The Russian journalist Maxim Borodin died on Sunday morning. Three days earlier, 32-year-old had fallen from balcony of his apartment from fifth floor to a multi-family house in Yekaterinburg, Russia, for still unexplained reasons. Neighbors had found reporter and agreed to rescue workers.
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According to investigators, this is an “unfortunate incident.” They see no sign of a crime and report suicide to journalist.
The reason for “serious concern”, however, is Harlem Désir, Commissioner for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), for freedom of media. In a tweet, he called for a “quick and thorough investigation.” Organisations such as Reporters Without Borders are also strongly in favour of “careful and impartial enlightenment”. According to Committee for Protection of journalists, 58 reporters have been killed in Russia since 1992.
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Death of journalist Maxim Borodin in Russia is of serious concern. I call on authorities for a swift and thorough investigation. JournoSafe
— OSCE media Freedom (@OSCE_RFoM) April 16, 2018
Borodin had worked for press service Novi (New Day) and carried out some dangerous research. According to a report by British newspaper The Times, shortly before his death, he told friends to have been threatened. People in camouflage clos were at his door, a man was supposed to have been armed. The journalist told his friends a little later but also that it was just an exercise.
Russian mercenary force with a connection to Putin
Most recently, Borodin had written about death of several Russian mercenaries in Syria. The fighters were refore members of a private security company, so-called Wagner Group, named after Dmitri Utkin, nickname Wagner. According to media reports, Utkin is mainly funded by Yevgeny Prigoschin, a St. Petersburg entrepreneur who is closest circle of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Borodin also had a look at his research, a close Putin-confidante behind group.
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This could be Prigoschin. The latter has made a fortune with numerous orders from Russian Ministry of Defence and, according to a former Wagner mercenary, also founded company Evro Polis, which, on behalf of Syrian government, secures oil and petrol facilities and for this, with 25 Percent of future production is involved. Thus, Evro Polis pays every Wagner mercenary between 3,500 and 5,000 dollars (2,800 to 4,000 euros) a month.
“Russia’s shadow army in Syria”
A blogger group known as Konfliktinformations team (CIT) calls mercenary force under Utkin and Prigoschin “Russia’s shadow army in Syria”. According to CIT, company has played an important role in reconquest of Syrian oasis city of Palmyra. How many of his fighters are in use in Syria is unclear. The independent Russian military expert Pavel Rim Hauer estimated ir number last year to 2,000 to 3,000 mercenaries. Many of m are supposed to be former prisoners.
In past, re have always been reports of Russians fighting for private companies in Syria. Already in 2014, two men in Russia were sentenced to three years in prison because y had recruited more than 200 former military personnel for a mercenary force called Slavic Corps. According to website Fontanka, which documents role of private security firms in Syria conflict, Slavic Corps was core of new mercenary force under Utkin after conviction of its chiefs. In contrast to his predecessors and in spite of a corresponding law, he has not been legally prosecuted in Russia for his commitment. Instead, it was awarded in December 2016 in Moscow – according to Kremlin as a deserved veteran.
