Journalist Karen Shainyan, who reports on the problems of Russia’s LGBTQ+ community and the war in Ukraine, has been added to Russia’s list of “terrorists and extremists” by Rosfinmonitoring (Russia’s Federal Service for Financial Monitoring).
Shainyan’s inclusion in the register, available on Rosfinmonitoring’s website, indicates that he is now the subject of a criminal investigation for alleged extremism. Previously, there was no available information regarding the commencement of a criminal case against the journalist.
On July 13, Shainyan’s YouTube channel released a video titled “How to Desert: Real Stories of Russian Military Escapes.”
In April 2023, Shainyan was labeled a “foreign agent” by Russia’s Ministry of Justice.
Shainyan co-founded the studio “History of the Future” (Istoriya Buduschego) alongside journalist Mikhail Zygar. The studio is known for its notable project “1917. Free History” (1917. Svobodnaya Istoriya) which focused on documenting the Russian Revolution. In 2020, Shainyan launched a YouTube channel with interviews with openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.