Russian satirical writer and Kremlin critic Viktor Shenderovich said Tuesday he left Russia fearing that a criminal case for slander would be opened against him after the authorities designated him a "foreign agent."
Shenderovich, 63, did not disclose where he had gone and refused to comment.
"(My) departure is exactly what the Kremlin has been hinting I do over the last 20 years of endless and demonstrative criminality directed at me," Shenderovich wrote on Facebook.
There was no response from the Kremlin.
In December, Shenderovich, a journalist, was labeled a "foreign agent" by Russia's justice ministry in a crackdown on dissent that stepped up last year. The term has a negative Soviet-era connotation and those labeled face discrimination and tedious bureaucratic requirements.
He has been at odds with the authorities for years.
His old "Puppets" political satire program on national television lampooned politicians, including President Vladimir Putin, who had just come to power at the turn of the century. The show was taken off-air in 2002.
Shenderovich's biting criticism of the state of Russian politics was eventually only heard on a handful of outlets like Moscow's liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy or the TV Rain online news channel.
He was sued last year by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessperson accused by the United States of election meddling and spreading malign influence around the world, something he denies. Shenderovich was ordered to pay out 100,000 roubles ($1,330) for comments he made on Ekho Moskvy.
On Dec. 30, Prigozhin's company Konkord said it was pursuing criminal action and Shenderovich could face up to five years in jail.
