Denis Kulanin ended his hunger strike.
Denis Kulanin, placed in a migration center in Tbilisi after being pardoned, ended his dry hunger strike today, which he had been conducting due to fears of deportation to Russia.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on August 29 it became known that Kulanin started a dry hunger strike due to fears of being deported to Russia and the lack of information about the whereabouts of his foreign passport. The consideration of the deportation issue was scheduled for August 30, and activists purchased a ticket for Kulanin to a third country.
30-year-old Russian citizen Denis Kulanin was detained on March 28, 2025, on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi and taken into custody on charges of damaging a police car during a protest. In court, he apologized for his actions and pleaded guilty. In early June, the court sentenced him to two years in prison. Denis Kulanin's name is included in the list of political prisoners in Georgia. At the end of February 2026, he declared a hunger strike due to being placed in a punishment cell.
Denis Kulanin today ended his dry hunger strike in the Tbilisi City Court after his lawyer showed him the foreign passport, the whereabouts of which had previously been unknown to him. After that, Kulanin immediately asked for water, reported the Telegram channel Tbilisi life.
Kulanin's lawyers requested his release under the guarantee of activist Marina Meskhi until his voluntary departure from Georgia. A ticket from Georgia to Armenia has been purchased for Kulanin for September 1.
Tbilisi City Court judge Nino Shcherbakova decided to keep Kulanin in the temporary accommodation center of the migration department. According to the court's decision, he can stay there for up to three months – until the grounds for his detention are eliminated or the deportation procedure is completed. According to Tbilisi life, Kulanin's flight from Georgia is scheduled for 12:40 on September 1.
The end of the hunger strike was confirmed by lawyer Dmitry Nozadze, reported today by the agency "InterressNews".
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia indicated in its petition the risk that Kulanin might hide and evade the deportation procedure. Lawyer Dmitry Nozadze informed the agency that Kulanin agreed to voluntarily leave for a third country, and until his departure, he will be in the migration center. The migration department is to take him to the airport.