Protest against the release of Pablo González Photo: Carlos Luján / ContactoPhoto / Profimedia
Earlier this month, Russia repatriated eight citizens, including a murderer, several hackers, and undercover agents, in the largest prisoner exchange in the history of Russian-Western relations. Among the spies was Pavel Rubtsov (42), who had been a constant presence at EU forums and Russian democratic opposition conferences, where delegates knew him as Pablo Gonzalez, a Spanish journalist, reports Novaya Gazeta Europe.
Rubtsov was arrested in Poland for espionage just days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. In May 2023, the independent publication Aghenstvo reported that Gonzalez was likely a covert agent of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence, operating within the circle of Zhanna Nemtsova, daughter of the murdered politician Boris Nemtsov.
With Poland providing no official explanation for his arrest, many Russian opposition leaders struggled to believe that Gonzalez was a GRU agent until they saw, with shock, that Putin personally greeted him at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport on August 1.
The Boris Nemtsov Forum, an annual event where Russian opposition figures meet with European politicians and intellectuals to discuss the future of EU-Russia relations, took place in Berlin in October 2017. It featured politicians such as Ilya Yashin and Dmitry Gudkov, lawyer Ilya Novikov, and other representatives of the democratic opposition.
Many attendees remember the Spanish journalist Pablo Gonzalez, who introduced himself as a freelancer specializing in Eastern Europe and military conflicts. He was fluent in Russian and actively participated in discussions about the importance of free speech, having numerous useful contacts.
Gonzalez first met Zhanna Nemtsova in Brussels in 2016. Pavel Yelizarov, a Portuguese political activist and former husband of Nemtsova, recalls that Gonzalez requested an interview, after which he became part of her circle. “Pablo was a man from all corners. He liked to sit in a bar and drink beer, but he was an adrenaline junkie, so he went where there were military conflicts and protests,” Yelizarov recalls.
Gonzalez also befriended special correspondent Ilya Azar from Novaya Gazeta while covering conflicts in Donbas and Nagorno-Karabakh. Azar notes that during their time working together, he never suspected Gonzalez might be a GRU agent.
Rubtsov, born in Moscow in 1982, changed his name to Pablo Gonzalez Yague after moving to Spain in the late 1980s. He began his journalism career in 2014, covering military conflicts and political issues for Spanish and international outlets.
Before the Russian invasion, Gonzalez was in eastern Ukraine and was interrogated by Ukrainian intelligence officers but was later released. He then attempted to enter Ukraine through the Polish border, only to be detained by Polish authorities on suspicion of espionage.
According to sources close to the investigation, Gonzalez passed information about Zhanna Nemtsova’s activities and her fund to the GRU. This information has not been commented on by the Nemtsov Foundation.
It remains unclear whether Gonzalez will be tried in absentia by a Polish court, even after the prisoner exchange. Rubtsov’s case once again underscores that Russian intelligence agencies continue to actively target political opposition both within Russia and abroad.
