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Monson is an
anarcho-communist. He presently hosts a multi-platform (TV/social media) political and social commentary program on Russian state-funded
RT called,
Monson TV.
[6]
In 2015, Monson sought Russian citizenship, citing that he felt "Russian in spirit."
[31] He was granted Russian citizenship in 2018 by President
Vladimir Putin.
[32]
In April 2016, Monson expressed his desire to join the
Communist Party of the Russian Federation in a video appeal to the party and praised socialism as "the only way as a human species that we’re going to survive."
[33] Soon after, he was invited to meet
Communist Party of the Russian Federation leader
Gennady Zyuganov in his office in the
State Duma, where they discussed the future of communism in Russia and globally.
[34] Monson later led a procession across
Red Square into
Lenin's Mausoleum together with Zyuganov dedicated to the anniversary of
Vladimir Lenin's birth.
[35] He was appointed as a special representative for international cooperation by the
Communist Party of the Russian Federation's Sport Club in June 2016.
[36]
Monson was the subject of a party political advertisement released in the run-up to the
2016 State Duma Elections.
[37]
In an interview, Monson stated his political views as follows: "I am an anarchist, someone who would like to do away with all class hierarchy in society and the institutions that promote this inequality."
[38]
Monson is a member of the
Industrial Workers of the World.
[9]
On September 11, 2016, Monson announced on
Twitter that he had become a citizen of the
Luhansk People's Republic to support local people who suffered during the
war in Donbas.
[3] He was made an honorary citizen of the
Republic of Abkhazia in October 2016 for "supporting nations striving for self-determination."
[4]
On September 9, 2018, Monson was elected to the
city duma (local city parliament) of
Krasnogorsk, a city located near
Moscow. Monson won the mandate as a candidate on the list of the ruling party
United Russia, which nominated him without membership in the party. In order to be able to carry out the mandate,
Monson had to give up his American citizenship in accordance with Russian law.[39][40]
Monson has expressed explicit support for the
Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
[41]
In September 2023, Monson was elected to the 110-seat
State Assembly of the Republic of Bashkortostan as a member of the ruling
United Russia party following an
election.
[42]
On February 16, 2023, Monson declared that he was in the process of renouncing his
U.S. citizenship. "This spring, I'll only have my Russian passport," he said, "I do not agree with the American foreign policy, they keep meddling in the affairs of other countries, people are suffer[ing] because of them.
Yes, I have children in the United States, but I love Russia and the Russians."[5] On May 23, 2023, Monson officially renounced his American citizenship.[48]