Yashin vows to resume work against Putin

Freed Russian opposition activist makes it a priority

- DASHA LITVINOVA

Forty-one-year-old dissident Ilya Yashin, released last week in the historic East-West prisoner exchange, admits he doesn't quite know how to be a politician in exile, a role that was forced upon him against his wishes.

All Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin had with him when he was released from his penal colony in a swap was his toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, his expired passport and the prison garb he was wearing.

But he has hit the ground running.

Within days of arriving in Germany, Yashin not only bought new clothes, set up a smartphone and reunited with his parents, but held a news conference, fielded questions from his supporters live on YouTube and held a rally in a Berlin park — even if it meant he didn’t have time to catch up on sleep.

The 41-year-old dissident, released last week in the historic East-West prisoner exchange, admits he doesn’t quite know how to be a politician in exile, a role that was forced upon him against his wishes.