MOSCOW – A Russian journalist who edited the independent news website died Friday after setting himself on fire in front of police headquarters in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, a day after investigators searched his home.
Prior to her suicide, Irina Slavina, 47, founder and editor of the local news site Koza Press, posted a message on Facebook: “I urge you to blame the Russian Federation for my death.”
Koza Press has confirmed his death. Russia’s foreign intelligence service has denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday stating “Similar, baseless allegations concerning Russia’s intelligence have been made more than once. The statement said the search was part of a criminal case in which Ms. Slavina was considered a witness.
Ms. Slavina said on Facebook on Thursday that 12 people, including members of a special police unit, had searched her apartment early in the morning. The Facebook post said law enforcement agents were looking for “brochures, pamphlets, accounts” from Open Russia, according to Kremlin critic Mikhail B. Provided by Khodorkovsky, who had to flee Russia after spending more than a decade in prison.
The search was carried out as part of a criminal case against local entrepreneur Mikhail Aoselevich, who was suspected by authorities of working with Open Russia, which is officially considered an “undesirable organization” in the country.
Ms. Slavina’s death comes against the backdrop of growing dangers facing journalists who write about topics considered offensive by the Kremlin. The number of threats and attacks on journalists in the country has increased in recent years, according to incidents prepared by the advocacy group Justice for Journalists.
“Russia is a country where working as a journalist increases the risk to life, health and liberty.” The group says on its website.
Before searching, Ms. Slavina was under constant pressure from local authorities. He was fined for participating in a protest in Nizhny Novgorod and referring to Open Russia in his Facebook posts.
Local authorities in Russian regions are putting pressure on independent media outlets and journalists. Many have abandoned established publications to create their own small websites or blogs. Before setting up her own news website in 2016, Ms. Slavina worked in many local media outlets, where she always faced a variety of censorship.
“I’ve lost my job three times because I can say I’ve lost a lot of nose,” he said in an interview in September last year.
Ms. Slavina, the website’s sole editor and author, published investigative articles on the internal affairs of Russia’s most powerful security agency, the Federal Security Service. Despite its one-member staff, Koza Press quickly became one of the most registered outlets in the region.
In Nizhny Novgorod, a city of 1.3 million people 250 miles east of Moscow, people were carrying flowers and candles at Mrs. Slavina’s death site, photos posted online.
Ms. Slavina’s acquaintance Natalia Grieznevich described him “as a brave journalist, without any condemnation or suspicion.”
Ms. “She was just a very free and passionate person,” Gryaznevich wrote on her Facebook account. “Having such a person in Russia is fatally dangerous.”
