Farida Kurbangaleeva (Born August 27, 1979, Kazan, Russia) is a Russian journalist and former television anchor who became known for her work with Rossiya 1, a state-controlled Russian TV channel. She left Russia in 2014 following the annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of the war in eastern Ukraine, distancing herself from state propaganda and becoming increasingly critical of the Russian government. [1] [2] [3] [4]
She worked for the state-run Rossiya 1 channel as a presenter for the "Vesti" news program until 2014, when she left both her job and Russia in protest of the annexation of Crimea. After relocating to Prague, she worked for the Russian-language TV channel Current Time from 2018 to 2021. She currently collaborates with the exiled news outlet Govorit NeMoskva and runs her own YouTube channel, where she continues to cover Russian political and social issues. [1] [5]
On June 28, 2024, Russia's Ministry of Justice designated her a "foreign agent." Later that year, October 9, Russian state media RIA Novosti reported that an international arrest warrant had been issued against her, but such an entry was not found on the public Interpol website. [6] On February 11, 2025, Russia's Prosecutor General's Office formally requested the extradition of Farida Kurbangaleeva from the Czech Republic. [7] [1] [5]
On 22 May, 2025 Prague's Municipal Court ruled against her extradition, as the court accepted the argument presented by state prosecutor Kateřina Štěpánková, deeming the extradition inadmissible. [8]