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Maria Pevchikh

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In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Konstantinovna and the family name is Pevchikh.
Maria Pevchikh
Мария Певчих
Pevchikh in 2022
Born (1987-08-15) August 15, 1987 (age 37)
Zelenograd, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
CitizenshipRussia
United Kingdom
Education
Occupation
  • Investigative journalist
AwardsRedkollegia (2021, 2022)

Maria Konstantinovna Pevchikh (Russian: Мария Константиновна Певчих; born August 15, 1987) is a Russian investigative journalist and anti-corruption activist who has served as the chairwoman of the board of directors of the Anti-Corruption Foundation since March 2023. Pevchikh is known for exposing high-level corruption in Russia.[1][2]

Biography

Maria Pevchikh was born on August 15, 1987, in the city of Zelenograd, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.[3] Pevchikh graduated from Zelenograd gymnasium No. 1528. She studied at the Faculty of Sociology [Wikidata] of Moscow State University,[4][5] where Alexander Dugin was the supervisor of her thesis "Ethno-sociological portrait of modern Great Britain".[6][7]  In 2010, Pevchikh led a Russian delegation to participate in the G8 Youth Summit in Vancouver, Canada.[8][3][9] In 2010 she moved to the United Kingdom, where she graduated from the faculty of political science of the London School of Economics.[3][4][10]

Pevchikh holds Russian-British dual citizenship.[11]

Maria Pevchikh gained media attention in 2020 after the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. She was one of Alexei Navalny's companions during his trip across Russia when he was poisoned.[4][5] When it became known that Navalny had fallen into a coma, Pevchikh went to the hotel where he had stayed and took plastic water bottles from there.[12] The bottles were taken from Russia to Germany on the plane on which Navalny was evacuated. Experts later found traces of the Novichok chemical warfare agent.[4][5]

After Leonid Volkov resigned as the chairman of the board of directors of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, Pevchikh was appointed to the position on March 22, 2023.[13][14]

Investigations

Maria Pevchikh began reading Alexei Navalny's blog in 2010 and later worked on almost all investigations that appeared on the blog after 2011. The first investigation she worked on was an investigation into the Russian VTB Bank and its drilling equipment. The investigation was launched by the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and Pevchikh worked to complete it.[4][5]

Her job as head of the investigation department is to gather information and prepare textual material for investigations.[15]

On December 2, 2019, the FBK investigation department released a video about the connections between Russian banker Andrey Kostin and Russian journalist Nailya Asker-zade [ru]. In an interview with the Global Investigative Journalism Network, Maria Pevchikh told what methods were used during the investigation.[16]

Pevchikh and Russian activist Georgy Alburov received the Redkollegia journalism award for their investigation into "Putin's Palace", a palace complex allegedly built for Russian president Vladimir Putin through a corruption scheme.[17]

References

  1. ^ Campbell, Eric; Henry, Matt (2021-02-15). "'Probably the biggest bribe ever given': The woman who exposed Putin". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  2. ^ Dixon, Robyn (2021-08-18). "Navalny's daughter pleads for medical care for the imprisoned Kremlin critic amid mounting health concerns". The Washington Post. Moscow. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  3. ^ a b c "Мария Певчих" [Maria Pevchikh]. 24SMI (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  4. ^ a b c d e ""Новости происходили у меня на глазах". Интервью с Марией Певчих, самой таинственной сотрудницей Алексея Навального" ["The news was happening in front of my eyes". Interview with Maria Pevchikh, the most mysterious employee of Alexei Navalny]. BBC News Russian (in Russian). 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  5. ^ a b c d "Мария Певчих рассказала, как она попала в ФБК, как проводит расследования и как преследуют ее родных в России" [Maria Pevchikh told how she got to FBK, how she conducts investigations and how her relatives are being persecuted in Russia]. RTVI (in Russian). 2020-09-19. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  6. ^ "Кто такая Мария Певчих". Журнал «Холод» (in Russian). 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  7. ^ Певчих – что коррупция сделала с Россией / Pevchikh – What Corruption Has Done to Russia, retrieved 2023-05-10
  8. ^ "Maria Pevchikh, head of Navalny team's investigative unit, taken off Moscow State University's website". Meduza. 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  9. ^ "Final Communique Youth Summit" (PDF). Young European Leadership. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  10. ^ Seddon, Max; Foy, Henry (2021-01-22). "The Russian activists continuing Navalny's anti-corruption fight". Financial Times. Moscow. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  11. ^ Певчих – что коррупция сделала с Россией / вДудь, retrieved 2023-02-09
  12. ^ Kozenko, Andrey (2020-09-23). "Alexei Navalny: How his team found Novichok bottle evidence in Tomsk". BBC News. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  13. ^ "Мария Певчих назначена председателем совета директоров ФБК. Она сменила на этом посту Леонида Волкова". Meduza (in Russian). 22 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Maria Pevchikh to Replace Leonid Volkov as Head of Navalny Foundation Board". The Moscow Times. 22 March 2023.
  15. ^ Korelina, Olga; Reiter, Svetlana (2020-09-11). "Russian police officials make false claims about Anti-Corruption Foundation employee evading questioning". Meduza. Translated by Eilish Hart. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  16. ^ Philp, Rowan (2021-02-10). "What Journalists Can Learn from Navalny's Investigative Team in Russia". Global Investigative Journalism Network. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  17. ^ "Мария Певчих" [Maria Pevchikh]. Redkollegia (in Russian). January 2019. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
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