The founder of the project “Sputnik and Pogrom” Yegor Prosvirnin fell out of a window in Moscow and died
Frame: Lisa Lazerson / YouTube
In the center of Moscow, a Russian journalist, founder of the Sputnik and Pogrom project blocked in Russia, Yegor Prosvirnin, fell out of a window. The journalist passed away at the age of 35.
Prosvirnin fell out of the window of a multi-storey building on Tverskoy Boulevard and died before the ambulance arrived. Some eyewitnesses claimed that the deceased had a knife in his hands, and a pepper spray was lying not far from the body – the journalist allegedly threw them out of the window, neighbors of the creator of “Sputnik and Pogrom” said.
Prosvirnin's body identified by relatives
The information about the death of the journalist was also confirmed by his lawyer Matvey Tsen. “His relatives called me and gave this information,” the lawyer said.
Later, a suicide note, allegedly written by Prosvirnin, circulated on the Internet. In it, the journalist asked for forgiveness from friends and wife. “This is most likely a fake,” Marina Urusova, the wife of the deceased, told reporters.
In addition, it became known that at the time of the incident Prosvirnin was presumably under the influence of drugs.
A source of “Lenta.ru” in law enforcement agencies said that the investigation has two versions of what happened. “According to preliminary data, at the time of his death, 35-year-old Prosvirnin could have been intoxicated. So far, the two main versions are suicide and an accident, ”he said.
Shortly before his death, Prosvirnin quarreled with his wife
The death of the founder of Sputnik and Pogrom in an interview with Gazeta.Ru was commented on by a Russian politician, head of the Society. Future ”Roman Yuneman. Speaking about the versions of what happened, he suggested that what happened was not a murder. Yuneman also said that he had contacted Prosvirnin's wife.
I called her, she confirmed everything. I think it's better to let them all come to their senses now, I don't want to share the details yet. But I understand that this is not murder, nothing
Roman Yunemannpolitik, head of the political movement “Society. Future”
According to the politician, he was on friendly terms with Prosvirnin and was a regular reader of Sputnik and Pogrom. “His lyrics influenced me a lot. We were on friendly terms, I went to stream to him. We didn’t work together, but we had good friendships, ”Yuneman concluded.
According to Mash, on the morning of his death, the journalist had a fight with his wife. On his Twitter account, Prosvirnin said that for the first time in six years he doubted whether this woman should raise their children together. He wrote posts about a quarrel with his wife in English.
Prosvirnin's Sputnik and Pogrom project was the main nationalist resource
Prosvirnin founded the Sputnik and Pogrom project, which for several years was one of the main nationalist resources in Russia. It originally existed as a group on VKontakte, launched in 2012. Later, the portal became a separate site, which was positioned as “the site of Russian nationalists.” The main content of “Sputnik and Pogrom” is long texts about historical events and interethnic conflicts.
Since October 2013, the resource has become available only with a paid subscription. The number of subscribers to the publication was unknown.
Sputnik and Pogrom repeatedly demanded to check for extremism. In 2015, after the publication of material on the “goals and objectives of Russian nationalism”, a criminal case was initiated under Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Incitement to hatred or enmity”). According to the publication's founder, the investigation ended in nothing.
In 2017, Roskomnadzor added Sputnik and Pogrom to the list of blocked resources. The reason was “the propaganda of the idea of ethnic and religious hatred, which creates threats to public security and encourages extremism.”
The regulator did not specify what specific materials led to the blocking of the resource. At the same time, it was noted that the restriction of access to the site occurred as part of the execution of a package of six requirements introduced by the Prosecutor General's Office, including the blocking of the Sputnik and Pogrom resources. At the same time, the head of Roskomnadzor, Alexander Zharov, stressed that Russian legislation must also be strictly observed in social networks and instant messengers.
The publication “Sputnik and Pogrom” tried to challenge the blocking in court, pointing out that Roskomnadzor did not name specific materials containing illegal appeals, but the court rejected the complaint. The publication continued to work, changing the domain of the site. According to the journalist, this is how the editorial staff wanted to keep the audience. However, later Roskomnadzor announced that they would block all copies and “mirrors” of the blocked resources.
