Interview · moment 14 of 23
Murdered Journalists and the Cost of Investigating Russia
from Russia's Super Mafia · #98
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
3 minGuest
Discussion of the killing of journalist Arkady Babchenko, the poisonings of Litvinenko and the Skripals, and the immense danger Russian investigative journalists face, especially those seen as 'traitors' versus foreign critics.
- 32:59Arkady Babchenko, a Putin critic, was shot dead in Kiev; Anna Politskaya, who wrote Putin's Russia, was also killed.
- 33:45The casualty rate for Russian investigative journalists is equivalent to that of journalists in war zones.
- 34:18Most journalist killings result from investigating corrupt local contracts, not direct state action—large men with baseball bats enforce silence at the city level.
- 34:53Putin, with his KGB and street gang background, distinguishes between foreign critics and Russian traitors—traitors get dealt with differently.
- 35:29Journalists Tim talks to in Russia are feeling real pressure and questioning whether to censor themselves or leave the country.
- 35:45Putin doesn't need to kill many critical journalists—a few deaths silence thousands through fear and self-censorship.
Vladimir PutinRussiaArkady BabchenkoAnna PolitskayaLivchenko