«Listok»
«Listok is out, it’s only me working»
How security forces trashed Altai’s largest media outlet
Altai’s Listok is 23 years old. In 1999, the newspaper was founded by Sergei Mikhailov, a former local councilor and chairman of the regional branch of the Parnas party [a liberal-democratic political party, one of the first opposition parties in Russia].
By 2021, the newspaper had a circulation of 10,000 copies, the largest in the republic. The newspaper regularly criticized regional and national authorities, which led to conflicts with local officials.
Roskomnadzor, Russia’s media regulator, blocked Listok’s website in 2014, long before the invasion of Ukraine, because of the news about the "March for the federalization of Siberia" and in 2016 because of rude comments from readers — whereas journalists attributed the website blocking to a conflict between the newspaper and regional authorities. After that, the editorial office was searched, copies were confiscated, and in 2018 Mikhailov was placed under administrative arrest.
In April 2022, the security forces delivered to Listok the most severe blow. Mikhailov was in pre-trial detention charged with "fakes" about the Russian army, while Listok and its director Olga Komarova were fined a total of 800,000 rubles. At the beginning of June, Komarova was searched once again and her laptop and phone were seized.
Viktor Rau, Listok’s editor-in-chief, had to leave Russia not only for his own safety, but also for that of his grandson, whom he takes care of after the deaths of his daughter and son-in-law. To protect the paper’s staff, the management of Listok decided that only Rau would write about the war. He was recently fined 120,000 rubles under an article on calling for sanctions.
Despite this, Rau continues to publish on his website and telegram — although the publication of Altai’s once largest newspaper has effectively been discontinued and the editors have taken up another project.
By 2021, the newspaper had a circulation of 10,000 copies, the largest in the republic. The newspaper regularly criticized regional and national authorities, which led to conflicts with local officials.
Roskomnadzor, Russia’s media regulator, blocked Listok’s website in 2014, long before the invasion of Ukraine, because of the news about the "March for the federalization of Siberia" and in 2016 because of rude comments from readers — whereas journalists attributed the website blocking to a conflict between the newspaper and regional authorities. After that, the editorial office was searched, copies were confiscated, and in 2018 Mikhailov was placed under administrative arrest.
In April 2022, the security forces delivered to Listok the most severe blow. Mikhailov was in pre-trial detention charged with "fakes" about the Russian army, while Listok and its director Olga Komarova were fined a total of 800,000 rubles. At the beginning of June, Komarova was searched once again and her laptop and phone were seized.
Viktor Rau, Listok’s editor-in-chief, had to leave Russia not only for his own safety, but also for that of his grandson, whom he takes care of after the deaths of his daughter and son-in-law. To protect the paper’s staff, the management of Listok decided that only Rau would write about the war. He was recently fined 120,000 rubles under an article on calling for sanctions.
Despite this, Rau continues to publish on his website and telegram — although the publication of Altai’s once largest newspaper has effectively been discontinued and the editors have taken up another project.
«Listok is out, it’s only me working»
How security forces trashed Altai’s largest media outlet
«Listok»
Altai’s Listok is 23 years old. In 1999, the newspaper was founded by Sergei Mikhailov, a former local councilor and chairman of the regional branch of the Parnas party [a liberal-democratic political party, one of the first opposition parties in Russia].
By 2021, the newspaper had a circulation of 10,000 copies, the largest in the republic. The newspaper regularly criticized regional and national authorities, which led to conflicts with local officials.
Roskomnadzor, Russia’s media regulator, blocked Listok’s website in 2014, long before the invasion of Ukraine, because of the news about the "March for the federalization of Siberia" and in 2016 because of rude comments from readers — whereas journalists attributed the website blocking to a conflict between the newspaper and regional authorities. After that, the editorial office was searched, copies were confiscated, and in 2018 Mikhailov was placed under administrative arrest.
In April 2022, the security forces delivered to Listok the most severe blow. Mikhailov was in pre-trial detention charged with "fakes" about the Russian army, while Listok and its director Olga Komarova were fined a total of 800,000 rubles. At the beginning of June, Komarova was searched once again and her laptop and phone were seized.
Viktor Rau, Listok’s editor-in-chief, had to leave Russia not only for his own safety, but also for that of his grandson, whom he takes care of after the deaths of his daughter and son-in-law. To protect the paper’s staff, the management of Listok decided that only Rau would write about the war. He was recently fined 120,000 rubles under an article on calling for sanctions.
Despite this, Rau continues to publish on his website and telegram — although the publication of Altai’s once largest newspaper has effectively been discontinued and the editors have taken up another project.
By 2021, the newspaper had a circulation of 10,000 copies, the largest in the republic. The newspaper regularly criticized regional and national authorities, which led to conflicts with local officials.
Roskomnadzor, Russia’s media regulator, blocked Listok’s website in 2014, long before the invasion of Ukraine, because of the news about the "March for the federalization of Siberia" and in 2016 because of rude comments from readers — whereas journalists attributed the website blocking to a conflict between the newspaper and regional authorities. After that, the editorial office was searched, copies were confiscated, and in 2018 Mikhailov was placed under administrative arrest.
In April 2022, the security forces delivered to Listok the most severe blow. Mikhailov was in pre-trial detention charged with "fakes" about the Russian army, while Listok and its director Olga Komarova were fined a total of 800,000 rubles. At the beginning of June, Komarova was searched once again and her laptop and phone were seized.
Viktor Rau, Listok’s editor-in-chief, had to leave Russia not only for his own safety, but also for that of his grandson, whom he takes care of after the deaths of his daughter and son-in-law. To protect the paper’s staff, the management of Listok decided that only Rau would write about the war. He was recently fined 120,000 rubles under an article on calling for sanctions.
Despite this, Rau continues to publish on his website and telegram — although the publication of Altai’s once largest newspaper has effectively been discontinued and the editors have taken up another project.
Viktor Rau
Before the war
— We set up Listok in order to tell the truth and help people. To speak about events in the country and the Altai Republic. We did advertising to make the newspaper pay for itself.
I used to work in Gorny Altai, people knew me there. I was running as a candidate for the El Kurultai (Parliament of the Altai Republic — note by the project team) at the invitation of Sergei Mikhailov, I was in contact with the public sector. At the time, there were corrupt schemes, and when we uncovered them, Roskomnadzor started to persecute us. They tried to arrest Mikhailov.
Listok published on various indications of corruption by Alexander Berdnikov, the then head of the Altai Republic, and his subordinates, such as purchase of mansions with money from the regional budget. The newspaper’s conflict with Berdnikov peaked in 2017. At that time, Listok published a recording of Berdnikov’s conversations with Andrei Adarin, a blogger, where the governor spoke insultingly and using foul language about ethnic Altaians. Local residents and civic organizations then demanded Berdnikov’s resignation. He publicly apologized and remained in office until 2019. Although Berdnikov acknowledged the authenticity of the recordings, the pressure on Listok intensified. In March 2018, Sergei Mikhailov was given an administrative arrest for not sufficiently censoring the profanity in Berdnikov’s transcripts.
On 13 April 2022, Sergey Mikhailov was detained and arrested the next day on charges of spreading "fakes" about the Russian army. According to SOTA, the reason for the arrest was, inter alia, that Mr Mikhailov had quoted the Wikipedia article "Massacre in Bucha". At the same time, the editorial office of Listok was searched. Mikhailov is now in pre-trial detention and faces up to 10 years in prison. Memorial declared Mikhailov a political prisoner.
I used to work in Gorny Altai, people knew me there. I was running as a candidate for the El Kurultai (Parliament of the Altai Republic — note by the project team) at the invitation of Sergei Mikhailov, I was in contact with the public sector. At the time, there were corrupt schemes, and when we uncovered them, Roskomnadzor started to persecute us. They tried to arrest Mikhailov.
Listok published on various indications of corruption by Alexander Berdnikov, the then head of the Altai Republic, and his subordinates, such as purchase of mansions with money from the regional budget. The newspaper’s conflict with Berdnikov peaked in 2017. At that time, Listok published a recording of Berdnikov’s conversations with Andrei Adarin, a blogger, where the governor spoke insultingly and using foul language about ethnic Altaians. Local residents and civic organizations then demanded Berdnikov’s resignation. He publicly apologized and remained in office until 2019. Although Berdnikov acknowledged the authenticity of the recordings, the pressure on Listok intensified. In March 2018, Sergei Mikhailov was given an administrative arrest for not sufficiently censoring the profanity in Berdnikov’s transcripts.
On 13 April 2022, Sergey Mikhailov was detained and arrested the next day on charges of spreading "fakes" about the Russian army. According to SOTA, the reason for the arrest was, inter alia, that Mr Mikhailov had quoted the Wikipedia article "Massacre in Bucha". At the same time, the editorial office of Listok was searched. Mikhailov is now in pre-trial detention and faces up to 10 years in prison. Memorial declared Mikhailov a political prisoner.
Turning point
— We discussed the situation with the editorial board and decided that I as editor-in-chief would post on the website: I was abroad, so I took on these duties so that the local guys would not have any problems. I covered the war and the factual situation, while the rest of the staff dealt with day-to-day topics in the Altai Republic.
Now publishing the newspaper is no longer possible as no one wants to deal with us. The work of Listok itself has been stopped. Listok is out, it’s only me working — on the website and in Telegram. We are still looking for printers and someone ready to distribute the newspaper.
Now publishing the newspaper is no longer possible as no one wants to deal with us. The work of Listok itself has been stopped. Listok is out, it’s only me working — on the website and in Telegram. We are still looking for printers and someone ready to distribute the newspaper.
Pressure
— Legally, they can only make claims against me. But in reality, the authorities go rogue. They searched the editorial office, seized phones and computers. They came to my home and confiscated my laptop and phone, which had been seized under the previous criminal case in February. You would think everything would be happening in a civilized way, but they do what they want. Law does not exist in Russia.
The day before the search, my phone went out, so I took it to the repair shop and left it there. The next evening, I came to pick it up, turned it on, and it was bursting with messages and missed calls — about their coming to Mikhailov and closing the editorial office for searches.
Despite everything I had to keep working, objectively covering what was happening in Ukraine. And the fact that we found ourselves in a fascist state.
Maybe I wouldn’t have left if I could. But nine years ago, my daughter died in an accident, and I became her son’s guardian. At some point they started digging under this story: for example, after the elections, from which I was removed for taking part in rallies. They called, saying they needed to draw up new guardianship rights. I might have stayed, even if I had been imprisoned, but I made this difficult decision so that my grandson would not be taken away to an orphanage.
The day before the search, my phone went out, so I took it to the repair shop and left it there. The next evening, I came to pick it up, turned it on, and it was bursting with messages and missed calls — about their coming to Mikhailov and closing the editorial office for searches.
Despite everything I had to keep working, objectively covering what was happening in Ukraine. And the fact that we found ourselves in a fascist state.
Maybe I wouldn’t have left if I could. But nine years ago, my daughter died in an accident, and I became her son’s guardian. At some point they started digging under this story: for example, after the elections, from which I was removed for taking part in rallies. They called, saying they needed to draw up new guardianship rights. I might have stayed, even if I had been imprisoned, but I made this difficult decision so that my grandson would not be taken away to an orphanage.
Future
— The staff created Altaiskaya soroka (Altai Magpie) newspaper. People need to survive; they try to make money somehow. This has absolutely nothing to do with Listok operations. Soroka hosts local advertising, and I’m not even aware of that. The question about whether Listok will once be restored is still open.
