1 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:06,560 Speaker 1: Media. Something strange is going on. Another member of the 2 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:08,119 Speaker 1: Russian elites 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 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 2: with mushrooms. 5 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 1: Died of heart failure, died of carbon monoxide poisoning. 6 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:17,080 Speaker 2: How comes you 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 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: the space for three years, most of them in suspicious circumstances. 9 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:32,159 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 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:42,880 Speaker 1: Russian power brokers. Sad Oligach is created by me Jake 12 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: Hanrahan and my Ukrainian colleague Sergey Slipchenkong. This is a 13 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: H eleven Studio and Coolso Media production. Last week, in 14 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 1: part one of this episode, Tycoon in a Gulag I 15 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 1: laid out the train of events that led to Aygor 16 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: Kotlnikov's sudden death. He was a key part of a 17 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: conspiracy to pinch pennies on a very large scale, WHI 18 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: was providing produce for Russian military rations as they continued 19 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:22,840 Speaker 1: their invasion of Ukraine. Kotelnikov died somehow in a solitary 20 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 1: confinement cell in a Moscow pre trial detention center. We 21 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: still don't know much about his death, literally just the 22 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:35,199 Speaker 1: day and where it happened. July eighth, twenty twenty four, 23 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: in a cell. Before Kotlnikov was announced dead, it said 24 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 1: he was healthy and appeared generally okay. A human rights 25 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: organization in Russia met with him in jail just days 26 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: before he passed. Before we dig deeper into the other 27 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: defendants around this strange case, I want to have another 28 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: look at the detention centers themselves. Research shows that they 29 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: are excellent places to have people killed in if you 30 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:15,680 Speaker 1: were so inclined. They've become a core tool of Putin's Russia. 31 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: You'll see why this is relevant in a bit. Russia's 32 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 1: pre trial detention centers are known colloquially as sizo's. It's 33 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 1: a Russian acronym that means investigative isolation facility. Whilst Caeso's 34 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: are often described as prisons. Now, they were never quite 35 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: meant to be that. Jail's sure, but prisons not so much. 36 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:47,959 Speaker 1: Prison is where you go after conviction. Caeso's a replaced 37 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 1: for the Russian authorities to turn the screws on you. 38 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: They exist to apply pressure on an inmate before anything 39 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:58,920 Speaker 1: has fully been proven. You're in there until the final 40 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 1: decision has been made a court. However, under Putin, this 41 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: distinction between prison and jail has become largely meaningless in practice. 42 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:17,400 Speaker 1: Pre trial detention in Russia functions as punishment, leverage, and warning, 43 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:21,679 Speaker 1: all of this at the same time as you sit there, 44 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: rotting in some of the worst conditions imaginable. Whilst Putin 45 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:30,840 Speaker 1: has added Caeso's to his tallkit of cruel weaponry, they 46 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: weren't invented by him. These are inherited state structures that 47 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,760 Speaker 1: were planted as seeds by the nightmare of the Soviet 48 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 1: Union's justice infrastructure. In the USSR, it was as simple 49 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: as this, if you've been arrested, you're probably guilty. Pre 50 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 1: Trial detention existed to isolate suspects, extract confessions, and prepare cases. 51 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 1: It was by no means whereas suspects rights would be respected. Frankly, 52 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: once in that system, your rights ceased to exist, at 53 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 1: least as far as the Soviet authorities were concerned. The 54 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:17,599 Speaker 1: Soviet Union collapsed, Russia attempted reform in the country in 55 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,159 Speaker 1: the late nineties. They even signed up to adheer to 56 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:28,279 Speaker 1: European legal standards, considering the hypocritical authoritarianism of Europe's so 57 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:33,159 Speaker 1: called justice system. That sounds laughable now, but back then, 58 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:36,240 Speaker 1: in comparison with what the USSR had been up to, 59 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:41,600 Speaker 1: it actually meant something. And so as part of this 60 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:46,360 Speaker 1: attempt at reform, Russia transferred control of the detention facilities 61 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:52,279 Speaker 1: from the Interior Ministry to the Justice Ministry. On paper, 62 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 1: this was meant to put an end to the abuse 63 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:59,640 Speaker 1: in the hellish limbo of pre trial detention jails. In reality, 64 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 1: almost nothing actually changed. When Putin took power in the 65 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 1: early two thousands, The so called reform period died quietly. 66 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,480 Speaker 1: Justice sectors were brought and the firm control of the 67 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:19,240 Speaker 1: new political elite. The result wasn't a return to gulags, 68 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:24,839 Speaker 1: but something subtler and more efficient. Detention centers were turned 69 00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 1: into pressure cookers for inmates awaiting trial. All of this 70 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: was done legally with a wave of Putin's iron fist. 71 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 1: These jails have been modernized just enough to remain functional 72 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:45,760 Speaker 1: or keeping the same core purpose total control. Most of 73 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 1: the cazos used today were not freshly built under Putin. 74 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:54,920 Speaker 1: They are old, infested, structures. Some of them SAAREHST era 75 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: prisons and former Soviet gulacs. They've been patched up here 76 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: in there. But as we explained in the last episode, 77 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:09,200 Speaker 1: these caeizos are a nightmare. Putin era Russia focuses on 78 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:15,479 Speaker 1: consolidation of prison control as opposed to reconstruction and criminal reform. 79 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:20,039 Speaker 1: In that respect, it's just like the West. In these 80 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:24,680 Speaker 1: squalid cells. There's very little natural light and airflow is 81 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:32,160 Speaker 1: often non existent. There reguards everywhere, watching constantly as detainees 82 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:35,520 Speaker 1: are squashed together like sad deans and shut off from 83 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: the outside world almost entirely. Remember this is not a 84 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 1: place for the guilty, not officially anyway. The people inside 85 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:49,680 Speaker 1: are all await in trial. They're being punished before even 86 00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: seeing a jury. Now, don't get it confused. These buildings 87 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:59,279 Speaker 1: are not accidental relics. They're literally engineered and designed to 88 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:04,719 Speaker 1: make time drag and for personal autonomy to evaporate. In Moscow, 89 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:09,760 Speaker 1: especially Caeso's, are these huge brick compounds surrounded by high 90 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 1: walls with spools of sharp razor wire and constant watch towers. 91 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: They often sit just blocks away from offices, apartments, and 92 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 1: metro stations, a looming specter for anyone who thinks to 93 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: cross the state. For those who do and end up 94 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:32,720 Speaker 1: trapped in these monoliths, their life becomes defined by waiting 95 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 1: and waiting and waiting, waiting for court dates, waiting for investigators, 96 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:43,040 Speaker 1: waiting for letters, waiting for a release date that may 97 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:48,480 Speaker 1: never come. These cells are high pressure containers for the worst. 98 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 1: Days are sometimes due to nothing ever happening, at least 99 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:57,640 Speaker 1: not in regard to updates on a person's case. As 100 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:01,200 Speaker 1: I mentioned in Part one, the cells are us usually overcrowded. 101 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:04,880 Speaker 1: A space designed for four might hold six or eight. 102 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 1: A place for six might hold over a dozen. Beds 103 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 1: are narrow metal frames, often shared in shifts. In some facilities, 104 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 1: beds are even folded up upright during the day, forcing 105 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:23,200 Speaker 1: detainees to stand or sit on the floors for hours. 106 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 1: The toilets are usually just a metal bowl in the corner. 107 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:33,360 Speaker 1: There's no privacy, and some cells the lights stay on 108 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:39,319 Speaker 1: around the clock, often in cells without windows twenty four 109 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:45,720 Speaker 1: to seven halogen bulbs. Noise carries constantly through the corridors. 110 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:52,679 Speaker 1: Sleep becomes shallow, fragmented, and for some non existent. As 111 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:58,280 Speaker 1: for food, it's basic and repetitive. You get just enough 112 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:04,320 Speaker 1: to survive, but not enough to stay healthy. Medical care 113 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:08,679 Speaker 1: is minimal. Chronic conditions worse than mental health support is 114 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 1: a complete myth. Inside Russia's Caizo's you're not only on 115 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 1: your own, you're stock in conditions designed to make you 116 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:21,959 Speaker 1: lose your mind. In these facilities, Katelnikov would have been 117 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:29,320 Speaker 1: treated particularly badly. His crimes are essentially traitorous. He was 118 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:32,000 Speaker 1: stealing from Russian troops as they got pink misted out 119 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:35,080 Speaker 1: on the front lines of Ukraine. He became, in the 120 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:40,640 Speaker 1: eyes of the hypernationalist Putin government, an enemy of Russia. 121 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:44,800 Speaker 1: Now I actually know a charge to quote unquote enemy 122 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:49,240 Speaker 1: of Russia. He's a British born Ukrainian soldier who was 123 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:53,440 Speaker 1: taken as a prisoner of war. His name is Aidan Aslin. 124 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:57,440 Speaker 1: He was captured by Russian forces in April twenty twenty 125 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:03,320 Speaker 1: two in the east of Ukraine. Okay, now it's time 126 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:11,240 Speaker 1: for a quick adbreak, all right, enough for that, Now 127 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:17,240 Speaker 1: back to the shore. He was on the front fighting 128 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 1: for the freedom of the country. He was captured and 129 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:23,680 Speaker 1: held in pre trialed attention for almost half a year. 130 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:30,040 Speaker 1: Here's what he had to say about the conditions he experienced. 131 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:35,120 Speaker 2: There was like a filtration place. He took us there. 132 00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:37,840 Speaker 2: That's when they started getting a bit more like rough 133 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 2: like man handling. They put us in stress position against 134 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:44,360 Speaker 2: the wall, and then one way one they like processed 135 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:47,200 Speaker 2: all of us, and then eventually it came to me. 136 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:50,600 Speaker 2: I got a fucking punch of the nose and a 137 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 2: few more punches around. It wasn't too hard, it was 138 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:58,760 Speaker 2: just like more more manhandling like punches, and then they 139 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:01,080 Speaker 2: told me to get on my knees. That's when I 140 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:03,600 Speaker 2: thought that maybe they're going to fucking might execute me 141 00:11:03,679 --> 00:11:06,240 Speaker 2: or something like right here. And then they told me 142 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 2: to get back up and fell back in, got taken 143 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:13,320 Speaker 2: to the Netsk. And when they loaded me into the car, 144 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:15,520 Speaker 2: like we were driving out the compound, and like one 145 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:17,320 Speaker 2: of them turned and said, like we're taking you to 146 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:20,240 Speaker 2: be shot. I pretended I didn't understand him, even though 147 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 2: I understood what he said, I just like stayed quiet 148 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:28,679 Speaker 2: and just expected that this is how I die. Eventually 149 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:31,520 Speaker 2: we get to the Netsk. I've got a hood on 150 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:35,240 Speaker 2: at this time, well a plastic bag. I get taken 151 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:37,880 Speaker 2: to some place in the nets. I get taken out. 152 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:40,720 Speaker 2: They take the handcuffs off me, and then this guy 153 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:43,160 Speaker 2: says says something to me in Russia, and I didn't 154 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:45,840 Speaker 2: understand a word he said. And then me being me, 155 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 2: I asked him to repeat himself because I didn't understand. 156 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 2: As soon as I said that, like, I just got 157 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:53,520 Speaker 2: a hit around the head with police baton and then 158 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:55,920 Speaker 2: he also stabbed me on my left shoulder blade. 159 00:11:56,520 --> 00:12:00,960 Speaker 1: He stabbed you with a knife. Yeah, mean, man, that's 160 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 1: the police office though or whatever. 161 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:07,120 Speaker 2: It's some sort of weird like special police like investigation thing. 162 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:11,199 Speaker 2: It's like some Soviet bullshit. But yeah, they drove me 163 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:13,840 Speaker 2: into that building and then they beat you for like 164 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 2: two hours, just asking those sorts of stupid questions. So 165 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:21,280 Speaker 2: when I was in the prison, I was in this 166 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:24,800 Speaker 2: cell block like five months, and it was it was 167 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:28,480 Speaker 2: basically the solitary confinement with this prison for the swimmers, 168 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:31,439 Speaker 2: they kept two people and they said for the POWs 169 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:34,280 Speaker 2: they kept like fucking in one of the cells I 170 00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:36,600 Speaker 2: was in there, it was like five of us for 171 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:38,720 Speaker 2: like a two man like self. Like it was like 172 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:41,120 Speaker 2: super tiny cell. One of the guys had to sleep 173 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:43,840 Speaker 2: on the floor is concrete. So I was in this 174 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:48,040 Speaker 2: cell boop for five months. You had some pretty like nasty, 175 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:51,240 Speaker 2: statistic like prison guards there, but there was like one 176 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:54,160 Speaker 2: or two that were pretty all right, but like you 177 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 2: would have like some that were just like the guy 178 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:58,640 Speaker 2: that would make us sing the anthem all day or 179 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:02,400 Speaker 2: just fucking trying to scare us, or the guy that 180 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:04,520 Speaker 2: liked to try and beat guys for reason. 181 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:11,760 Speaker 1: Now, of course, Aslyn was in a very specific situation 182 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:14,920 Speaker 1: during his detainment, but the way he was treated gives 183 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:17,720 Speaker 1: you an idea of what prisoner's rights mean in Russia. 184 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:22,480 Speaker 1: One of the most important features of the Putin era 185 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 1: pre trial detention centers is how long you have to 186 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:31,120 Speaker 1: stay in them. These seizel detentions regularly last months, sometimes 187 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 1: even years. Judges almost always approve extensions requested by investigators. 188 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 1: Bail is rare, and house arrest is selectively applied. As 189 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:47,839 Speaker 1: Sergei said in Part one, Kotelnikov requested to go back 190 00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:51,040 Speaker 1: to one of his big houses and rest up whilst 191 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:55,640 Speaker 1: on bail, but it was immediately denied by the judge. 192 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:59,040 Speaker 1: All of this turns the seizo into another weapon for 193 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:02,440 Speaker 1: the state. By the time the case reaches caught, the 194 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:07,239 Speaker 1: suspect has already been punished, even if they're later acquitted 195 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:11,160 Speaker 1: or given a light sentence, the damage has basically already 196 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:15,800 Speaker 1: been done. Investigators know it, defense lawyers know it, and 197 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:23,800 Speaker 1: the defendants of course definitely know it. In this hellish 198 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:27,960 Speaker 1: groundhog day of misery and detention, a confession can become 199 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:33,840 Speaker 1: a bargaining hip. Cooperation can lead to transfers, better conditions, 200 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:39,080 Speaker 1: or a faster case resolution. Resisting authorities, however, leads to 201 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:45,200 Speaker 1: total stagnation or worse. Many many people have died in 202 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:51,320 Speaker 1: these cazos under suspicious circumstances. To make matters worse, there's 203 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:58,119 Speaker 1: an unspoken social hierarchy inside the season. This is inherited 204 00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 1: from Russia's criminal underwe World gods officially deny any involvement, 205 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:08,120 Speaker 1: but in practice the system is often tolerated or quietly 206 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 1: manipulated by them. Some even help to facilitate an inner 207 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:19,960 Speaker 1: detention criminal network, a sort of caizo mafia. Certain detainees 208 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 1: are placed together deliberately. Informants might share cells with political 209 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:32,160 Speaker 1: prisoners or businessmen. Businessmen like Kotelnikov. Vulnerable prisoners can be 210 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 1: exposed to pressure from hard and criminals. The state doesn't 211 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:41,680 Speaker 1: need to issue explicit orders. This way, the predesigned hostile 212 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:46,320 Speaker 1: environment does the work for it. Of course, violence doesn't 213 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:51,880 Speaker 1: always need to be physical. The threat of isolation, humiliation, 214 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:56,240 Speaker 1: or being labeled in prison culture as a weakling or 215 00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:01,200 Speaker 1: a snitch is often enough to break people. There's a 216 00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:05,280 Speaker 1: ton of this going on inside the Moscow Seizo, specifically 217 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:10,760 Speaker 1: where Kotelnikov was held. In fact, the Moscow detention centers 218 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: are some of the most infamous in the whole of Russia, 219 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:20,920 Speaker 1: partly because that's where high profile cases end up. Places 220 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:27,240 Speaker 1: like Botraaka, Matroskaya, Tishina, and Lafortovo have a long histories. 221 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:33,320 Speaker 1: Lefortovo in particular is notorious, but in a different way. 222 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:37,760 Speaker 1: It's a former KGB prison that still operates under heavy 223 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:45,200 Speaker 1: FSB influence Putin's henchmen. Unlike most szo's, Lefortovo is quiet, 224 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:50,840 Speaker 1: too quiet. It's very different there. It's strictly controlled and 225 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 1: much more hygienic than others, but that doesn't mean it's humane. 226 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:03,520 Speaker 1: The nightmare here is more psychological than physical. Detainees have 227 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:11,560 Speaker 1: described constant surveillance, strict silence, and extreme isolation. No shouting, talking, 228 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:16,560 Speaker 1: no noise, no sense of time. Contact with family is 229 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:22,880 Speaker 1: tightly restricted. Lawyers face regular stonewalling letters arrive late, if 230 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:27,840 Speaker 1: at all, it's a different kind of pressure. That's all 231 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:30,879 Speaker 1: to say that caeso's are used not only as a 232 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:34,960 Speaker 1: weapon of the state, but a sort of laboratory, a 233 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:39,480 Speaker 1: testing ground using experimental methods for abusing prisoners who were 234 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:44,400 Speaker 1: not even yet found guilty. Whilst it's said that Kotelnikov 235 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:48,480 Speaker 1: was in fairly good condition, the medical neglect in these 236 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:54,920 Speaker 1: places is literally a defining feature. Tuberculosis, skin disease, and 237 00:17:55,240 --> 00:18:01,400 Speaker 1: untreated chronic illnesses are very common, not to mention psychological deterioration, 238 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: which is almost guaranteed during long stays in Putin's caesos. 239 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:12,200 Speaker 1: Deaths in pre trial custody are usually quickly explained away 240 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:20,040 Speaker 1: as natural causes or suicides. Investigations are rare. Accountability is 241 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:25,200 Speaker 1: almost unheard of, so when Kotelnikov dropped dead in solitary 242 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:29,720 Speaker 1: with no explanation, no one was surprised that the jail 243 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:35,680 Speaker 1: did fuckal to investigate. Now you might be wondering why 244 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:39,840 Speaker 1: I am so focused on the detention centers themselves in 245 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:45,040 Speaker 1: part two of the episode. Well, it's not just Kotelnikov 246 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 1: who died in one. Other defendants in his case also 247 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:53,439 Speaker 1: seem to have perished without a trace whilst awaiting justice. 248 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 1: This politically inconvenient conspiracy of chain linked corruption involving stealing 249 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:03,800 Speaker 1: food from Russian soldiers went away swiftly, and it went 250 00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:09,040 Speaker 1: away quietly. You see under Putin, Caesar's have become more 251 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:13,280 Speaker 1: than detention centers. They're a threatening signal in the dark. 252 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:16,840 Speaker 1: They show a businessmen what happens if you fall out 253 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:21,000 Speaker 1: of favor. They signal to activists what resistance will cost them. 254 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:26,400 Speaker 1: They even let ordinary everyday citizens know that legal protections 255 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:30,680 Speaker 1: are conditional. This sort of system doesn't even need mass 256 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:36,159 Speaker 1: physical repression. Stormtrooper boots on the tarmac are not always necessary. 257 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:41,480 Speaker 1: The Kremlin only needs enough visible abuse to maintain fear. 258 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:46,359 Speaker 1: A few people disappearing into pre trial detention for months 259 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:54,679 Speaker 1: or years does the job perfectly. Okay, now it's time 260 00:19:54,840 --> 00:20:02,760 Speaker 1: for a quick outbreak, all right, enough for that. Now 261 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:10,800 Speaker 1: back to the shot. So now we know the true 262 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:14,840 Speaker 1: horror of the Russian pre trial detention center, the CAIZO, 263 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:19,399 Speaker 1: we can understand the context of Kotelnikov's situation a lot better. 264 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:24,200 Speaker 1: That puts his refusal to give evidence against Tima Ivanov 265 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:28,400 Speaker 1: into a different light. As we know now it would 266 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:32,359 Speaker 1: have likely been very beneficial as a bargaining ticket for 267 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:38,159 Speaker 1: Katelnikov to rat out Ivanov. So why didn't he? Well, first, 268 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:44,040 Speaker 1: let's understand who Tima Ivanov is. This from Man and 269 00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 1: Sergery's notes. Tiva Ivanov was born on August fifteenth, nineteen 270 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:56,480 Speaker 1: seventy five, in Moscow. Little information is available regarding his childhood. 271 00:20:57,040 --> 00:20:59,679 Speaker 1: His father was from Moscow and his mother was from 272 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:04,320 Speaker 1: so Dagastan. That's all we can find. Timar Ivanov was 273 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:10,000 Speaker 1: a teenager when the Soviet Union began to unravel in disintegrate. Nevertheless, 274 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:13,280 Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety seven, he went on to receive a 275 00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 1: degree in applied mathematics from Moscow State University. In two 276 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:22,800 Speaker 1: thousand and four, he received another degree, this time in 277 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:30,159 Speaker 1: economics and finance. That same year, Tima Ivanov's father, Vadim Ivanov, 278 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:34,040 Speaker 1: became the general director of a company that manufactured light 279 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:38,120 Speaker 1: bulbs and other electrical devices. Keep this in mind, as 280 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:42,240 Speaker 1: this will come up again in a minute. Ivanov went 281 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:47,400 Speaker 1: on to receive and defend a PhD in economic sciences 282 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:53,639 Speaker 1: in twenty eleven, focusing on financial and organizational models of 283 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:59,360 Speaker 1: nuclear power plant projects. Something very useful to the Russian government, 284 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:03,440 Speaker 1: although he was getting a higher education. Throughout the nineteen 285 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:08,240 Speaker 1: nineties and two thousands, Ivanov also went through several notable 286 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:11,960 Speaker 1: jobs during that time. For example, he was a vice 287 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:16,560 Speaker 1: president and then the first vice president of Adam Stroyer 288 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:22,480 Speaker 1: Export and russa Tom's engineering company, which helped construct nuclear 289 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:27,560 Speaker 1: power plants outside of Russia. He also worked as an 290 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:31,280 Speaker 1: advisor to the Minister of Energy of Russia between two 291 00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:34,560 Speaker 1: thousand and eight and twenty twelve, and as the Director 292 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:38,919 Speaker 1: General of the Russian Energy Agency, which is part of 293 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:43,560 Speaker 1: Russia's Ministry of Energy part of the government. All of 294 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:47,560 Speaker 1: his positions were important in their own industries, and Ivanov 295 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:51,240 Speaker 1: certainly was doing well for himself by this point, but 296 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:54,760 Speaker 1: all of his previous roles pale in comparison to his 297 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:59,400 Speaker 1: professional speed run to the highest echelons of the Russian government. 298 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:05,119 Speaker 1: This started in May twenty twelve, when he was appointed 299 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:08,679 Speaker 1: as the deputy head of the Moscow Region, which was 300 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:14,200 Speaker 1: then led by none other than Sergei Shogu, the longtime 301 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:18,720 Speaker 1: Russian powerbroker who served as Defence Minister from twenty eleven 302 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:22,639 Speaker 1: until twenty twenty four. Remember, he was the one overseeing 303 00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:27,560 Speaker 1: Russia's military, including the invasion of Ukraine. He was a 304 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:32,639 Speaker 1: big part of Putin's inner circle. Now, Tima Ivanov didn't 305 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:36,400 Speaker 1: keep this role for long, but that's only because following 306 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:40,720 Speaker 1: Shogu's appointment as Minister of Defense, Ivanov was assigned to 307 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:46,240 Speaker 1: leave Oberon stroy the Defense Department's personal construction company, which 308 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:52,200 Speaker 1: oversees all of the military's construction projects such as training facilities, hospitals, 309 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 1: research institutions, and more. Apparently, Ivanov led that agency very well. 310 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:03,320 Speaker 1: Any project was assigned to him was completed quickly and 311 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:09,280 Speaker 1: to Putin's satisfaction, according to reports from that time. For example, 312 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:14,760 Speaker 1: shortly following Russia's annexation of Crimea in twenty fourteen, Oberon 313 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:19,560 Speaker 1: Stroyer was tasked with constructing a presidential cadet school, which 314 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:23,640 Speaker 1: Tima Ivanov made sure was completed in just three months. 315 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:29,600 Speaker 1: In twenty fifteen, following multiple successful projects, Ivanov received an 316 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:34,680 Speaker 1: award from Putin himself, called the Honored Builder of Russia. 317 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:39,400 Speaker 1: So clearly, at one point Tima Ivanov was very, very 318 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:44,480 Speaker 1: connected to the Kremlin. In the following decade, Ivanov continued 319 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:49,199 Speaker 1: to successfully complete projects until he became the Deputy Minister 320 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 1: of Defense, a role which had him oversee the construction 321 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:57,119 Speaker 1: and maintenance of all things related to the Russian military. 322 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:02,520 Speaker 1: At his peak, Ivanov was a a first class State Advisor, 323 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:06,400 Speaker 1: the highest possible rank a civil servant can receive, and 324 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:09,760 Speaker 1: is on the same sort of level with an army 325 00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:13,800 Speaker 1: general or a navy admiral. From what we can gather, 326 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:18,359 Speaker 1: Ivanov lived happily with his kids, a lot of money, 327 00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:23,800 Speaker 1: and his second wife in Moscow while overseeing various components 328 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:28,479 Speaker 1: of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He very much has blood 329 00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:31,639 Speaker 1: on his hands. Of course, this has made him a 330 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:36,560 Speaker 1: target of Western sanctions. However, his wife apparently now lives 331 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:40,240 Speaker 1: in Western Europe and is living it up big time. 332 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:43,680 Speaker 1: We found out that she's been spending nearly a million 333 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:48,360 Speaker 1: US dollars to rent villas, yachts, and to purchase designer 334 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:53,639 Speaker 1: clothes priceless jewelry while her husband oversees the bloodshed caused 335 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:59,840 Speaker 1: by Russia in Ukraine. According to reports, Ivanov's wife received 336 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:03,840 Speaker 1: this money from companies that are doing reconstruction work in 337 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:10,480 Speaker 1: Russian occupied Maripol in Ukraine. This area was brutally raised 338 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:17,639 Speaker 1: the ground during the early stages of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Still, 339 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:22,040 Speaker 1: after all of this, on April twenty third, twenty twenty four, 340 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:27,399 Speaker 1: Ivanov's successful career and peaceful family life came crashing down 341 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:32,600 Speaker 1: around him. He was detained by the FSB on the 342 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:37,840 Speaker 1: suspicion that he had received a massive bribe. Perhaps that's 343 00:26:38,040 --> 00:26:42,240 Speaker 1: what his wife was spending out in Western Europe. The 344 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:46,760 Speaker 1: following day, the detention became an official arrest, and Ivanov 345 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:53,040 Speaker 1: lost his government titles. According to the FSB investigation, Ivanov 346 00:26:53,119 --> 00:26:57,000 Speaker 1: worked with companies which bribed him to grant them lucrative 347 00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:01,240 Speaker 1: construction contracts from the federal government. On April twenty fifth, 348 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:04,679 Speaker 1: all of his official accounts and assets were frozen by 349 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:08,720 Speaker 1: the Russian government. This even included anything owned by his 350 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:12,120 Speaker 1: ex wife, his current wife, his five kids, and even 351 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:16,760 Speaker 1: his parents. By the time Ivanov received an official sentence 352 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,960 Speaker 1: of thirteen years in prison in July twenty twenty five, 353 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:26,000 Speaker 1: he'd lost everything, including a Mercedes Benz, a Chevrolet Suv, 354 00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:30,119 Speaker 1: and a fancy sports motorcycle. The government took it all 355 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:34,160 Speaker 1: off him and put it all to use elsewhere. Now, 356 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:35,879 Speaker 1: as I said at the start, keep a note of 357 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:42,160 Speaker 1: Ivanov's father and his company Crystal Development. From further research, 358 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:46,080 Speaker 1: it looks like that company ceased operations in November twenty 359 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:51,200 Speaker 1: twenty four and it was liquidated. Court documents suggests that 360 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:55,000 Speaker 1: the company received a number of government contracts. However, there 361 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,320 Speaker 1: were no details regarding what the government ordered or how 362 00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:02,720 Speaker 1: much the contracts were worth. No official connection between father 363 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:05,960 Speaker 1: and son had been made, and no additional details can 364 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:11,680 Speaker 1: be found on Vadim Ivanov. All a bit fishy, and 365 00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:15,320 Speaker 1: remember this is the man that Igor Kotelnikov was asked 366 00:28:15,359 --> 00:28:20,000 Speaker 1: to turn witness against. The government wanted him to go 367 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:23,160 Speaker 1: to court and give evidence, but he said no, I'm 368 00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:26,120 Speaker 1: not going to do that, which resulted in him being 369 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:32,360 Speaker 1: put into solitary confinement and dying whilst in there. It's 370 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:34,080 Speaker 1: clear to me that there was a lot more at 371 00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:39,479 Speaker 1: stake for Kotelnikov. Him and Tima Ivanov were involved in 372 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:44,440 Speaker 1: cross department embezzlement, bribery and theft, and were funneling money 373 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:47,640 Speaker 1: out of the country into their own coffers and making 374 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:51,479 Speaker 1: sure they lived a very nice life. I think it's 375 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:53,960 Speaker 1: highly possible that some kind of deal was made and 376 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,400 Speaker 1: that Katelnikov was killed as a warning to anyone else 377 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:04,080 Speaker 1: involved in this ring. Now there's another man in this 378 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:07,959 Speaker 1: story who was connected, who died at a very convenient 379 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:13,160 Speaker 1: time for anyone involved in this embezzlement case. His name 380 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:18,320 Speaker 1: was Magomed Kandaiev. He was a former official in Russia's 381 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:23,120 Speaker 1: Ministry of Defense and was overseeing the quote examination department 382 00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:30,040 Speaker 1: as well as a military construction unit. Now, surprise, surprise, 383 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:35,120 Speaker 1: he was hired and worked under Shogu and answered directly 384 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:41,600 Speaker 1: to Tima Ivanov. He was interrogated by investigators as a 385 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:45,080 Speaker 1: witness in the case of Ivanov, so he was not 386 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:48,520 Speaker 1: in the pre trial detention center, but he was brought 387 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:53,400 Speaker 1: in for questioning. This man could be a key part 388 00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:56,480 Speaker 1: of the case in regards to giving evidence against the 389 00:29:56,560 --> 00:30:00,880 Speaker 1: higher ups in this embezzlement ring. At least he could 390 00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:08,160 Speaker 1: have been. Turns out, Maghamed Kandaiev is also dead. And 391 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:14,080 Speaker 1: get this, he died on July ninth, the exact same 392 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:22,080 Speaker 1: day as Aigor Katelnikov. Now there's no further information whatsoever 393 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:26,200 Speaker 1: about where or how, but we do know for certain 394 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:32,400 Speaker 1: that he died on this day, conveniently for the embezzlement 395 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:37,360 Speaker 1: ring higher ups, specifically the ones closest to putin all 396 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:42,760 Speaker 1: the witnesses to their further crimes are now six feet underground. 397 00:30:44,280 --> 00:31:06,440 Speaker 1: What a stroke of luck You've been listening to? Sad 398 00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:10,480 Speaker 1: Oliga season two Produced by H eleven Studios for Cool 399 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:17,560 Speaker 1: Zone Media. Writing, editing, producing, concept and recording by myself, 400 00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:24,480 Speaker 1: Jake Hanrahan, Research and reporting by Sergei Slipchenko, me and 401 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:31,720 Speaker 1: Victim Mihail. Executive producing by Sophie Lichtman. Music by Sam Black, 402 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:40,400 Speaker 1: artwork by George Zutfu. Soundmixed by Splicing Block. See my 403 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:44,160 Speaker 1: other projects at Hanrahan dot Tv. Get me on social 404 00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:48,120 Speaker 1: media at Jake under School Hanrahan. That's h A N 405 00:31:48,360 --> 00:32:02,840 Speaker 1: R A H A M A cat The cat Cat, 406 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:06,640 Speaker 1: The Catholic, Catholic, Catholic, Catholic