anyone exactly where I lived.

In Vladikavkaz, Roman Yevseyev rented an apartment for the day through Avito and spent the night. In the morning, when he left the apartment for lunch, he received a call from an unknown number. The person, who identified himself as an FSB officer named Azamat, asked Yevseyev where he was, since security forces had already "gone up to the apartment" but couldn't find him there. "For me, it was a moment of true horror. I hadn't told anyone exactly where I lived, I just rented an apartment for the day—and then they told me they were already coming for me. I realized they had somehow tracked me down," the migrant said.

Yevseyev agreed to meet with Azamat at the shopping center, arguing that "disappearing would no longer be an option." From there, he was taken by car to the FSB office in North Ossetia and interrogated again, taking his "passport, phone, and belongings." During the interrogation, the security officer asked Yevseyev why he left Russia and who he worked with in Georgia, specifically "he was especially interested in Ukrainians."

"Who I talked to, where I went, what rallies I attended (...) At some point, another man came into the office, looked at me, and called me a dissident. He said that it was people like me he later recruited for espionage, treason, and sabotage. Azamat said they had enough material for several criminal charges against me and that now I'd better start talking to them normally," the Russian reported.

As a result, security officials forced Yevseyev to sign a voluntary, confidential cooperation agreement. They stated that his return to Georgia was a condition, but warned him not to return to Russia. After leaving the FSB headquarters in Vladikavkaz, he "immediately went to Mineralnye Vody" and from there flew to Georgia the following morning. Azamat instructed him on how to contact him via Telegram, but Yevseyev never contacted the security official and, after a while, left Georgia.

* are included in the Russian register of foreign agents.

** The activities of Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) are banned in Russia.