Maria Viktorovna Zholobova (born 1989)[1] is a Russian investigative journalist. She is a journalist for the publication Important Stories.[2] She is the co-founder and former journalist for the publication Proekt. She is the former presenter and writer of the program “Fake News” on the Dozhd TV channel.[3]

She received a master's degree from the Institute of Journalism and Literary Creativity in Moscow.[4]

She started working in the newspaper "Kommersant",[5] where she was a news editor.[4] In September 2013, Kommersant sent Zholobov to a lecture by Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the lecture, Peskov said that Putin does not pronounce the name of the Russian oppositionist Alexei Navalny so as not to make Navalny popular. Zholobova published it on the Kommersant website and was fired, and her article was deleted, as it turned out that the lecture was not public.[5][6]

Later, she worked at Esquire and Slon (Republic).[5] In 2014, she joined RBC.[4] In 2016, she left RBC and moved to Dozhd TV channel.[4][5] On "Rain" she composed and hosted the program Fake News ("Fake News"), where she talked about inaccuracies in the reports of the Russian media. Investigated various topics, from infrastructure and crime problems in Russia to Putin's inner circle and hidden assets of civil servants. In August 2018, Zholobova moved from Dozhd to Project, a Russian startup modeled on the American non-profit organization ProPublica.[7]

In August 2017, Dozhd aired the first episode of the Piterskie series, which told the story of Russian businessman and Putin acquaintance Ilya Traber and his alleged ties to crime. In particular, the episode about Traber spoke of the "so-called king of gangster Petersburg." Zholobova was one of the authors of the episode. In 2017, a criminal case was opened in Russia for slander against Traber, in which Zholobova was a witness. On June 29, 2021, Russian police searched her apartment in Moscow, seizing computers, phones, memory cards, and SIM cards, and then took her in for questioning.[8][9] The day before the searches, the publication of Zholobova's investigation into the alleged corruption schemes of Vladimir Kolokoltsev, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Russia, was announced.[10][11] Human rights organizations International Federation of Journalists, Committee to Protect Journalists, European Federation of Journalists, Journalists and Media Workers Union, Women in Journalism Coalition and Amnesty International condemned the searches.[12][13][14][15][16][17]

On July 15, 2021, the Russian Prosecutor's Office declared Proekt an "undesirable organization."[18] Zholobova then left for Tbilisi, Georgia.[19]

References

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  1. ^ "Мария Жолобова («Проект») о давлении властей, работе с данными и «чуде Навального»".
  2. ^ "Путин побывал в Мариуполе — чтобы показать, как Россия восстанавливает захваченный город. Каковы реальные масштабы этой стройки и кто на ней наживается?". Meduza (in Russian). 2023-03-20. Archived from the original on 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  3. ^ "Maria Zholobova | the Harriman Institute".
  4. ^ a b c d "Maria Zholobova". Columbia Harriman Institute. Archived from the original on 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  5. ^ a b c d Ольга Страховская. "Мария Жолобова («Проект») о давлении властей, работе с данными и «чуде Навального»". theblueprint.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  6. ^ Masha Udensiva-Brenner (2019). "Investigating Russia's Elite: Maria Zholobova in Profile" (PDF). Колумбийский университет. p. 18. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  7. ^ Masha Udensiva-Brener (2019). "Investigating Russia's Elite: Maria Zholobova in Profile" (PDF). Колумбийский университет. p. 17. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  8. ^ "Обыски у журналистов «Проекта»". «Медиазона» (in Russian). 2021-06-21. Archived from the original on 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  9. ^ Ольга Корелина (2021-06-29). "У журналистов «Проекта» прошли обыски. Они свидетели по делу о клевете на бизнесмена Илью Трабера (знакомого Путина): Срок давности по этому делу истек в 2019 году". Meduza (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2021-09-02. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  10. ^ Roth, Andrew (2021-06-29). "Russian police raid journalists probing government corruption". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  11. ^ "Полиция провела обыски у журналистов «Проекта» Марии Жолобовой и Романа Баданина". «Новая газета» (in Russian). 2021-06-29. Archived from the original on 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  12. ^ "Russia: Police raids homes of investigative journalists". Международная федерация журналистов. 2021-06-30. Archived from the original on 2021-09-02. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  13. ^ "Russian Police Raid Proekt Journalists' Homes". Центр по исследованию коррупции и организованной преступности. 2021-07-02. Archived from the original on 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  14. ^ "Russia: authorities target investigative journalists with raids amid increasing pressure on media". Европейская федерация журналистов. 2021-07-01. Archived from the original on 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  15. ^ "Остановим преследование журналистов-расследователей". Профсоюз журналистов и работников СМИ (in Russian). 2021-06-29. Archived from the original on 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  16. ^ "Russia: CFWIJ Condemns Police Raid And Interrogation Against Journalist Maria Zholobova". The Coalition For Women In Journalism. 2021-07-08. Archived from the original on 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  17. ^ "Russia: Home searches of Proekt.Media journalists a shameless attack on media freedom". Amnesty International. 2021-06-29. Archived from the original on 2023-03-17. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  18. ^ Елизавета Фохт, Анна Пушкарская, Анастасия Голубева, Наталия Зотова (2021-07-15). ""Проект" - нежелательная организация, его журналисты - "иноагенты". Что им теперь грозит?". BBC News Русская служба (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2023-03-28.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Masha Udensiva-Brenner (2022). "Raising My Voice for Ukraine". Колумбийский университет. Archived from the original on 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2023-03-28.