Mansur Movlaev: the man no one can deport
Extradition, non-refoulement and the UN Convention against Torture, tested against one case in Kazakhstan.
Journalist · Editor · Russian-trained lawyer
Andrei Baklanov
I report on power, law and public institutions — and build independent media that make complex events legible.
01 / About
About
I am a journalist, editor and founder of the Factum media projects. My work sits where reporting meets legal analysis: public institutions, political pressure, immigration systems and the rules that shape people’s lives.
In the 2000s I founded and led the newspaper Omsky Khronograf, then founded Omsk55.ru in 2012 and served as its editor-in-chief through 2019. After 2019 I worked as a lawyer in Russia before moving to the United States. Now based in San Jose, California, I lead FACTUM.PRESS and develop Factum Media and Factum Immigration.
I trained as a lawyer in Russia. That training shapes how I read documents and how I approach the law in my reporting. I do not practise law in the United States, and nothing I publish is legal advice.
02 / Selected work
Selected work
A selection of analysis, reported explainers and editor’s columns. Every link leads to the original publication.
Human rights & law
Fifteen years for a journalist from Melitopol
International humanitarian law applied to a conviction in occupied territory: the Fourth Geneva Convention and a closed trial.
War & verification
Wildberries warehouses under attack
Military objective, dual-use goods and civilian harm — where established fact ends and legal classification begins.
OSINT & technology
Rassvet after the second launch
Orbital catalogues, satellite parameters and manufacturing capacity set against official statements.
State coercion & institutions
From draft notice to passport
How separate laws and databases were assembled into a working system of conscription enforcement.
U.S. policy & sanctions
Trump signs the Graham sanctions bill
Reading the act itself: tariff powers, timelines and the mechanism against buyers of Russian energy.
U.S. immigration law
Asylum and fleeing mobilization: what Matter of R-A-N- changed
A BIA precedent read against the facts: when refusing to fight counts as a protected ground, and when it does not.
USCIS can refer asylum cases to court without an interview
A procedural change with direct consequences for applicants, traced through the rule itself.
Practical reporting
Covered California 2026
What changes in the state health plan and what it means for those enrolling.
Getting your rental deposit back in California
Deadlines, deductions and what the landlord must prove.
CommentaryThey left with almost nothingEditor’s column. Negotiating strategy read from what the parties did, not what they said.
03 / Projects
Projects
Three publications, each with its own audience and editorial task.
Factum Media
Independent reporting and practical coverage for the Bay Area, from public institutions and business to the daily life of Northern California.
factum.mediaFactum Immigration
Independent journalism about U.S. immigration policy, courts and enforcement, built around primary documents and careful legal review.
factumimmigration.comFACTUM.PRESS
A Russian-language publication that reconstructs events from multiple independent sources and makes its verification method visible to the reader.
factum.press04 / Contact
Contact
For editorial questions, corrections and professional enquiries.
- FACTUM.PRESS editorialinfo@factum.press
- General enquiriesinfo@factum.media
- Telegram@andreibaklanov
San Jose, California