Former Ekho Moskvy editor-in-chief charged with ‘undesirable organization’ violations, Mediazona reports
A Moscow court has received an administrative charge against Alexei Venediktov, the former editor-in-chief of the shuttered Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy, the independent Russian news outlet Mediazona reported on April 14.
The charge was filed under the administrative code provision on participation in the activities of an “undesirable” organization. What prompted the charge and which organization it concerns are not known.
Venediktov had not commented on the matter at the time of publication.
Venediktov led Ekho Moskvy from 1998 until the station was shut down in 2022. He then joined part of the station’s team to work on a YouTube project called Zhivoi Gvozd.
After the station’s closure, a project called Ekho was launched in Germany, with journalist Maxim Kurnikov as its editor-in-chief. Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office designated the organization an undesirable organization in 2025.
Venediktov lives in Russia. In 2022, Russian authorities designated him a foreign agent.
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