Veliky Novgorod editor-in-chief accused of rape resigns

Mikhail Bogolyubov, the editor-in-chief of the Veliky Novgorod-based newspaper Novgorod, has resigned from his post and been granted resignation by a majority of the local City Duma.

In October, journalist Alina Scheglova of the website Novgorod.ru went public with her account that a local editor-in-chief raped her after a professional event. She said the editor sent her messages the next day saying he would punish himself and asking for a kind of mutual truce. Other journalists soon determined that the editor in question was Bogolyubov.

Other accusations of sexual violence or harassment against Russian media figures have resulted in comparatively few long-term consequences for those accused and even some defamation suits against accusers. However, in this case, sexual violence charges were brought forward, and Bogolyubov went on leave in advance of his resignation.