Alexander Nevzorov, renowned for his role as a television host during the Soviet era's glasnost reforms, has become a vocal critic of Vladimir Putin and Russia's actions, particularly since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A court in St. Petersburg rendered the verdict on Tuesday, which not only labeled Nevzorov and his wife Lidia as extremists but also resulted in the confiscation of their assets, including land, a building, a vehicle, and shares in a company.

Speaking from outside Russia, Nevzorov condemned the ruling as a pioneering effort by the Putin regime to intimidate dissenters rather than a mere financial penalty.

"This is the first such case in the legal history of humanity. That is remarkable, of course," Nevzorov commented in a YouTube interview. He said that the Kremlin's intent behind such actions was to instill fear rather than reap financial gains from confiscations.

Nevzorov was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison last year for allegedly spreading "fake news" about the Russian military. The Kremlin has justified these measures by framing dissent as undermining national unity amid what it terms an existential war in Ukraine.

Earlier this year, Russia's parliament passed legislation enabling the seizure of assets from individuals abroad deemed to discredit the army, propagate false information, incite extremism, or call for sanctions against Russia.

Nevzorov, while personally impacted by the court's ruling, expressed defiance, seeing it as a break from a regime he views as "cannibalistic" and "degenerate."

"I'm the first person who was able to experience the sweetness of totally breaking - even in the smallest material things - with the cannibalistic, degenerate regime of Russia, with everything that was dear to me there or for some reason important," Nevzorov stated.