The Real Russia. Today. An interview with the man who blew the lid on Moscow’s mercs in Syria; a Russian TV reporter is detained for deportation, not kidnapped, in Kiev; and a former Chechen senator goes nuts with a gun

Story of the day

An interview with the man who blew the lid on Russia’s mercs in Syria. On August 24, the St. Petersburg publication Fontanka announced that threats have been made against its reporter, former police officer Denis Korotkov. The messages have appeared in threatening comments on  numerous blog posts calling Korotkov a “traitor,” among other things. Fontanka suspects the threats are a response to Korotkov’s reporting on operations in Syria by the “Wagner group,” a private military contractor staffed by mercenaries from Russia and Ukraine. The organization has possible financial ties to the Kremlin-connected entrepreneur Evgeny Prigozhin, and its commanders have received awards from the Russian government. To learn more about this story, Meduza’s Evgeny Berg spoke to Denis Korotkov. Interview in English

Russia and the world

The drivers of Moscow’s deeds abroad. “Russia’s foreign policy priorities in the coming years hinge upon solidifying Russia’s great power status outside the post-Soviet space as well as reducing the country’s political isolation,” argued Dmitri Trenin, in a new piece examining the drivers of Russian foreign police. Op-ed at Carnegie Moscow Center

Bad acts in Montenegro. Pictures obtained by European intelligence agencies allegedly show two officers of Russia’s military intelligence spy service visiting the Balkans and overseeing the man they hired to orchestrate the bloody overthrow of Montenegro’s government. Eduard Shishmakov and Vladimir Popov are to stand trial next month with 13 others for their part in an election day plot to attack Montenegro’s parliament and kill Milo Djukanovic, the pro-Western leader. Story by The Telegraph

Deported, not kidnapped. Ukrainian officials announced on August 30 that they detained and will deport Pervyi Kanal Kiev correspondent Anna Kurbatova. Calling her a “Russian propagandist,” Ukrainian National Security Agency spokesperson Elena Gitlyanska stated in a Facebook post that the Ukrainian government doesn’t kidnap people. Pervyi Kanal initially described Kurbatova’s detainment as an “abduction.” On August 26, her personal information was added to the doxing website Mirotvorets (Peacekeeper) for “anti-Ukrainian propaganda, the manipulation of socially significant information, and biases descriptions of events.” Story in English

Adventures with Putin’s spokesman

• “I confirm that among a number of emails one from Mr. Michael Cohen came to us. This indeed happened, but as far as we don’t respond to business topics, this is not our job, we did not send a response.” — Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov

A spokesman for Russian President Vladi­mir Putin confirmed on Wednesday that he had received a request for assistance on a stalled Trump Tower real estate project in Moscow from a close aide to President Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, but added that the Kremlin did not respond to the letter. Story by The Washington Post

This man’s family is off limits. Responding for the first time to a question about Alexey Navalny’s investigative work on his son, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that he hasn’t seen Navalny’s work and doesn’t want to. Navalny’s August 17 report largely recycled information published in November 2016 about the lavish lifestyle of Nikolai Choles, Peskov’s older son. “I’m not going to discuss my family with anybody,” Peskov told reporters. Story in Russian

Also in the news

• Not without a fight, coppers. Former Senator Umar Dzhabrailov was released on his own recognizance after being detained by police at the Moscow Four Seasons hotel, where he was allegedly spotted in the elevator with a handgun. Dzhabrailov reportedly fired shots into the ceiling of his room, when a janitor, not a waitress, delivered his room service meal. No injuries were reported. When first confronted by police, Dzhabrailov allegedly told officers that he “wouldn’t surrender without a fight,” though he eventually agreed to lay down his weapon. Story in Russian
• A Russian comedian gets the last laugh. Russian stand-up comedian Arthur Chaparyan has sold his Telegram channel, the most popular Russian-language channel on the network, for 1.2 million rubles (more than $20,000). Explaining the sale, Chaparyan says he “got tired and took the money,” adding that he’s earned slightly less than 1 million rubles in the past three months by promoting products on his Telegram channel. At the time of the sale, Chaparyan’s channel has more than 75,000 subscribers. Story in Russian