The Real Russia. Today. Police raid another top Russian investigative journalist’s home

Friday, April 9, 2021

• Journalists asked the Kremlin’s spokesman about Ramzan Kadyrov’s wealth. Here’s what he said.
• Disruptions and threats plague Russia’s top documentary film festival
• News briefs: a sanctioned envoy, Navalny’s consent, and Moscow police raid a top investigative journalist’s home

Feature stories

💰 ‘A declaration is another thing’ (560 words)

On Friday, April 9, journalists asked Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov to comment on the wealth of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, in light of an investigative report by Proekt about assets registered to him and his wives (both official and alleged). (The investigation is available in English here). Despite probing questions from the press, Peskov maintained that the asset declarations of all Russian officials are subject to anti-corruption inspections. He could not, however, confirm whether or not Proekt’s findings about Kadyrov’s wealth are reflected in official audits.

• Russian state television channel deletes Chechen beauty pageant newsreel featuring Kadyrov’s ‘second wife’
• Proekt hit with DDoS attacks after publishing investigation into Ramzan Kadyrov’s wives

📽️ Damned artists (1,000 words)

Over the course of the past week, Artdocfest — Russia’s largest documentary film festival — has been disrupted by the police, Russia’s consumer protection agency, various threats, and pro-Kremlin activists. In response, Artdocfest’s organizers have been forced to cancel screenings and pull films, while doing their best to see the festival through. Meduza breaks down the chain of disruptions that has plagued Artdocfest 2021.

News briefs

• 🤝 Putin appoints his Siberian envoy as the acting head of North Ossetia (Sergey Menyaylo is sanctioned in the West for his alleged role in Navalny’s poisoning)
• ⚖️ Navalny’s lawyers file complaint over release of prison surveillance footage (he never consented to appearing in a recent report by the pro-Kremlin media)
• 👮 FSB agents search the home of iStories chief editor Roman Anin (journalists suspect that the case is related to Anin’s investigative report in 2016 about Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, which prompted a lawsuit)

🎂 Tomorrow in history: 84 years ago tomorrow, on April 10, 1937, Bella Akhmadulina was born in Moscow. Part of the Russian New Wave literary movement and known for her apolitical writing stance, Akhmadulina was cited by Joseph Brodsky as the best living poet in the Russian language. She died in November 2010 at the age of 73.