Ilya Ponomarev

Ilya Vladimirovich Ponomarev (Russian: Илья́ Влади́мирович Пономарёв, Ukrainian: Ілля Володимирович Пономарьов, romanized: Illia Volodymyrovych Ponomariov; born 6 August 1975) is a Russian-Ukrainian politician who was a member of the Russian State Duma from 2007 to 2016.

He was the only member of the State Duma not to vote in favour of the Russian gay propaganda law (he abstained) and to vote against Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014. In 2015, while in the United States, Ponomarev was formally charged in Russia with embezzlement, which he called politically motivated. In 2016, he was impeached for not performing his duties, and he went into exile in Ukraine, where he obtained Ukrainian citizenship in 2019.

Following the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ponomarev stated that he had joined Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces, and he denounced the invasion. Ponomarev also endorsed acts of sabotage and arson in Russia, and launched a Russian-language opposition television channel called February Morning (Russian: Утро Февраля, romanized: Utro Fevralya). Following the killing of Darya Dugina, Ponomarev has claimed to have been in contact with a hitherto-unknown group called the National Republican Army which he said claimed responsibility for the killing. He claims not to be a member but a supporter who is trusted to receive press releases. Ponomarev's claims have been treated by observers with scepticism.

Ponomarev is the author of the book, Does Putin Have to Die?: The Story of How Russia Becomes a Democracy after Losing to Ukraine, released 4 October 2022 by Skyhorse Publishing.