Verbitsky's departure from Armenia was an exception to the long-standing practice of travel restrictions.
Mathematician Mikhail Verbitsky was able to fly from Yerevan to Tel Aviv after the Armenian Prosecutor General's Office granted him permission to leave the country. Verbitsky's case was an exception, as in other similar cases, defendants are unable to leave Armenia for years.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on June 13, it was reported that Russian mathematician Mikhail Verbitsky was detained at Yerevan's Zvartnots Airport. Russian authorities placed him on the wanted list for charges of justifying terrorism and discrediting the army. On June 15, Verbitsky was released from custody, but was unable to leave Armenia.
Mikhail Verbitsky, 56, is a Russian mathematician, publicist, and cultural scholar. In 1995, he graduated from Harvard University with a PhD in mathematics. Verbitsky later worked as a professor in the Mathematics Department at the Higher School of Economics. In 1998, Verbitsky founded the independent music label UR-REALIST, which released over 40 albums, including recordings by "Civil Defense." In 2015, Verbitsky left Russia due to fears of criminal prosecution and subsequently taught at the National Institute of Mathematics in Rio de Janeiro. In 2025, the scientist was added to the Rosfinmonitoring list of terrorists and extremists. At the same time, the Nagatinsky Court of Moscow arrested him in absentia on charges of justifying terrorism, as previously reported by the Telegram channel "Ostorogno Novosti."
After his release from custody, Mikhail Verbitsky was able to leave Armenia and is now in Tel Aviv. The Armenian Prosecutor General's Office granted his petition, allowing him to leave the country, Verbitsky's lawyer Vache Simonyan.
"Usually, a person wanted by another country is unable to leave Armenia as long as the word 'wanted' appears next to his name. However, in individual cases, this becomes possible if the Armenian Prosecutor's Office grants the lawyer's petition," the lawyer noted.
In a conversation with a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, Simonyan noted that Verbitsky's departure to Tel Aviv can be considered a success, since in other similar cases, people are often unable to leave Armenia for years.
"We have many similar practices. Although in Armenia, "We manage to achieve some positive outcome for people; they are not deported to the requesting countries, but nevertheless, their rights and freedom of movement remain restricted, and they cannot leave Armenia. This is an unresolved issue. And in this case, everything was resolved quite successfully," Simonyan told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
He explained that the key factor in Verbitsky's story was the lack of an extradition request from Moscow.
Russian authorities placed Mikhail Verbitsky on the wanted list in 2025 as part of a criminal case opened under the article on public justification or propaganda of terrorism, said his wife, Yulia Verbitskaya.
"He himself connects the charges brought against him with his criticism of the Russian authorities after the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall and his expression of opposition to the Putin regime," she told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
On March 22, 2024, armed men stormed the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region, opening fire and setting fire to the building. The FSB classified the incident as a terrorist attack. According to official figures as of March 30, 2024, 144 people were killed and 551 injured in the attack on Crocus City Hall. The terrorist attack in Krasnogorsk was one of the largest in the Moscow region in 30 years. News on this topic is published by the "Caucasian Knot" on the topic page "Terrorist Attacks in Moscow and the Caucasus".
The Armenian authorities' decision was welcomed by lawyer and human rights activist Ani Chatinyan. "We will try to be consistent so that Armenia, whenever possible, allows citizens to return to a country where they have opportunities for protection and the opportunity to avoid being deported to a country where their rights and freedoms could be violated," she told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
A solution to such problems could be Armenia's refusal to fulfill its legal obligations to extradite wanted individuals, undertaken within the CIS.
"Obligations for legal cooperation with CIS countries are the reason that some people entering Armenia are detained on the basis of international search requests," Chatinyan explained.
Since Armenia positions itself as a democratic country, its authorities should refrain from fulfilling these requirements and should strive to ensure the protection of human rights and freedoms, she added.
"Caucasian Knot" also wrote that Russian citizens who have moved to Armenia periodically face Search requests and extradition demands. For example, on October 21, 2024, security forces in Yerevan detained Russian citizen Roman Shklover, who is suspected in Russia of publicly justifying terrorism. On August 5, 2025, it became known that Russian authorities had issued a request for Shklover's extradition.
In May, Kazan activist Mark Serov, who lives in Georgia, was detained upon entering Armenia. He is wanted in his home country for vandalism motivated by political hatred.
In October 2025, it became known that Russian citizen Liliya Manyukhina, convicted after posting anti-war leaflets in Moscow, had been arrested in Armenia. Human rights activists noted that Armenia regularly rejects Russia's extradition requests due to politically motivated persecution, but in Manyukhina's case, the courts did not see any political motives.
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