Russian police raid pro-government news outlet, arrest two journalists, shut down main office

Russian police raided the offices of the pro-government news outlet Ura.ru in Yekaterinburg on Thursday morning, seizing documents and equipment, the local news site E1.ru reported. Searches are also being carried out at the homes of several journalists.

Two staff members have been arrested, including Denis Allayarov, the head of Ura.ru’s Sverdlovsk bureau, according to the state news agency TASS. He was reportedly taken into custody at his home. Authorities plan to formally charge him and request pretrial restrictions.

Another journalist, Sergey Bodrov — who specializes in crime reporting — was also arrested, according to the outlet 66.ru. A search is underway at his residence. A security guard at the building that houses the newsroom told 66.ru that investigators also escorted an unidentified woman from the premises. It is unclear whether she was detained.

Bodrov told the outlet Sotavision that he is suspected of purchasing information from law enforcement officials. TASS and 66.ru reported that the searches may be linked to the March arrest of a former police officer who allegedly confessed to selling Ura.ru confidential internal reports from the Interior Ministry. A source told 66.ru that the journalists could face charges under Article 272.1 of Russia’s criminal code, which pertains to the unlawful acquisition and use of official information containing personal data.

RIA Novosti and 66.ru also cited a separate theory: that the investigation may involve alleged “funding in 2020 by the nonprofit Doctors’ Alliance,” a medical workers’ union that has previously collaborated with Alexey Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation.

In a statement, Ura.ru said that investigators had “halted operations at the agency’s head office and effectively shut down the newsroom.” Journalists based in other regions appear to still be working.

“The investigators are interested in the sources of information about criminal activity in the Sverdlovsk region,” the outlet said. It dismissed the reported link to the Doctors’ Alliance as a “false narrative,” adding, “There is no talk of financial support from doctors or anything of the sort.”

Russia’s Investigative Committee has not yet commented on the raids or detentions.