Who is Arkady Babchenko?

On May 30, 2018, reporters attending a press conference in Kiev on the murder of Arkady Babchenko, a dissident Russian journalist, were in for a surprise. The subject of their conversation, Mr. Babchenko appeared in the flesh and told them that his death had been faked by Ukrainian authorities to thwart any designs the Russians had on his life.

Born in Moscow, Mr. Babchenko is a war correspondent who had been living in self-imposed exile along with his family. The scribe had ended up in such conditions as he faced heavy criticism for stating that he did not mourn the deaths of a Russian military plane crash whose victims were predominantly pro-Kremlin journalists.

The 2016 military plane crash had 92 people on board, including 60 members of the Red Army Choir.

Mr. Babchenko was a soldier in Chechnya, and faced legal action in 2012 for publishing an article regarding possible tactics for ‘For Fair Elections’ protesters.

Mr. Babchenko was supposed to be the latest casualty in a long list of murdered journalists. During the press conference, he alleged that he was targeted by assassins hired by Russia. The Ukrainian government supported his claim and said that they would fully support Mr. Babchenko’s quest for justice.

The Kremlin has always vehemently denied allegations regarding the deaths of journalists. “This is the height of cynicism against the backdrop of such a brutal murder. It is anti-Russian bluster instead of talking about the need to conduct a thorough, objective investigation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters before it was revealed that Mr. Babchenko was still alive.

(With inputs from Madhulika V. and Adith Dinakar)