This was Russia today, Friday, October 25, 2024 Team Navalny’s response to ‘reputation laundering’ allegations, ICC rebukes Mongolia for Putin’s visit, and more North Korean troops reportedly headed to Russia

Howdy, readers! Today’s letter features the latest on North Korean troops in Russia, a recap of Team Navalny’s response to accusations of “reputation laundering,” an overview of the anti-Roma riot that erupted in the Urals this week, and more.

Today’s newsletter is 1,670 words — an eight-minute read.

More dueling YouTube videos from the Russian opposition

A quick refresher: In a new 1.5-hour video, the team behind Alexey Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) responded to politician and blogger Maxim Katz’s earlier video accusing them of “laundering” the reputation of bankers Alexander Zheleznyak and Sergey Leontiev. Zheleznyak and Leontiev, who are now based in the U.S., are wanted in Russia for allegedly embezzling money from investors at Probusinessbank, which they co-owned. According to Katz, the two businessmen stole up to $1 billion of investors’ money using a network of foreign shell firms, and the FBK helped them paint themselves as victims of Kremlin repression after they were prosecuted for their scheme in Russia.

So how did they respond? The FBK says it acknowledges that Probusinessbank’s leadership invested clients’ money for personal gain and that this was unethical, though the group maintains that there’s no evidence it was done for the purpose of stealing the money. They place most of the blame for this “unethical” behavior on Leontiev, who has no formal ties to FBK. (Zheleznyak founded the group’s legal entity in the U.S.) They also argue that the “vast majority” of the $470 million Katz accuses Leontiev and Zheleznyak of stealing went back to Probusinessbank and its sister structures, adding that while they don’t know whether any money was actually embezzled, this has not been proven.

What about the ‘reputation laundering’ allegations? FBK denies providing any kind of political protection to the bankers. In response to Katz’s allegation that FBK’s then-executive director Vladimir Ashurkov submitted an affidavit defending the bankers in 2017, the organization argues that Ashurkov’s statement cannot be called an “affidavit” as it was not legally binding. As for the claim that a 2012 plan to create a Navalny-branded credit card (which Ashurkov mentioned in his statement as part of an argument that Leontiev faced political repressions in Russia) was all talk and could not have plausibly caused the bankers to fall out of the Kremlin’s favor, the FBK shares emails and marketing materials that appear to prove otherwise.

Hours after the film’s release, Alexander Zheleznyak announced that he was stepping down from his position as the FBK’s treasurer. On Facebook, he wrote that Katz’s film was “built on lies, manipulation, and forgery” and that his name had been “cynically smeared with dirt to damage the FBK’s reputation.”

2. Meduza’s wishlist

What’s the occasion? This month marks 10 years since Meduza’s launch. We know a decade may not seem like a long time for a media outlet — after all, some of you still read the same newspapers your grandparents did. These publications are a part of your identity and something you can always count on. Unfortunately, we don’t have that luxury in Russia (though we hope we will one day). For us, 10 years — all while in exile and under relentless pressure from the Kremlin — is an enormous milestone.

If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be here: without your attention, trust, and support, we would never have made it to 10 years. And we don’t mean that in an abstract sense. After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Russian authorities blocked our website for reporting the truth about the war, and international sanctions caused us to lose most of our donations from Russian readers. We weren’t sure we’d survive, but we turned to our international audience — and you saved us.

A year later, the Kremlin banned our work entirely, making it a crime to work for us or even share links to our stories. Despite this, we currently have millions of readers inside the country. Time and time again, the Russian authorities have tried to shut Meduza down — and each time, we’ve remained standing thanks to your unwavering support. This milestone belongs as much to you as it does to us.

If you’d like to celebrate our anniversary with us, please take a few minutes to read our wishlist.

We got The Beet. Don’t miss Meduza’s weekly newsletter (separate from the one you’re reading here)!

⛰️ Catch the latest issue → Dispatch from Issyk-Kul: How nationalizing Kyrgyzstan’s largest gold mine won President Japarov the people’s support (for now) (15-min read)

3. The war against Ukraine

⛔ Zelensky snubs Guterres: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected a visit from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in response to his attendance of this week’s BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, according to AFP. “After Kazan, [Guterres] wanted to come to Ukraine, but the president did not confirm his visit. So Guterres won't be here, specifically because of the humiliation of sanity and international law in Kazan,” the outlet quoted a source from the Ukrainian President's Office as saying. Neither the Ukrainian authorities nor the U.N. have officially commented on the situation. (AFP)

🪖 About 2,000 Ukrainian troops have been “blocked” in Russia’s Kursk region, Vladimir Putin said in a TV interview recorded Wednesday night. According to the Russian president, Ukraine’s forces are “surrounded” but “may not even fully realize” it because “stable command of the troops has been lost.” Zelensky responded to Putin’s statement on Friday, saying that he’d been briefed by Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and that the country’s troops in the region are “fulfilling their missions.” Syrskyi also gave his own comments, calling Putin’s claims “outright disinformation” and saying that Ukrainian troops “continue their active operations in the Kursk direction, destroying the enemy’s combat potential for the third month in a row.” (Meduza)

💬 Bridging the battlefield language barrier: The Russian military will assign one interpreter to every 30 North Korean soldiers to enhance coordination with Russia forces, Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate said on Friday, citing intercepted communications. According to both Ukrainian and South Korean intelligence, Pyongyang has sent approximately 12,000 troops to Russia to support its troops in the war with Ukraine. (The Kyiv Independent)

• Earlier on Friday, Zelensky said that Russia plans to send North Korean forces into combat on October 27–28. (The Kyiv Independent)

🪖 Pyongyang will soon send a second group of North Korean troops to Russia, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing South Korean intelligence. This contingent is expected to include about 10,000 soldiers, including about 1,500 special forces soldiers who are currently undergoing training in eastern Russia. (Bloomberg)

4. Meanwhile in Russia

📈 Fighting inflation: Russia’s Central Bank raised its key interest rate to a historic high of 21 percent on Friday. The bank explained the increase as necessary to fight inflation, which it attributed to recent “additional budgetary spending,” and said it hasn’t ruled out hiking the rate even higher at its next meeting in December. The rate reached its previous high of 20 percent in February 2022, shortly after Moscow launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. (Meduza)

🚌 Bus driver sentenced for fatal river accident: A St. Petersburg court has sentenced a bus driver to six years in prison for accidentally driving into the Moyka River in May 2024, leading to the deaths of seven passengers. According to Russian investigators, the man fell asleep at the wheel. The driver, a Russian citizen originally from Tajikistan, pleaded guilty in court and apologized to the victims. (Meduza)

🔥 Taxi driver’s murder sparks ethnic violence: In Russia’s Chelyabinsk region, a violent mob of about 150 people gathered outside homes allegedly belonging to local Roma people on Friday after two Roma men were reportedly arrested in connection with a local woman’s murder. The crowd reportedly threw stones, damaged cars, and set at least one house on fire, dispersing only after riot police began detaining people. The victim, a 40-year-old taxi driver, was found dead with multiple stab wounds earlier this week. Russian Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin has ordered the transfer of the murder case to the agency’s main investigative department. The Investigative Committee said in a statement that “the issue of unlawful behavior by Roma living in the town has long troubled local residents but has not been resolved.” (Meduza)

🔪 A man attacked multiple shoppers with a knife at a St. Petersburg supermarket on Friday. According to one eyewitness, the offender began throwing champagne bottles at the store’s entrance before “grabbing a knife” and running around the store.” The man injured five people before he was arrested, local law enforcement reported. State investigators have launched a criminal case for the attempted murder of two or more people. (Fontanka)

❌ Forced into exile by anti-gay harassment: Denis Leontovich landed a government job in Russia, despite being openly gay. But when propagandists caught wind, he was forced to flee the country. Now he’s seeking asylum in France, where he spoke to the independent outlet Holod about what it’s like to be gay while working for a government that passes homophobic laws. Read Meduza’s translation.

5. As the world turns

🇲🇳 ICC rebukes Mongolia over Putin visit: The International Criminal Court said in a press release on Thursday that it was reporting Mongolia to its oversight body for violating the Rome Statute by failing to arrest Vladimir Putin when he visited the country in September. The ICC accused Mongolia’s government of “preventing the Court from exercising its functions and powers,” noting that countries that are party to the Rome Statute are “duty-bound to arrest and surrender individuals subject to ICC warrants, regardless of official position or nationality.” (ICC)

🇬🇪 Russia accused the West on Friday of attempting to influence Georgia’s upcoming parliamentary elections, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating, “They’re not just trying to twist Tbilisi’s arm; they’re practically dictating terms.” In recent months, the E.U. has issued multiple statements criticizing Georgia’s parliament for adopting legislation similar to repressive laws in Russia, including one restricting LGBTQ+ rights. Both the ruling Georgian Dream party and opposition forces are framing the elections, which will take place on Saturday, as a referendum on the country’s future path toward E.U. membership. (RFE/RL)

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