MOSCOW: A prominent Russian satirist who was branded a “foreign agent” by authorities announced Tuesday that he had fled the country, saying he feared punitive criminal prosecution.

Viktor Shenderovich, 63, is a writer and commentator most famous for depicting President Vladimir Putin as an ugly dwarf in a show called “Puppets” that was popular in the 1990s.

The show was pulled off the air in 2000, soon after the Russian leader came to power, ushering in an era of tightening controls over free expression.

Shenderovich — the latest in a string of critical public figures to leave Russia — said he left because of pressure from Yevgeny Prigozhin, a powerful Kremlin ally Washington has hit with sanctions, in part for meddling in US presidential elections in 2016.

In December, Prigozhin’s company Concord said it would sue the satirist over allegedly defamatory comments he made on the liberal Echo of Moscow radio station.

Before that a Russian court ordered the author to pay Prigozhin 100,000 rubles ($1,335) in moral damages.

In a Facebook post Tuesday Shenderovich explained his decision to flee, saying: “We’re talking about the prospect of imprisonment.”

He did not say where he had fled to. Prigozhin accused Shenderovich of “soiling his pants” out of fear and said he was “amazed at the cowardice of the pro-Western sectors of our society”.

The Kremlin said the writer’s departure was unrelated to his “foreign agent” status and said Shenderovich appeared to be evading court.

Shenderovich was designated a “foreign agent” last month in a move he said was designed to push him out of the country.