1 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:06,520 Speaker 1: Media. Something strange is going on. Another member of the 2 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:08,119 Speaker 1: Russian elite has been found dead. 3 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 2: Reports suggests that he fell out of a window poisoned 4 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:12,039 Speaker 2: with mushrooms. 5 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 1: He died of heart failure, died of carbon monoxide poisoning. 6 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:17,080 Speaker 2: How comesy are they? 7 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:22,959 Speaker 1: Dozens of Russian oligachs, politically motivated millionaires have died in 8 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: the space of three years, most of them in suspicious circumstances. 9 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:32,199 Speaker 1: Many have hidden links to the Kremlin. This is sad 10 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:37,960 Speaker 1: Oligach Season two, an ongoing investigation into these recently dead 11 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:42,880 Speaker 1: Russian power brokers. Sad Oligach is created by me jake 12 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: Hanrahan and my Ukrainian colleague Sergey Slipchenkov. This is a 13 00:00:48,159 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 1: H eleven studio and Coolso Media production. January where He's 14 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:07,319 Speaker 1: sixth twenty twenty six, Paris, France, Thirty eight year old 15 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: Russian journalist Yevgeny Safronov is extremely stressed out. He's been hacked. 16 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:20,480 Speaker 1: All of his social media accounts Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, VK, 17 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:25,680 Speaker 1: the Lot, even his Telegram channel has been hijacked. He's 18 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: been targeted by nefarious operators on the other side of 19 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 1: the world. Safronov lives in a small apartment in the 20 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:40,119 Speaker 1: Hartster Scene suburb in Paris. It's a nice area, mostly clean, 21 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 1: accessible and with a generally low crime rate. He's here 22 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 1: because he's in a self induced exile. The newspaper he 23 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:53,640 Speaker 1: worked for back in Russia was deemed to be a 24 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:58,800 Speaker 1: traitorous publication. In twenty twenty one, it was slaped with 25 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: the Foreign Act designation by the Kremlin, essentially classing it 26 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: as an enemy of the state. The paper was critical 27 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: of Putin's regime, and at this stage we all know 28 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:15,639 Speaker 1: what happens when you cross the dictator's red line. It's 29 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 1: at this stage that Safronov took the wire's decision to flee. 30 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: He left Russia for good, taking himself into exile for 31 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:27,360 Speaker 1: fear of being arrested and sent to prison. He'd basically 32 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:30,240 Speaker 1: just been doing his job, but as a real journalist 33 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: in Russia, that's a very dangerous activity. At first, Safronov 34 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:38,560 Speaker 1: stayed with his newspaper and relocated with most of the 35 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:43,079 Speaker 1: other staff members. This provided him continued income and a 36 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: visa to live elsewhere. He was doing okay and learning 37 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,239 Speaker 1: to adapt to a life outside of his home country, 38 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:53,079 Speaker 1: but for reasons currently unknown, he was fired in late 39 00:02:53,120 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: twenty twenty four. After all that, Safronov was let go, evil, 40 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,960 Speaker 1: the threats from the Russian government, the fear, all of 41 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 1: it was seemingly for nothing. He had to move on 42 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 1: once again and spent his time drifting through India and Turkey. Eventually, 43 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: Safronov managed to secure himself a visa to live in France. 44 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 1: Considering the area he moved to, it's safe to say 45 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 1: that he either had some cash left over, had a 46 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,919 Speaker 1: trust fund like many journalists, or had found a new 47 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:32,120 Speaker 1: work pretty quickly. Back in his apartment, Safronov is pacing 48 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: up and down. Anxiety grips him. He's in a terrible state. 49 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 1: He lost his job, his reputation, and his safety inside 50 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: his own country. He's depressed, to say the least. He's 51 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: popping pills medication. What he's taken exactly is currently unknown, 52 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 1: but it's worth noting he's on something. He sits at 53 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 1: his desk and begins at writing letters. One of them 54 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 1: is a suicide note. Scrawling across the page. In Russian, 55 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,680 Speaker 1: he writes, quote, all my accounts have been hacked. My 56 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: Telegram account has been stolen, all my mobile phones and 57 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:15,160 Speaker 1: applications have been cloned. My text messages and phone conversations 58 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:19,160 Speaker 1: have been intercepted. My phone has been infected by hackers. 59 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 1: I am the only one to blame for my death. 60 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:25,560 Speaker 1: You can also blame my negligence. I understand that I 61 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 1: have disappointed many people. I have no excuses except that 62 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 1: I didn't want to hurt anyone. I have never worked 63 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: for Russia's interests, and I have never been recruited by anyone. 64 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:41,680 Speaker 1: End quote. He finishes this letter and leaves it for 65 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:42,760 Speaker 1: his roommate to find. 66 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 2: It. 67 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:48,400 Speaker 1: Seems his final will and testament is strangely mostly about 68 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:52,599 Speaker 1: getting hacked. With this, Safronov pulls a chair to the 69 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: window of his apartment. He's on the seventh floor, a 70 00:04:56,640 --> 00:05:00,880 Speaker 1: solid sixty feet up, maybe more. At this site, you've 71 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:04,000 Speaker 1: got an eighty percent chance of death if you hit 72 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:09,600 Speaker 1: the asphalt below. Safronov is about to test these odds. 73 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:16,960 Speaker 1: His paranoia, his stress, his depression, it's all hit fever, pitch. Sadly, 74 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:19,800 Speaker 1: he doesn't feel as if there's any other way out 75 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: of this nightmare he's going through. Safronov steps up onto 76 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:30,240 Speaker 1: the chair and positions himself at the open window below him. 77 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:33,160 Speaker 1: The ground is finished with a thin layer of French tarmac. 78 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:38,039 Speaker 1: Older stone cobbles separate the road from the pavement. What 79 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:40,920 Speaker 1: goes through his mind at this point is between him 80 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:49,200 Speaker 1: and his god. Safronov jumps. He hurtles to the floor 81 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:53,960 Speaker 1: of forty miles per hour. It takes him almost two seconds, 82 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:58,239 Speaker 1: but he hits the road flat out. Instantly his body 83 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:06,840 Speaker 1: meets ground. Safronov is dead, lights out. That is the 84 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 1: official story. We only know about this recent death due 85 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:13,719 Speaker 1: to sparse reporting on it in French and a little 86 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: bit in Russian. As is strangely with all sad Oligarch cases, 87 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:24,120 Speaker 1: there are conflicting reports on what happened, even basic details. 88 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:29,320 Speaker 1: For example, it's still not known if Safronov's housemate was 89 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:32,800 Speaker 1: at the apartment when he jumped or not. He could 90 00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 1: have come by afterwards, or he could have been in 91 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 1: his own room. We don't know. It's reported that the 92 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:43,160 Speaker 1: housemate was apparently in so much shock that he couldn't 93 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:48,039 Speaker 1: even give a statement to police. Some reports say it 94 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: wasn't the shock though, it was more the language barrier, 95 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:55,680 Speaker 1: as he only spoke Russian. But that makes no sense 96 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:59,320 Speaker 1: to me, as any police force in any capital city 97 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 1: has dozens and dozens of translators on tap. They could 98 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,600 Speaker 1: have gotten hold of a Russian speaking translator very easily. 99 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: There are estimated fifty thousand Russian speakers living in Paris alone, 100 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: many more across France who have phones. Now this doesn't 101 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 1: speak to any kind of grand conspiracy or anything, but 102 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:24,239 Speaker 1: I do still find it quite unusual how this hasn't 103 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 1: been treated as something a bit more newsworthy in France, 104 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 1: especially considering current geopolitical events. Think about it, a Russian 105 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:37,800 Speaker 1: dissident jumped from a window to his death on the 106 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 1: street in the middle of Paris, after saying all of 107 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:44,280 Speaker 1: his devices and social medias were hacked, and yet the 108 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: event seems to have come and gone already. This happened 109 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:50,880 Speaker 1: this month. In fact, the way that we found out 110 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 1: that Yevgeny Safronov died was not from reporting in the news. 111 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:58,440 Speaker 1: He wasn't actually named at first. It was just a 112 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 1: Russian freelance journalist has committed suicide, that was it. He 113 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 1: was actually another Russian journalist who first broke the news 114 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:13,800 Speaker 1: that it was Safronov who died. This other reporter, Dennis Balashov, 115 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 1: also based in Paris, posted a photo of Safronov on 116 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:22,160 Speaker 1: his telegram channel in January with the following caption quote. 117 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:25,800 Speaker 1: At the end of twenty twenty four, Safronov suffered as 118 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:29,280 Speaker 1: he claimed an unfair dismissal from his media outlet that 119 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:33,360 Speaker 1: had relocated to Europe. As a result, he was unable 120 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:36,000 Speaker 1: to renew his documents and was forced to leave his 121 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:39,679 Speaker 1: country of residence and wander through India and Istanbul until 122 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:43,120 Speaker 1: he received a French visa. Six months ago. He moved 123 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:46,679 Speaker 1: to Paris and tried to settle here. He was depressed. 124 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: End quote. Now, I don't know about you, but that 125 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 1: is one of the most blunt and coldest eulogies I 126 00:08:55,080 --> 00:09:00,200 Speaker 1: have ever read. Now to understand that Safronov's situation a 127 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,840 Speaker 1: little clearer, let's take a look into the media company 128 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 1: he was working for that had apparently fired him not 129 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:13,119 Speaker 1: that long ago. This company is called Open Media, and surprise, 130 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: it's owned by a big Russian oligarch. It's called Open Media, 131 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:24,680 Speaker 1: and the company fell out of favor with Putin when 132 00:09:24,679 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 1: the oligach did. Let's talk to Sergey to find out. 133 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:36,320 Speaker 2: More him working for Open Media founded by Michael Kodowski, 134 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:39,680 Speaker 2: who was he was an Alger himself, but he fell 135 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 2: out with Putin way back in like the early two thousands, 136 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:45,440 Speaker 2: like the photos of him being with Putin, working with Putin, 137 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,000 Speaker 2: So he was like in his circle at some point, 138 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 2: and then he fell out of favor and he founded 139 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 2: this news media. Now he's kind of labeled as a 140 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:55,320 Speaker 2: Putin critic, but it seems like he was, you know, 141 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:57,680 Speaker 2: from ninety from the nineties to the early two thousands, 142 00:09:57,720 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 2: he was kind of, if not buddy buddy with him, 143 00:09:59,840 --> 00:10:02,200 Speaker 2: he was involved with Putin somehow. So I don't know 144 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 2: how big of a critic he. 145 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:15,679 Speaker 1: Is, Okay now with time for a quick outbreak, right, 146 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:18,240 Speaker 1: not for that. Now back to the show. 147 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:24,360 Speaker 2: It kind of seems one of those situations where well, 148 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 2: now he's kind of like on the bad side of Putin, 149 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:29,680 Speaker 2: so he's so he's now criticizing him, you know, But 150 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 2: when he was kind of benefiting from that relationship, he 151 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:33,080 Speaker 2: was completely. 152 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:35,320 Speaker 1: Fine with it. Do we know what he was criticizing, That. 153 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:38,160 Speaker 2: It's not a democracy and that Puttin is like a dictator. 154 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:41,040 Speaker 2: I didn't see anything too specific, but it seems like 155 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:46,480 Speaker 2: the publication itself is kind of like openly anti Putin regime. 156 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:51,440 Speaker 1: Now, this situation with open media where it's being run 157 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 1: by an oligarch that is suddenly anti Putin is actually 158 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:59,120 Speaker 1: quite a common thing in Russia. Many of the so 159 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 1: called this an outlet, well, once upon a time friends 160 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:06,040 Speaker 1: with the regime. They eventually fell out, and the publication 161 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:10,839 Speaker 1: then turncoats as the oligarch that owns it does. Now 162 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:13,960 Speaker 1: that's not to say that all of Russian dissident media 163 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:16,880 Speaker 1: is like that, not at all. There are several outlets 164 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:20,960 Speaker 1: that genuinely are against the regime, against the Kremlin based 165 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:25,200 Speaker 1: on their own want for freedom, morals and ethics. But 166 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: many a time so called opposition leaders, particularly ones that 167 00:11:29,559 --> 00:11:33,560 Speaker 1: are lauded in the West, often have a tricky, if 168 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 1: not murky background. Anyway, let's get back to the conversation 169 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:47,480 Speaker 1: with Sergey. So this guy I was working for a 170 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:50,320 Speaker 1: oligarch newspaper essentially. 171 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:52,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, so it's like, even though it's kind of reporting 172 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:56,520 Speaker 2: more of like his corruption and things that are against Puttin, right, So, like, 173 00:11:56,559 --> 00:11:58,440 Speaker 2: I think most people will see that as a good thing, 174 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:02,199 Speaker 2: it's still definitely influenced and it's owned by an oligarch, right, 175 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:07,080 Speaker 2: So like, yeah, it's reporting the kind of the bad 176 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:10,440 Speaker 2: side of Russian government, but also like there's definitely gonna 177 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,240 Speaker 2: be a bias in that right, Even if you agree 178 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:16,080 Speaker 2: with it and you kind of support, like yeah, fuck Russia, 179 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:18,480 Speaker 2: you still have to realize that there is a bias 180 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:21,800 Speaker 2: where it's again a Russian oligarch that owns this project 181 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:25,040 Speaker 2: and is running it. It sounds like funding it as well. Yeah, 182 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:27,319 Speaker 2: it's owned by him. It's kind of influenced by him 183 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:27,800 Speaker 2: to some degree. 184 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:32,640 Speaker 1: I'm sure. Now let's just pause for a second here 185 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:37,559 Speaker 1: to talk about how media is influenced by oligarchy. Lots 186 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:42,000 Speaker 1: of media. Well, I'm about to say I have said 187 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:46,079 Speaker 1: since episode one of season one of Sad Oligarch, and 188 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:49,079 Speaker 1: I've tried to dump it into people's heads where appropriate. 189 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:55,360 Speaker 1: Our so called Western superpowers are run by oligarchs as 190 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 1: much as Russia. It's you might not call them that, 191 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:02,719 Speaker 1: and perhaps they're a little more crafty in how they 192 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:06,959 Speaker 1: influence our day to day lives. But Western oligarchs are 193 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:11,880 Speaker 1: fucking us as much as our politicians are, particularly when 194 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:18,120 Speaker 1: it comes to the open and free media of the West. Often, 195 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:23,520 Speaker 1: our media, particularly the big publications, is structurally biased because 196 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:30,400 Speaker 1: big outlets sit inside big power networks, billionaires, influential families, 197 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:35,880 Speaker 1: private equity, and politically connected executive thoughts. These are a 198 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:41,000 Speaker 1: menace for truly free journalism. Now, control might not look 199 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:45,359 Speaker 1: the same as it sometimes does in Russia, where for example, 200 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:48,760 Speaker 1: a Kremlin stooge might call up a paper, tell them 201 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:51,800 Speaker 1: to shut up, or even send the police to raid them, 202 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:58,040 Speaker 1: but it's still often very, very corrupt. Usually it's more 203 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:02,200 Speaker 1: of a deceptive control dog a little more behind the scenes. 204 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:07,160 Speaker 1: The owners of a publication might hire editors who share 205 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:11,920 Speaker 1: their beliefs in political propaganda. They might spike investigations that 206 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:15,240 Speaker 1: could be awkward for their friends, or they simply might 207 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:18,959 Speaker 1: support a genocidal rogue state and as sure to dampen 208 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 1: any criticism against said rogue state as it murders children 209 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:29,840 Speaker 1: with bombs paid for by a rapidly declining superpower. Then 210 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:35,280 Speaker 1: there's the soft control via access. Notice, these days you 211 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:38,920 Speaker 1: will not see as many reporters taking politicians to task 212 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:44,240 Speaker 1: properly in interviews or when scuttling over to the ridiculous 213 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:49,040 Speaker 1: government press briefings. Why well, if they ruffle too many feathers, 214 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:52,080 Speaker 1: they will lose access, and they might even lose their 215 00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:58,320 Speaker 1: beat at whichever publication they're at. So anyway, billionaire influence 216 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:03,560 Speaker 1: is rife. Take The Washington Post, for example, it's now 217 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:09,240 Speaker 1: owned by the possible demon Jeff Bezos, after he bought 218 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:13,640 Speaker 1: it for two hundred and fifty million dollars. When the 219 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:18,320 Speaker 1: owner is a megawealthy corporate figure Bezos is worth around 220 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:22,600 Speaker 1: two hundred and fifty four billion, there's an obvious incentive 221 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:27,960 Speaker 1: to avoid any serious investigations that threaten the owner's network 222 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:33,240 Speaker 1: of goons. And of course, due to horrible work practices 223 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 1: at Amazon. Listen to my series A Megacorp to hear 224 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:41,080 Speaker 1: all about that. Bezos does not want his reporters focused 225 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:48,120 Speaker 1: too heavily on regulation, antitrust, label organizing, defense contracting, stuff 226 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:54,320 Speaker 1: like that. In the UK, the daily Male titles sit 227 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:59,880 Speaker 1: under the ownership of the Rothmere family. They control it all. 228 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 1: So I want to purchase the very popular conservative newspaper, 229 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 1: The Telegraph. Government documents discussing this proposed deal explicitly note 230 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:16,560 Speaker 1: plurality concerns. They're worried that one family's consolidation of media 231 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 1: means consolidation of influence. Of course this is obvious, but 232 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:24,840 Speaker 1: that's what our tax pays for. In the UK, for 233 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,280 Speaker 1: politicians to sit around writing up papers, they can be 234 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:34,800 Speaker 1: deeply concerned with then you've got the worst of the worst, 235 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:41,640 Speaker 1: the nightmarish demon hell that is the Murdoch Empire news court, 236 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 1: publisher of The Wall Street Journal, The Times, The New 237 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:50,360 Speaker 1: York Post, The Sun and many more. They also control 238 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:55,600 Speaker 1: Fox Corporation, as I'm sure you're aware, Fox's opinion programming 239 00:16:56,040 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 1: and Murdoch's politics are so intertwined. Basically now a case 240 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:08,760 Speaker 1: study in partisan media power, influential political bias, and unfortunately 241 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:14,320 Speaker 1: they are very successful. The Murdoch family can and have 242 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:20,480 Speaker 1: literally influenced elections at the drop of a hat. I 243 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:23,000 Speaker 1: could go on and on about this sort of thing 244 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:25,480 Speaker 1: in the media, but you get the gist by now. 245 00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:29,560 Speaker 1: A point being let's just remember that here in the West, 246 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:33,800 Speaker 1: we are not holier than thou. We suffer very similar 247 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:39,000 Speaker 1: problems with corruption and oligarchy, even if our media often 248 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:44,480 Speaker 1: chooses to sugarcoat it because that will benefit their owners. 249 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:50,000 Speaker 1: Now let's get back to Yevgeny Safronov. It's worth noting 250 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:53,440 Speaker 1: that before he had to go into exile from Russia, 251 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:58,440 Speaker 1: he was actually detained. In twenty twenty one, authorities brought 252 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:02,920 Speaker 1: him in for reporting on Novalni's court trial and criminal 253 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:07,280 Speaker 1: case in Russia. Now if you don't remember, Alexi Navalni 254 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:12,919 Speaker 1: was Russia's most prominent anti corruption campaigner and opposition figure 255 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:17,720 Speaker 1: to Putin. He was known for exposing shenanigans at the 256 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:21,320 Speaker 1: elite level in the Kremlin, to put it lightly, and 257 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:25,359 Speaker 1: he survived a twenty twenty nerve agent poisoning, which is 258 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:29,720 Speaker 1: very clearly an act of the Russian regime. Navalny was 259 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:32,359 Speaker 1: lauded as a hero in the West, but if you 260 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:35,159 Speaker 1: dig in a little deeper, he did have a pretty 261 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 1: checkered past. But that's not to say he deserved anything 262 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:42,120 Speaker 1: that the Kremlin did to him. He eventually died in 263 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:47,720 Speaker 1: February twenty twenty four in a very remote Arctic prison colony, 264 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:52,560 Speaker 1: while serving a hefty sentence widely viewed internationally as a 265 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:57,920 Speaker 1: politically motivated punishment dished out by a Putin for Novalni's 266 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: outspoken opposition to him. During the trial, Saffronov got caught 267 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,960 Speaker 1: up in the mix and was arrested. He was released, 268 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:10,280 Speaker 1: and there's not a lot of details on why. Surgery 269 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:11,159 Speaker 1: has a theory. 270 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:13,760 Speaker 2: I think again it might have been more to do 271 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:16,600 Speaker 2: with the publication that he was working for. I couldn't 272 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:20,000 Speaker 2: see that he did anything like specifically like out there 273 00:19:20,119 --> 00:19:22,679 Speaker 2: that would have him targeted. They were pretty adamant in 274 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:25,359 Speaker 2: reporting on it, calling out the government and stuff, and 275 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:28,000 Speaker 2: I think maybe just being the publication that it was 276 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 2: was enough for him to be kind of targeted. And 277 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:33,439 Speaker 2: again the entire publication got labeled as a foreign agent, 278 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:37,040 Speaker 2: which essentially lets Russia do pretty much anything with it, 279 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:41,200 Speaker 2: you know, kind of arrest arrest there reporters. I mean, 280 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:44,080 Speaker 2: I think just for propaganda purposes. It's like, oh, this 281 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:47,840 Speaker 2: publication's influenced, is owned by the West, their foreigners. They're 282 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:50,600 Speaker 2: trying to like disablize Russia. They're trying to say Russia 283 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:52,760 Speaker 2: is bad. That's kind of their go to to this 284 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:53,600 Speaker 2: crediting media. 285 00:19:57,080 --> 00:20:05,080 Speaker 1: Okay, now it's time for a quick break. All right, 286 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:07,720 Speaker 1: enough for that. Now back to the shot. 287 00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:12,840 Speaker 2: You see this even more often now with the war 288 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:15,159 Speaker 2: in Ukraine. I think at this point most publications have 289 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:17,480 Speaker 2: left Russia. But at the beginning of the war, the 290 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:21,040 Speaker 2: foreign agent thing was easily thrown around to just be like, oh, 291 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:23,640 Speaker 2: they're reporting that we're doing well in the war. That's 292 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:25,600 Speaker 2: because they're supporting Western propaganda. 293 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,840 Speaker 1: So what do we know. We know that Yevgeny Safronov 294 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:35,960 Speaker 1: had several marks on his name as far as the 295 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:39,560 Speaker 1: Kremlin was concerned. One, he used to work for an 296 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 1: opposition news outlet whose rich and powerful owner was a 297 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:47,600 Speaker 1: former friend turned foe of Putin. Two he reported on 298 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:50,639 Speaker 1: the Navoni trial, pointing out the trumped up charges and 299 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:55,000 Speaker 1: political motivations of the case. Three he was detained by 300 00:20:55,119 --> 00:20:59,240 Speaker 1: authorities in twenty twenty one for what is essentially wrong speak. 301 00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:03,440 Speaker 1: Four fled Russia as it was at war with Ukraine, 302 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:08,160 Speaker 1: a big no no. And five he lived in exile 303 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:12,879 Speaker 1: where he continued to report on Putin's crimes. But is 304 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 1: this enough to get him killed outside of Russia? Honestly, 305 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:22,480 Speaker 1: I just don't think so. No disrespect to the Ladyevgeny Saffronov, 306 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:26,560 Speaker 1: not at all. But he was not a huge influential reporter. 307 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:29,960 Speaker 1: His work was sure and steady, But it's not like 308 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:33,159 Speaker 1: he was known for dismantling the Russian regime with his reportage. 309 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:39,200 Speaker 1: But what about his claims of being hacked. There's two 310 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:44,480 Speaker 1: sides to this. Notably, the Russians around him say that 311 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:49,720 Speaker 1: he was becoming paranoid, he was thinking things aren't real. Essentially, 312 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:53,600 Speaker 1: he was losing the plot a bit. However, the French 313 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:58,879 Speaker 1: police have a different view. The investigation is, of course 314 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:02,520 Speaker 1: quietly on go. The cops haven't said much, believe me, 315 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,040 Speaker 1: We've tried to talk to them, but the little they 316 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:10,000 Speaker 1: did say cast the paranoia claims into doubt. According to 317 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:16,120 Speaker 1: the French newspaper Laparisian police investigators believe Saffronov had been 318 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:21,440 Speaker 1: at the target of death threats, real ones, not paranoia. 319 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:25,719 Speaker 1: At the time of recording these French police have not 320 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:29,640 Speaker 1: stated a final conclusion to what went on in Paris. 321 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:34,639 Speaker 1: Russian media, though, seems to have already decided. 322 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,600 Speaker 2: Interestingly, Russian reports on this death label it as like, yep, 323 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:42,160 Speaker 2: the police said it's a suicide, I need to look further, 324 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:46,320 Speaker 2: whereas French autists clearly state that the investigation is ongoing 325 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:48,679 Speaker 2: and they're looking into this, and then they're treating this 326 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:50,760 Speaker 2: as I don't think they went as far as to 327 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:54,080 Speaker 2: say suspicious, but they said that, like, while suicide is 328 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:57,879 Speaker 2: being considered, other things are being investigated. Maybe we'll hear 329 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:00,399 Speaker 2: something about it in a few weeks, who knows, maybe months. 330 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:06,359 Speaker 1: The alleged hacking also becomes more interesting when we dig 331 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:12,960 Speaker 1: a bit deeper. Safronov strangely, in my opinion, spoke about 332 00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:15,960 Speaker 1: his social media being hacked and his simcards cloned in 333 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:20,480 Speaker 1: a suicide note. Honestly, it's really not that difficult to 334 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:27,480 Speaker 1: do in this day and age, simswapping, key loggers, social engineering, whatever. 335 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:31,399 Speaker 1: There are teenagers in their bedrooms doing this every single day, 336 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:34,399 Speaker 1: and they make money while they're at it. But it 337 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:37,200 Speaker 1: wasn't just the phones and the socials that got hacked. 338 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:43,399 Speaker 1: Safronov's Russian citizen Gateway was also taken over. This is 339 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:47,359 Speaker 1: an online government portal in Russia that allows its people 340 00:23:47,359 --> 00:23:52,600 Speaker 1: to log in and access municipal services. Basically an all 341 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:57,639 Speaker 1: in one digital hub for accessing official systems. This is 342 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:01,800 Speaker 1: not easy to hack into. Have to be seriously skilled 343 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:06,520 Speaker 1: to break Russian government cyber security. Either that or you'd 344 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:10,800 Speaker 1: have to be Russian cybersecurity. I don't think it's too 345 00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:15,560 Speaker 1: crazy to theorize that maybe someone working for the Kremlin 346 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:21,360 Speaker 1: was tasked with making Saffronov's life hell from afar. After all, 347 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:26,600 Speaker 1: Russia's relationship with computer hackers is pretty cozy. The state 348 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:30,760 Speaker 1: basically tolerates serious hacking so long as they don't target 349 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:34,200 Speaker 1: anything Russian. There are cases where hackers that have been 350 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:38,000 Speaker 1: caught doing so are given a choice. Either you face 351 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:41,280 Speaker 1: the consequences in court and got to prison, or you 352 00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:45,320 Speaker 1: get to continue hacking, but now you work for the Kremlin. 353 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:51,000 Speaker 1: At the center of this ecosystem the security services, specifically 354 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:56,280 Speaker 1: the FSB and the GIU. These agencies have long understood 355 00:24:56,520 --> 00:25:01,280 Speaker 1: that their country produces a deep pool of technically gifted programmers, 356 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:07,119 Speaker 1: many of whom drift quickly into cybercrime. Rather than wiping 357 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:11,920 Speaker 1: that scene out, the state applies pressure selectively. This creates 358 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:16,320 Speaker 1: a grazon. Some groups operate as criminals for profits, others 359 00:25:16,359 --> 00:25:21,000 Speaker 1: as patriotic volunteers, and some shift roles depending on the job. 360 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:28,480 Speaker 1: They're fluid. For example, during geopolitical flare ups, criminal groups 361 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:34,320 Speaker 1: suddenly pivot to politically useful targets. During quieter periods, they 362 00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:37,879 Speaker 1: return to ransomware and frauds and whatever else it is 363 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:42,200 Speaker 1: they do. This setup gives the Kremlin ap plausible deniability. 364 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:47,280 Speaker 1: Attacks can be framed as independent criminal hits even when 365 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:51,280 Speaker 1: they line up neatly with Russia's strategic interests, which they 366 00:25:51,320 --> 00:26:00,320 Speaker 1: often do. It's cheap, flexible, deniable. The trade off is control. Then, 367 00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:03,760 Speaker 1: Saffronov was pushed out of the window, but in a 368 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:07,280 Speaker 1: different way. It wasn't the hands of Putin henchmen that 369 00:26:07,359 --> 00:26:11,320 Speaker 1: shoved him, but a targeted hacking campaign that sent him 370 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:16,600 Speaker 1: over the edge. As far as psychological pressure operations go, 371 00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:20,680 Speaker 1: this is not at all implausible. Just take a look 372 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:23,000 Speaker 1: at what the CIA and the FBI were up to 373 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:28,720 Speaker 1: in America in the seventies and eighties and onward. None 374 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:32,359 Speaker 1: of this ever truly ceased, and no governments are immune 375 00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:40,480 Speaker 1: to attacking their own citizens, especially not Russia. This has 376 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:46,760 Speaker 1: been sad Oligarch season two. Honestly, it's been absolute chaos. 377 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:51,879 Speaker 1: Sergei Slipchenko, Victor Mihail and myself have never had to 378 00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:56,680 Speaker 1: dig so deep for so few leads. One thing that's 379 00:26:56,720 --> 00:27:00,680 Speaker 1: clear after doing this series is that unfortunately the Kremlin's 380 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:05,199 Speaker 1: violent tactics are working. People are much more scared to 381 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:09,600 Speaker 1: speak out. The strange deaths become more brazen, the threat 382 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:15,200 Speaker 1: becomes more apparent. What's more, Putin is still murdering people 383 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:18,439 Speaker 1: across the world, and no one who can is willing 384 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:22,840 Speaker 1: to stop him. It's sad to say, but we're in 385 00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:29,000 Speaker 1: for some very hard times ahead. I would like to 386 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:32,119 Speaker 1: dedicate this series to all the people who fought and 387 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:35,480 Speaker 1: died in Ukraine trying to free themselves from the grip 388 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:39,960 Speaker 1: of Russia's violent imperialism. Especially to the friends I made 389 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:43,439 Speaker 1: when reporting out there. Those who died heroically on the 390 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:49,560 Speaker 1: front lines, Rest in peace to Yuriso Malenko, Ramasova and 391 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:58,040 Speaker 1: our friend are popular front mag dump. This is the 392 00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:18,800 Speaker 1: end of sad Oligach. Thank you for listening. You've been 393 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:22,560 Speaker 1: listening to sad Oliga season two. Produced by H eleven 394 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:29,119 Speaker 1: Studios for Cool Zone Media. Writing, editing, producing, concept and 395 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:36,240 Speaker 1: recording by myself, Jake Hanrahan, Research and reporting by Sergei Slipchenko, 396 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:43,440 Speaker 1: me and Victim Mihail. Executive producing by Sophie Lichtman. Music 397 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:49,760 Speaker 1: by Sam Black, art work by George Zutful. Sound mixed 398 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:56,000 Speaker 1: by Splicing Block. See my other projects at Hanrahan dot tv. 399 00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:59,960 Speaker 1: Get me on social media at Jake Wonder School Hanrahn. 400 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:04,480 Speaker 1: That's h A N I M h A n.