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Having worked in Meduza as CTO for 4 years, I have a rather thick skin on this matters. However, this particular shitshow really pissed me off. Ivan Golunov is

by samat 7y ago

Having worked in Meduza as CTO for 4 years, I have a rather thick skin on this matters. However, this particular shitshow really pissed me off. Ivan Golunov is one of the best investigative journalists in Russia and have crossed so many powerful people that he is SUPER CAREFUL about abiding the law. I have heard he was working on the FSB corruption lately. Now police arrests him, beats him, denies lawyer for hours and then says he had 10 kilo heroin in his apartment. They want to put him in prison for 10-20 years. This is insane even by Russian standards. Fuck this regime.

krn 7y ago
> Now police arrests him, beats him, denies lawyer for hours and then says he had 10 kilo heroin in his apartment. How likely is it, that Ivan Golunov was targeted for his latest report, which was published the next day after his arrest[1]? > This is insane even by Russian standards No, that's not insane by Russian standards at all. At least he is still alive, unlike some of his colleagues[2]: "The day before his fall, Borodin told his friend that he had seen armed, camouflaged men near his flat. Following this, he attempted to find a lawyer. Later, however, Borodin called his friend again and said he had made a mistake, and that he thought the men had been taking part in some kind of training exercise." What I cannot understand, is why would anyone choose such a job without leaving Russia for one of the Baltic states first. Is the "List of journalists killed in Russia"[3] not long enough already? [1] https://meduza.io/en/feature/2019/06/07/the-evictors https://meduza.io/en/feature/2019/06/07/the-evictors [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Maksim_Borodin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Maksim_Borodin [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_...
- txru 7y ago
  It's the difference between exit and voice. I can perfectly well understand that many people may love Russia and it's culture, and hate the politics, so much that they're willing to die to change the politics. I'm sure they would rather not, but they appreciate the risk. I can imagine that to readers, a journalist reporting from abroad looks less earnest, or perhaps readers think they are more susceptible to control by foreign interests. To the journalist, he or she can't interview Russians. And unfortunately, the Baltics wouldn't be much more safe for the determined state anyway.
- r721 7y ago
  >How likely is it, that Ivan Golunov was targeted for his latest report, which was published the next day after his arrest[1]? "June 8, 2019" is the translation date, the original report was published on 17 May (https://meduza.io/feature/2019/05/17/vyselyatory https://meduza.io/feature/2019/05/17/vyselyatory).
baybal2 7y ago
Insane by Russian standards? In comparison to over a hundred of journalists who disappeared only to be discovered in separate body parts later, he got it easy. Unlike journalists working in smaller newspapers, without international notoriety, and not stationed in foreigner packed Moscow, he had his high profile giving him a relative peace of mind. In Vladivostok, on other hand, no independent journalist left. All and every journalist who did his job since nineties is either missing (dead) or wrapped up on upon own volition. The Western media, and the few remaining "museum exhibit" self-censored "free" media do a great disservice to our cause by validating that "not so extreme" image of itself the Kremlin wants the world to see. The ruling regime is great at manipulating its image in the West. One thing they do is managing how much they frighten the West. They really want Western elites to believe that the Kremlin is being ran by some soft bodied, inept bureaucrats trying to play junta, instead of seeing them as who they really are.
onetimemanytime 7y ago
>>Now police arrests him, beats him, denies lawyer for hours and then says he had 10 kilo heroin in his apartment. First I thought why would FSB do away with 10 kilos...but then remembered that the kilos will be put back in circulation. Hey, at least he's alive (but sometimes that's not any better)
wildylion 7y ago
What 10 kg of heroin are you talking about?! Initially they said they found 5g of mephedrone, then cocaine (probably after they realized no successful man would be able to abuse mephedrone and still be successful). They even posted 9 (IIRC) photos on an official, government site for ministry of internal affairs that they claimed were taken in Ivan's apartment. Only I've of them was taken there. Later they acknowledged this as an error. And then these guys want us to oblige fake news laws? This IS fake news. On an official site. Not to mention an awful lot of procedural blunders in his case. So, what 10 kg (!) of heroin (!!)? Source or GTFO.

by samat 7y ago

krn 7y ago

> Now police arrests him, beats him, denies lawyer for hours and then says he had 10 kilo heroin in his apartment. How likely is it, that Ivan Golunov was targeted for his latest report, which was published the next day after his arrest[1]? > This is insane even by Russian standards No, that's not insane by Russian standards at all. At least he is still alive, unlike some of his colleagues[2]: "The day before his fall, Borodin told his friend that he had seen armed, camouflaged men near his flat. Following this, he attempted to find a lawyer. Later, however, Borodin called his friend again and said he had made a mistake, and that he thought the men had been taking part in some kind of training exercise." What I cannot understand, is why would anyone choose such a job without leaving Russia for one of the Baltic states first. Is the "List of journalists killed in Russia"[3] not long enough already? [1] https://meduza.io/en/feature/2019/06/07/the-evictors https://meduza.io/en/feature/2019/06/07/the-evictors [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Maksim_Borodin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Maksim_Borodin [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_...

txru 7y ago
It's the difference between exit and voice. I can perfectly well understand that many people may love Russia and it's culture, and hate the politics, so much that they're willing to die to change the politics. I'm sure they would rather not, but they appreciate the risk. I can imagine that to readers, a journalist reporting from abroad looks less earnest, or perhaps readers think they are more susceptible to control by foreign interests. To the journalist, he or she can't interview Russians. And unfortunately, the Baltics wouldn't be much more safe for the determined state anyway.
r721 7y ago
>How likely is it, that Ivan Golunov was targeted for his latest report, which was published the next day after his arrest[1]? "June 8, 2019" is the translation date, the original report was published on 17 May (https://meduza.io/feature/2019/05/17/vyselyatory https://meduza.io/feature/2019/05/17/vyselyatory).

baybal2 7y ago

Insane by Russian standards? In comparison to over a hundred of journalists who disappeared only to be discovered in separate body parts later, he got it easy. Unlike journalists working in smaller newspapers, without international notoriety, and not stationed in foreigner packed Moscow, he had his high profile giving him a relative peace of mind. In Vladivostok, on other hand, no independent journalist left. All and every journalist who did his job since nineties is either missing (dead) or wrapped up on upon own volition. The Western media, and the few remaining "museum exhibit" self-censored "free" media do a great disservice to our cause by validating that "not so extreme" image of itself the Kremlin wants the world to see. The ruling regime is great at manipulating its image in the West. One thing they do is managing how much they frighten the West. They really want Western elites to believe that the Kremlin is being ran by some soft bodied, inept bureaucrats trying to play junta, instead of seeing them as who they really are.

onetimemanytime 7y ago

>>Now police arrests him, beats him, denies lawyer for hours and then says he had 10 kilo heroin in his apartment. First I thought why would FSB do away with 10 kilos...but then remembered that the kilos will be put back in circulation. Hey, at least he's alive (but sometimes that's not any better)

wildylion 7y ago

What 10 kg of heroin are you talking about?! Initially they said they found 5g of mephedrone, then cocaine (probably after they realized no successful man would be able to abuse mephedrone and still be successful). They even posted 9 (IIRC) photos on an official, government site for ministry of internal affairs that they claimed were taken in Ivan's apartment. Only I've of them was taken there. Later they acknowledged this as an error. And then these guys want us to oblige fake news laws? This IS fake news. On an official site. Not to mention an awful lot of procedural blunders in his case. So, what 10 kg (!) of heroin (!!)? Source or GTFO.