Vladimir Kara-Murza was granted honorary Canadian citizenship, cementing his place among some of the world’s great human rights heroes, including Raoul Wallenberg and Nelson Mandela.
This important announcement comes after our sustained advocacy on his behalf, and was made possible by an all-party group of parliamentarians who championed the cause and a coalition of Canadians from across the country who joined with us in calling for honorary citizenship.
A filmmaker and opposition politician, and vocal critic of Putin, Kara-Murza is a leading voice for Russian democracy and human rights. This April, he received a 25-year prison sentence on trumped up charges of “treason” for his fearless opposition of Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine.
This ruling - the harshest prison sentence ever imposed on a political prisoner in Putin’s Russia - was meant to silence legitimate political opposition to Putin’s destructive war of aggression and brutal dictatorship.
Kara-Murza has significant connections to Canada. In addition to being a Senior Fellow with our Centre, he was a regular presence in Canadian Parliament and a central figure in Canada’s adoption of Magnitsky laws. For this, he has faced two assassination attempts, which he barely survived.

Kara-Murza reflects the best of Canadian values.

We won't stop until he is free.

We hope to be able to welcome you to Canada one day soon, Vladimir!
Irwin Cotler and Minister of Public Safety, Marco Mendicino discuss the case of Vladimir Kara-Murza
Bill Browder, Senator Ratna Omidvar, and Brandon Silver prepare for a meeting in the Senate as part of our week of honorary citizenship advocacy for Vladimir Kara-Murza
“Vladimir Kara-Murza reflects and represents the struggle for freedom, democracy, and human rights in Russia, the struggle for justice and accountability in Ukraine, and the struggle for global justice as a whole. He embodies in his own person and in his principles the struggle for democracy and freedom. Conferring honorary citizenship on Vladimir Kara-Murza affirms the fundamental and foundational values that Canada seeks to represent.” - Irwin Cotler, RWCHR International Chair and Special Envoy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Community of Democracies in the Case of Vladimir Kara-Murza
Irwin Cotler and Senator Ratna Omidvar host a press conference Thursday announcing all party support for Vladimir Kara-Murza's honorary Canadian citizenship alongside Green Party Leader Elizabeth May; Senator Pierre Dalphond; Bloc Québécois MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe; Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne; and Heather McPherson, NDP MP (on screen). (Also present but not pictured: Liberal MPs Anthony Housefather and John McKay. Conservative Party members were also supportive but unable to attend.)
To learn more about Vladimir’s extraordinary leadership and ordeal, and why honorary Canadian citizenship will help give him life-saving cover, watch our short video. The story was also covered by the Canadian Press and picked up by major national publications including the National Post, Toronto Star, and the Globe and Mail.
Click the image above to watch a short video.
Podcast: The Price of Conviction

Our podcast will be launching next week!

The Price of Conviction tells the remarkable stories of political prisoners around the world risking it all for something bigger than themselves: our shared future.

With Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine dominating headlines, Season One: A Tale of Two Vladimirs brings you the story of a lesser known Vladimir: Vladimir Kara-Murza.