Russia declares investigative journalist groups Bellingcat, Insider “undesirable”

Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has declared investigative journalist groups Bellingcat and The Insider “undesirable,” actually banning them from operating in Russia. 

In October 2021, Bellingcat and The Insider were declared as “foreign spies” by the Kremlin.

Moscow claimed that the activities of these organizations “represent a threat to the constitutional order and security of Russia.” 

The Prosecutor’s Office recommended the Ministry of Justice of Russia that these organizations should be included in the list of “undesirable organizations.” 

Bellingcat and The Insider have conducted a number of high-profile journalistic investigations, including the assassination of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, the attempted assassination of Alexei Navalny, and Russia’s Federal Security Service’s links to the poisoning of other individuals undesirable to the Kremlin. 

Bellingcat provided various materials to prove links between the murder of Georgian Zelimkhan Khangoshvili and Russian officials back in 2019 in central Berlin which sparked a diplomatic scandal between German and Russia. 

Khangoshvili, who was of Chechen origin, was wanted by Russia “for terrorism.” 

Today, both publications actively cover Russia’s war in Ukraine.