Georgii Chentemirov

Mo i Rana cuts ties with Petrozavodsk over mayor who left for the war

The former mayor of the Karelian capital is fighting in Ukraine in the Akhmat battalion, which is accused of war crimes.
October 22, 2023

“It’s not a collective farm here.” A lawmaker in Komi was prevented from asking a question in her native language

Member of the Komi State Council from the Communist Party, Ekaterina Dyachkova, wanted to ask Senator Elena Shumilova whether she cares about preserving the Komi language and whether she continues to use it. The microphone was not turned on for her when she spoke and the speaker of the house, Sergei Usachev, made an offensive comment.
October 22, 2023

“I don’t understand how you can kill just like that.” A Murmansk resident who shot an FSB officer in a drunken brawl got pardoned thanks to the war in Ukraine

Murmansk resident Alexander Zabrodin returned home after serving in Wagner Group. He was recruited to the Ukraine war from prison, where he was serving a sentence for killing an FSB officer: Zabrodin shot the man who was kneeling before him in the head during a drunken brawl in a cafe. The Barents Observer has spoken to the ex-convict and it turns that he now wants to do “social work” to combat migrants and is not averse to telling schoolchildren about his life experience.
October 11, 2023

How the state crushed the protest movement in the Arkhangelsk region

Harassment on social media, mass denunciations, apologies on camera, expulsion from educational institutions – the political scene in the Arkhangelsk region has been cleared with special care. As a result, some ended up in prison, others were forced to leave the country, and some began to actively “cooperate with the investigation”. The Barents Observer collected testimonies from activists who spoke about “setups” by university professors, threats of conscription, a strange FSB officer who introduced himself by various names, and many other tricks that were used against activists and journalists.
September 05, 2023

“We’re afraid to walk the streets”. The participants of the double murder in Lovozero are out of jail thanks to the war in Ukraine

Konstantin Prikhodchenko and Arsentiy Bondarev, who killed two residents of Lovozero, Murmansk region in 2020, returned home without serving even a small portion of their sentence. Victims’ families are now afraid of revenge.
August 15, 2023

Suspect of mass murder fought in Ukraine

Igor Sofonov, a career criminal from the north Russian region of Karelia, is suspected of killing six residents of the village of Derevyannoye near Petrozavodsk. The Barents Observer has established that Sofonov fought in the Luhansk region of Ukraine in 2022.
August 02, 2023

Russian Nature reserve demands NOK 47 million for Norwegian reindeer grazing on its territory

The Russian Pasvik Nature Reserve has calculated that the animals caused significant damage to the protected nature area. The amount of compensation is comparable to what oil companies pay for large leaks.
July 28, 2023

Hundreds of millions for war and its aftermath. The cost of the ‘special military operation’ for Russian northerners

Assistance to the “sponsored” republics, payments to the mobilized and their families and the purchase of housing for Ukrainian refugees make up an incomplete list of expenses incurred by Russian regions because of the war in Ukraine. The Barents Observer has calculated that the northern regions earmark hundreds of millions of rubles in their deficit budgets for the “special military operation”.
July 25, 2023

“Panic, people are depressed, life has collapsed.” Transgender people on "sex change" ban in Russia

On July 14, the State Duma of Russia adopted a law banning “sex change”. When it comes into force, medical professionals will be banned from any gender changing intervention. People will lose the ability to change documents according to their identity. Trans persons will be prohibited from taking custody of children, and if a spouse changes their gender, the marriage will be annulled. The Barents Observer talked to trans people about how they’re going to live from now on.
July 23, 2023

“Moscow will burn down, and we will throw more matches.” How Russians reacted to Prigozhin's coup

June 23 and 24 will be remembered in Russia as the days of a military mutiny and an attempt by the head of Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin to carry out a coup. Despite this, ordinary life went on in the regions, and concerts, graduation parties and other festivities were held in many cities. We talked with residents of the northern regions and found out what people were talking about during and after the mercenary army’s march towards Moscow.
June 29, 2023

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