Russian political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann raises more than $45,000 for independent journalists and human rights activists

During a mere two-hour video stream on YouTube this week, Russian political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann managed to collect more than 3.4 million rubles (about $45,000) in donations for the independent news outlet Mediazona and the human rights projects OVD-Info and “Apologia Protest.”

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Schulmann revealed that more than 4,400 people contributed money through the service “DonationAlerts,” with an average donation of 800 rubles ($10). The single biggest contribution was 20,000 rubles ($270). 

Earlier this month, photojournalist Dmitry Markov auctioned a photograph he took after being arrested near Moscow’s City Court, featuring a masked riot police officer and a portrait of Vladimir Putin. The image sold for 2 million rubles ($27,000), which Markov donated to OVD-Info and Apologia Protest.