Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a criminal case against Ksenia Maximova, a Liberal Democrat councillor in London, and added her to Russia’s wanted list.
Maximova was also added to the register of “terrorists and extremists.” The FSB accused Maximova of joining a “terrorist organization” and alleged that the Russian Democratic Society, of which she is a co-founder, had raised money and other forms of assistance “in the interests of the Kyiv regime.”
Maximova, 40, said the measures had not significantly affected her political career and that her colleagues in the United Kingdom had supported her. She said a possible future decision by Russian authorities to add her to the Interpol list could create problems when crossing borders, and added that she was concerned about her family in Russia.
Political work on Ukraine and Russia
Once named among the world’s 50 most successful models in the 2000s, Maximova has worked since 2022 to support Ukraine and assist Russian anti-war immigrants and refugees. As part of these activities, she has cooperated with the Russian Anti-War Committee and become one of the prominent figures in London’s anti-Russia movement.
Maximova said she had prepared reports and analyses on Russia and Ukraine, which she used in her advocacy work to support sanctions and assistance for Ukraine. She also said she had worked with a Russian diaspora organization, a committee in the UK Parliament and efforts to establish an interparliamentary alliance on Russia.
Maximova said she had decided to enter politics to work more effectively on issues related to Russia. She said she ran in elections about six months after joining the Liberal Democrats and viewed her election to a London borough council as a natural step toward becoming involved in British politics from within.
From local council to a parliamentary candidacy
Maximova said that during her time as a councillor she had dealt with local issues including drought, park fires and insufficient budgets for firefighting and maintaining pond water levels. She said animals had died during the drought and that economic difficulties and social housing applications were among the most challenging cases in her area.
Describing her council membership as a stepping stone toward running for Parliament in the future, Maximova said she had applied to become a parliamentary candidate. She said her next steps were to learn the party’s policies and pass the required examinations.
Spent about six weeks in Ukraine
Maximova, who said she was a British citizen, said she had recently spent about six weeks in Ukraine. She said Kyiv was more conducive to her work because experts, journalists, politicians, decision-makers, charities and civil society organizations were concentrated there.
Maximova said airstrikes in Ukraine had become more intense recently and that people were constantly losing sleep. She argued that sections of Western societies that had not experienced the effects of the war directly were responding more slowly to developments. She also said the approach toward anti-war Russians in Ukraine was more complex than the assumption that all Russians were viewed in the same way.
Maximova said her immigrant background had not been an obstacle for her in British politics and that voters were concerned not only with international developments but also with energy prices and local issues. Believing that the political balance in the United Kingdom offered opportunities for the Liberal Democrats, Maximova said she was still considering whether to run in parliamentary elections and how effective she could be in the role.
