Russia's top prosecutor, key figure in dissent crackdown, poised to become new Supreme Court head
Igor Krasnov, Russia's Prosecutor General known for his pivotal role in the Kremlin's crackdown on dissent, is set to become the new head of the country’s Supreme Court, the Moscow Times reported on Aug. 25.
Krasnov, 49, submitted his application to lead the court on Aug. 25, following the death of Irina Podnosova, Russian President Vladimir Putin's former classmate who chaired the court from April 2024 until she died of cancer in July 2025.
The chief prosecutor is the only candidate for the position, and the application process is now closed.
Previously a senior investigator at Russia’s Investigative Committee, Krasnov gained national attention after leading the probe into the 2015 murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, one of the most prominent political enemies of Putin.
Nemtsov co-led the opposition to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, which began in 2014. He was shot dead near the Kremlin in 2015.
In 2020, Krasnov was appointed Prosecutor General. During his tenure, Krasnov oversaw the arrest of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny when he returned from Germany in 2021, and later helped label all organizations linked to Navalny as "extremist," according to the Moscow Times.
Navalny died under unclear circumstances in prison in February 2024, with Western governments and human rights organizations accusing Putin of being responsible for his death.
Krasnov also moved to blacklist the British Council as "undesirable," declare the so-called "LGBT movement" as extremist, and supported banning certain books from sale.
The Supreme Court is Russia's court of final appeal. Its 115 members are nominated by the Russian president and appointed by the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the country's parliament.
Human rights experts say that Russia's judicial system is tightly controlled by the government, often used to repress political opponents.
