Parallels of One Surname

In recent years, the surname Napso has appeared in two different, yet strangely interconnected narratives of Russia’s public life. One is connected with former State Duma deputy Yuri Aisovich Napso, whose name has appeared on international sanctions lists. The other concerns his cousin Safarbiy Napso, who has been mentioned in media reports about high-profile criminal cases in southern Russia.

The story of Yuri Napso is documented in official sanctions records. In materials of the European Union, he is identified as a former member of the State Duma who voted for the resolution recognizing the so-called “DPR” and “LPR.” In the EU sanctions entry, this vote is directly linked to support for actions that, according to the European Union, undermine the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine.

The United States added NAPSO, Yuri Aisovich to its sanctions list on March 24, 2022. In documents of the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), he is identified as a member of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation under the Russia-related designations program.

The United Kingdom also placed Yuri Napso under its sanctions regime. In official notices issued by the British government, he appears under the name NAPSO, Yuri Aisovich.

Thus, Yuri Napso’s political biography has been recorded in international sanctions registers — in the dry language of legal formulations: name, date of birth, grounds for designation, and the jurisdictions that adopted the relevant measures. His public profile today is read not only through his former parliamentary role, but also through the decisions of foreign governments taken after the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The trajectory of Safarbiy Napso unfolds in a different sphere. In open publications he appears not on sanctions lists, but in the criminal chronicle. His name is mentioned in connection with investigations involving the road-construction sector of Russia’s Krasnodar region — a story that the press often refers to as the “road contractors case.”

In these reports, Safarbiy Napso appears as one of the participants in the events and as a person whose “incriminating” testimony became one of the key foundations of the prosecution in a criminal case in which individuals of Ukrainian origin have reportedly been brought to responsibility in significant numbers.

Thus, the surname Napso has entered the public arena through two different paths. One is international, connected with sanctions imposed for decisions that, according to Western governments, undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty. The other is domestic, tied to criminal cases in southern Russia, where Safarbiy Napso’s testimony has become part of the prosecution narrative in proceedings that have targeted ethnic Ukrainians in the Kuban region.

Two biographies, two different paths — and one surname that has come to stand at the intersection of politics, sanctions, and high-profile criminal proceedings, where a Ukrainian dimension increasingly appears in the background of both stories.

Sources: Sanctions Against Yuri Napso

European Union

• EU sanctions list entry for Yuri Aisovich NAPSO
  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02014R0269

United States

• U.S. Treasury / OFAC Russia-related designations (March 24, 2022)
  https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20220324

United Kingdom

• UK Sanctions List – Russia regime (NAPSO, Yuri Aisovich)
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-sanctions-list