Estonia expels Russian journalist Leonid Karabeshkin and bars him from the Schengen area over suspected intelligence ties
Source: ERR
Estonian authorities have expelled Russian citizen Leonid Karabeshkin on suspicion of ties to Russian intelligence services and banned him from entering the Schengen Area, Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR reported.
Karabeshkin moved to Estonia from St. Petersburg in 2006. From 2022 to 2024, he worked in ERR’s Russian-language newsroom. He also appeared in Russian-language media as a guest expert on Russia and took part in various forums.
Estonia’s Internal Security Service (KAPO) said the journalist regularly traveled to Russia, where he met with Russian intelligence officers and people working to advance their interests.
“Some of them are under European Union and Ukrainian sanctions for conducting hostile influence operations on Russia’s behalf. He also has ties to influence networks such as CIRP, RuBaltic, and Regnum, as well as people associated with them,” KAPO spokesperson Marta Tuul said.
Tuul said Karabeshkin passed along information about Estonia’s Russian-speaking population. She did not specify which actions led to his deportation.
ERR’s initial report on Karabeshkin’s deportation did not mention that he had worked for the broadcaster, The Insider reported. ERR later updated the article with a comment from its management board chairman, Erik Roose. He said ERR had no suspicions about Karabeshkin and that the newsroom had not noticed any efforts to influence its reporting.
Karabeshkin’s last article for Regnum, which KAPO said he had ties to, was published in 2015.
Russian journalists in Latvia
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