Novaya Gazeta Europe has published a report on the professional and public transformation of journalist and writer Marina Akhmedova. In the 2010s, she worked for Russky Reporter, where she became known for long-form reporting on terminally ill children, drug users, the terrorist underground in the North Caucasus, female circumcision, and the decline of the Russian countryside. Former colleagues and readers quoted in the piece say her stories were among the magazine’s most prominent works and influenced a generation of future journalists.
The article also cites Akhmedova’s earlier public remarks. At a meeting with journalism students in 2017, she spoke about the importance of civic engagement, progressive views, and courage. At the same time, some of the outlet’s sources who attended her workshops recall that her image as a bold journalist defending vulnerable people coexisted with a harsh style of communication and a tendency to dominate discussions.
The authors note that Akhmedova joined Russky Reporter after working at several other publications and later moved from lighter topics to war and social reporting. Her best-known texts included stories about the drug known as “krokodil,” relatives of suicide bombers after the Moscow metro bombings, and forced abortions in Chechnya.
According to the publication, Akhmedova later adopted a clearly pro-government position. As a member of the Presidential Human Rights Council, she thanked Vladimir Putin for the decision to incorporate Donbas into Russia, and during the full-scale war she became one of the more visible pro-war media figures. The agency Regnum, which she heads, publishes material in line with official Russian propaganda narratives, Novaya Gazeta Europe writes.
The report also cites information on her income. According to Novaya Gazeta Europe and Mozhem Obyasnit, in 2023 Akhmedova bought a 111-square-meter apartment in central Moscow, earned from 600,000 to more than 1 million rubles a month at Regnum, received about 1.2 million rubles monthly on average from RT, and also obtained payments from the Sorabotnichestvo foundation. Akhmedova herself declined to answer the outlet’s questions.