Offices of Khodorkovsky's foundation raided in Moscow

Security forces raided the Moscow offices of Open Russia, the foundation backed by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, in connection with allegations of agitating for "extremism" on Thursday.

The swoop on the premises comes amid an intensifying crackdown on dissenters and non-governmental groups in Russia.

Raids on the homes and offices of activists, such as people linked to Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption blogger, are a frequent feature of the Russian political landscape.

But the move against the exiled former oligarch's foundation appeared to send an unusually strong signal. It came just as President Vladimir Putin was talking down Russia's economic crisis and the conflict with Ukraine in his annual televised marathon question-and-answer session with Russian citizens.

Pictures posted on the internet by Open Russia staff showed masked men with automatic rifles searching the foundation's offices and taking away documents, computers and other devices.

A copy of the search warrant was released by Open Russia. The document from the anti-extremism office of the ministry of the interior said the authorities had information about the "preparation and production of agitation materials (transparencies, lists etc) by activists [of the foundation] calling for extremist activity for distribution and public display on April 19 at an opposition demonstration".

Mr Putin has occasionally used his televised appearances to deflect criticism of his handling of dissidents and others who have fallen foul of the authorities. Last December, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, the oligarch, was released from detention before the president's annual televised press conference. A year earlier, Mr Putin used the TV press conference to announce a pardon and release of Mr Khodorkovsky after more than a decade in prison.

Mr Khodorkovsky pledged to stay out of politics after he was released from prison in 2013, but has since changed tack, saying he might be prepared to take political office in the future to help Russia out of crisis.

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Critics of Mr Putin have become marginalised in a society which has rallied behind the president since his annexation of Crimea in March 2014. The opposition has become even more desperate since the murder of Boris Nemtsov, one of its leaders, outside the Kremlin walls in late February.

While tens of thousands turned out at a demonstration of mourning in Moscow on March 1, further plans for a revival of large-scale public opposition events have been hit by fear and internal disarray.

A group of activists close to Nemtsov had called for a protest rally for this coming Sunday, but none of the opposition parties agreed to participate. The activists are now planning smaller-scale pickets instead.

In response to accusations over Sunday's planned protest in the search warrant, Open Russia said it had never planned to participate in the event.

Mr Khodorkovsky said the "real reason" for the raid was that the foundation had been working on a documentary about the role of Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen Republic, in the system of power in Russia. "The question arises: Who is really in power in Russia?" he asked in a statement on his website.

Mr Kadyrov, who has helped Mr Putin stabilize Chechnya with a high-pressure rule after two brutal wars in the North Caucasus republic, has become more prominent on the Russian political stage beyond Chechnya. After Mr Kadyrov called one of the Chechen former security officials arrested as suspects in the Nemtsov murder a "true patriot", debate has grown in Russia as to how much control Mr Putin has over him.

A staff member of Open Russia said the foundation had indeed been working on such a film, but all computers used in the work had been taken away by the security officials.

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