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Ruslan Shaveddinov

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In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Tabrizovich and the family name is Shaveddinov.
Ruslan Shaveddinov
Руслан Шаведдинов
Shaveddinov in 2018
Born
Ruslan Tabrizovich Shaveddinov

(1995-07-22) 22 July 1995 (age 29)
Liski, Voronezh Oblast, Russia
EducationInternational Independent Ecological and Political University [ru] (human rights)
Occupation(s)Political activist, journalist, project manager of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, YouTuber
Political partyRussia of the Future

Ruslan Tabrizovich Shaveddinov (Russian: Русла́н Табри́зович Шаведди́нов, born 22 July 1995[1]) is a Russian political activist, investigative journalist, and YouTube-blogger. He is best known as a project manager of Alexey Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and press secretary of Navalny's presidential campaign in 2018.[2][3]

Biography

[edit]

Ruslan Shaveddinov was born on 22 July 1995 in Liski, Voronezh Region. He graduated from the International Independent Ecological and Political University [ru] with a specialization in human rights.[4]

In 2013 Shaveddinov joined Alexei Navalny's mayoral campaign as a volunteer and later joined the staff of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation. At the same time, he participated in protests in support of the Pussy riot feminist art group, whose main participants had been imprisoned a year before for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.[5][6]

In 2014 with colleagues from the Anti-Corruption Foundation, Shaveddinov investigated Vyacheslav Volodin's and Sergey Neverov's dachas. During the filming, he was beaten up by private security guards and held in content by police.[7]

In December 2016 Navalny announced his candidacy in the 2018 Russian presidential elections and appointed Shaveddinov his press secretary for the campaign.[8] In addition to the press-secretary duties, from 2017 to 2018, the latter hosted the political news show "Cactus" on the YouTube-channel "Navalny Live".[9][10][11]

In May 2018 Shaveddinov was elected to the central council of the Russia of the Future political party. The central council also included Ivan Zhdanov, Roman Rubanov, Georgy Alburov, Lyubov Sobol, and others.[12]

Upon participating in Moscow City Duma election protests,[13] in November 2019, Shaveddinov was included in the so-called "blacklist", banning him from entering the building of the Moscow City Duma.[14] A month later, he was forcibly taken to serve at a military base in Novaya Zemlya.[15]

As of 2022 Shaveddinov is one of the hosts of the "Popular Politics" YouTube-channel.[16]

Investigations

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In January 2019 Shaveddinov published an investigation on the corruption of Russian Olympic champions Alexei Nemov and Svetlana Khorkina.[17] Later the same year, he released a YouTube video about Deputy Mayor of Moscow Natalia Sergunina's undeclared financial assets that he had previously been working on with Georgy Alburov and Kira Yarmysh. As of February 2020, the video had over 3 million views on YouTube.[18][19]

A month before the 2021 State Duma elections Shaveddinov published an investigation about the Deputy Defence Minister Andrey Kartapolov.[20] Navalny's associates, Ruslan Shaveddinov, Artem Ionov, and Ivan Konovalov, stated that it was Kartapolov who coordinated their abduction by the army.[21] Later the same year, Shaveddinov published another investigation about the mistresses of Russian officials, working close to President Vladimir Putin.[22]

Political persecution

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In January 2018 Shaveddinov and Yarmysh were detained at the Sheremetyevo airport and arrested for eight days for broadcasting public protests on Navalny LIVE.[23] In May of the same year, Shaveddinov was arrested again and kept in detention for 30 days for organizing a series of anti-corruption protests across Russia.[24]

In the summer of 2019 Shaveddinov participated in protests in support of journalist Ivan Golunov [ru] and was arrested for nine days.[25] Later in July of the same year, the police searched his house for a case on the obstruction of election commissions before the Moscow City Duma elections.[26] A month later, the police opened another case on Shaveddinov and his colleagues from FBK for alleged money laundering and tax evasion. Shaveddinov's bank accounts were frozen due to the criminal case.[27][28]

On 23 December 2019 Shaveddinov's apartment was de-energised.[29] The police then broke down its front door under the pretext of a search. Consequently, Shaveddinov was forcibly taken to the Investigative Committee. After being interrogated, he was escorted by a special convoy to Novaya Zemlya, to the 33rd anti-aircraft missile base [ru].[30][31] At the same time, the mobile operator Yota disconnected Shaveddinov's mobile phone.[32] As the phone was turned off for about 16 hours that day, his colleagues from FBK reported him as a missing person.[33][34] According to The Insider's investigation, the Russia law enforcement agencies had previously instructed the mobile operator to track any actions on Shaveddinov's number.[35] Alexei Navalny regarded this fact as complexity in his colleague's kidnapping.[36]

Shaveddinov later reported that during his service, he was practically isolated from other soldiers and deprived of any contact with the outside world: not only was there no cellular connection on the base, but also the post office rarely delivered Shaveddinov's letters to addressees.[37] Moreover, officers punished his peers for talking to him, his calls to the family were supervised by officers and recorded on camera.[32][38] A few months later, Shaveddinov was reassigned to serve at a radio post near the nuclear test site, located 195 km from the settlement of Rogachevo, which could only be reached by helicopter.[39][40]

The story about Shaveddinov's kidnapping created a public resonance because the activist had a medical condition exempting him from military service. As a result, a regional information portal 29.RU included Shaveddinov in the "Top 10 Most Discussed Men of Pomorye in 2020".[41]

In January 2021, shortly after his return from the military service, Shaveddinov was arrested at the Vnukovo airport. With Lyubov Sobol, he was going to meet Alexei Navalny, returning from Germany after his poisoning.[42][43]

It was reported in May 2021 that several FBK employees, including Shaveddinov, Georgy Alburov, and others, allegedly moved to Georgia to launch a new studio of the "Navalny LIVE" YouTube channel in Tbilisi.[44] Leonid Volkov, a Russian political activist and Navalny's ally, refuted this information and called it "fake news."[45]

In September 2021 the Investigative Committee opened a new criminal case against FBK. Shaveddinov and others were accused of creating an extremist group.[46] Following these charges, in January 2022, Rosfinmonitoring included Shaveddinov in the list of extremists and terrorists.[47][48] Later the same year, he was added to the federal wanted list.[49]

On 22 July 2022 the Russian Ministry of Justice added Shaveddinov to the list of "foreign agents."[50]

Family and personal life

[edit]

Shaveddinov's family is of Azerbaijan origin. He has a younger brother, Nikita.[4]

As of 2020 Shaveddinov was in a relationship with Kira Yarmysh, Alexey Navalny's spokesperson.[51]

References

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  1. ^ "Шаведдинов Руслан Табризович" (in Russian). Memorial. 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Anti-Putin activist Ruslan Shaveddinov 'forcibly conscripted' and sent to Arctic". The Guardian. 26 December 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Russia orders closure of Navalny campaign fund". France24. 22 January 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  4. ^ a b Игорь Денисов (2022). "Руслан Шаведдинов" (in Russian). 24smi.org. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  5. ^ Андрей Соколов (24 February 2021). "Оппозиция: откуда деньги, Зин?" (in Russian). stoletie.ru. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  6. ^ Николай Нелюбин (3 February 2021). ""Ребята с дубинками не будут поддерживать его до конца"" (in Russian). newprospect.ru. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  7. ^ Наталия Зотова (6 August 2014). ""Парни с битами были в сговоре с полицией"" (in Russian). novayagazeta.ru. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Russia: Nationwide Assaults on Political Opposition Campaign". Human Rights Watch. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  9. ^ Наталия Зотова (11 September 2020). "Без Навального: как ФБК работает без своего лидера" (in Russian). bbc.com. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  10. ^ "На ютьюб-канале "Навальный Live" закрылась программа "Кактус"" (in Russian). bbc.com. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Navalny TV Show Host Shaveddinov Jailed For 30 Days". RadioFreeEurope. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  12. ^ Елена Мухаметшина (19 May 2018). "Партия Навального получила название "Россия будущего"". Ведомости (in Russian). Vedomosti. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  13. ^ Валерия Позючанюк, Ирина Малкова (20 July 2019). "В Москве прошел митинг за допуск оппозиции на выборы" (in Russian). The Bell. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  14. ^ "Соболь и Шаведдинов сообщили о включении в "черный список" Мосгордумы" (in Russian). tvrain.ru. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  15. ^ "Ruslan Shaveddinov: Russian opposition activist 'kidnapped' by army". bbc.com. 25 December 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  16. ^ "The leading "Popular politics" brought cases of "fake" and "justification of terrorism"". russianfreepress.com. 23 August 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  17. ^ "Навальный: Мордовия заплатила 3 млн спортсменам за мастер-класс". Радио Свобода (in Russian). svoboda.org. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  18. ^ Anna Nemtsova (24 February 2020). "The leading "Popular politics" brought cases of "fake" and "justification of terrorism"". thedailybeast.com. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  19. ^ "ФБК — о миллиарде семьи заммэра Москвы, которая курирует московские выборы" (in Russian). the-village.ru. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  20. ^ "The United Russia general kidnaps people. And goes to the State Duma". novichoktimes.com. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  21. ^ ""Не факт, что я этот год переживу". Как российская армия превратилась в карательные отряды для оппозиции" (in Russian). vot-tak.tv. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  22. ^ "Команда Навального опубликовала расследование об активах любовниц высокопоставленных чиновников" (in Russian). obshchayagazeta.eu. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  23. ^ "Ведущий "Навальный Live" получил 8 суток ареста за призывы к несогласованной акции" (in Russian). Interfax. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  24. ^ "Тверской суд арестовал на 30 суток сотрудника ФБК Шаведдинова" (in Russian). rbc.ru. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  25. ^ "Сотрудника ФБК Руслана Шаведдинова арестовали на 9 суток за акцию в поддержку Голунова" (in Russian). novayagazeta.ru. 28 July 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  26. ^ "К пресс-секретарю Навального и оппозиционеру Шаведдинову пришли с обысками" (in Russian). Interfax. 27 July 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  27. ^ ""Проект": против сотрудников ФБК возбудят уголовные дела об отмывании денег и уклонении от уплаты налогов" (in Russian). zona.media. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  28. ^ "Счета ФБК заблокированы, также власти заблокировали личные счета нескольких сотрудников" (in Russian). currenttime.tv. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  29. ^ Екатерина Венкина (24 December 2019). "Сотрудника ФБК Шаведдинова увезли служить в Арктику" (in Russian). dw.com. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  30. ^ Tom Parfitt (25 December 2019). "'Kidnapped' Russian dissident Ruslan Shaveddinov taken to serve at missile base". The Times. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  31. ^ Andrew Osborn (25 December 2019). "Anti-Kremlin activist forcibly conscripted to Arctic was kidnapped, say allies". Reuters. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  32. ^ a b Александра Сивцова (25 December 2020). ""Я стал еще более злым на всех наших врагов"" (in Russian). meduza.io. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  33. ^ Grigory Levchenko (24 December 2019). "Russian anti-corruption campaigner disappears following police searches, reappears as army draftee on Arctic island". meduza.io. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  34. ^ "ФБК написал заявление о пропаже своего сотрудника, у которого провели обыск" (in Russian). Interfax. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  35. ^ "Yota установила особый режим для телефона сотрудника ФБК Руслана Шаведдинова, принудительно отправленного на Новую Землю" (in Russian). theins.ru. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  36. ^ ""Йота помогла похитить Руслана Шаведдинова". Навальный призвал пользователей Yota отказаться от услуг оператора" (in Russian). theins.ru. 28 December 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  37. ^ Наталия Зотова (24 December 2020). ""У нас был пес и два медведя": сотрудник ФБК Руслан Шаведдинов о службе в Заполярье" (in Russian). bbc.com. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  38. ^ Александр Бородихин (5 January 2021). ""Привезли кого‑то типа Навального". Что происходило в части, где несколько месяцев держали Руслана Шаведдинова из ФБК" (in Russian). zona.media. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  39. ^ "Сотрудник ФБК рассказал о жизни в "бочке" рядом с ядерным полигоном". Радио Свобода (in Russian). svoboda.org. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  40. ^ Atle Staalesen (24 April 2020). "Armed Forces relocate Navalny's man in Novaya Zemlya". thebarentsobserver.com. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  41. ^ "Врач «красной» зоны, губернаторы и каннибал: самые обсуждаемые мужчины Поморья в 2020 году" (in Russian). 29.ru. 2 January 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  42. ^ "В аэропорту Внуково задержали сторонников Навального" (in Russian). currenttime.tv. 17 January 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  43. ^ "Во Внуково начались задержания" (in Russian). rbc.ru. 17 January 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  44. ^ Евгения Кузнецова, Елизавета Ламова (7 May 2021). "ФБК перевезет студию и часть сотрудников в Грузию" (in Russian). rbc.ru. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  45. ^ "СМИ сообщили о переезде сотрудников ФБК в Грузию. Леонид Волков назвал это фейком" (in Russian). Novaya Gazeta. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  46. ^ Daria Litvinova (28 September 2021). "Russia opens extremism probe against Navalny and his allies". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  47. ^ "Russia Adds Navalny to List of 'Terrorists'". voanews.com. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  48. ^ Louis Westendarp (25 January 2022). "Russia adds Alexei Navalny to national 'terrorists and extremists' list". politico.eu. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  49. ^ "Russia Adds Two More Navalny Associates To Wanted List". RadioFreeEurope. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  50. ^ "The Ministry of Justice recognized Ilya Yashin, Maxim Katz, Ruslan Shaveddinov, Tatyana Lazareva and Veronika Belotserkovskaya as "foreign agents"". russianfreepress.com. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  51. ^ Вячеслав Половинко, Влад Докшин (25 December 2020). ""Сейчас приедет такой Шаведдинов, будьте осторожны"" (in Russian). novayagazeta.ru. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
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