Switch Language

This translation was made by AI

The Sudogodsky District Court in Vladimir Region has replaced the remainder of journalist Aleksandra Bayazitova’s sentence with compulsory labour, according to TASS.

The journalist now has 10 months and 18 days left to serve.

In November 2023, Bayazitova was sentenced to five years in a penal colony under the article for extortion on an especially large scale (clause “b,” part 3, article 163 of the Criminal Code). Prosecutors had requested a sentence of 14 years. In August 2024, the sentence was upheld on appeal. In April 2025, the journalist was denied parole.

There were two other defendants in the case—media manager Olga Arkharova and PR specialist Inna Churilova. They were also charged under the article for extortion on an especially large scale. Arkharova was sentenced to four years in a penal colony, despite the prosecutor requesting 13 years. Churilova received a four-year suspended sentence and a fine of one million roubles (approx. US$11,000).

According to the prosecution, together with Churilova, Bayazitova and Arkharova extorted 1.2 million roubles (approx. US$13,000) from Promsvyazbank Vice-President Aleksandr Ushakov in exchange for extension of a “block on negative” coverage in Bayazitova’s Telegram channel “Infernal Money.” In August 2022, all three were remanded in custody.

Bayazitova links her prosecution to her piece about Promsvyazbank’s involvement in the theft of state defence contract funds. She denied her guilt, Arkharova admitted partial guilt, while Churilova fully admitted guilt and expressed remorse.

Ushakov stated that he considered the sentence lawful but viewed the punishment as too harsh. According to him, he was not aware of Arkharova’s health issues or Bayazitova’s elderly mother. In connection with this, at the appeal he asked the court to replace the real prison term with a suspended sentence.

  • Before her arrest, Bayazitova wrote on financial and economic topics and worked for “Kommersant” and “Izvestia,” notes RTVI. More recently, she became a freelancer and sometimes published on the tabloid Life’s website. Since 2017, the journalist has run the Telegram channel “Infernal Money.”