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Andrei Soshnikov

Andrei Soshnikov is an investigative journalist and chief editor of RFE/RL's Russian Investigative Unit, also known as Systema. He focuses on such topics as cybersecurity, the dark web, neo-Nazis, and corruption. Previously, he worked as a special correspondent and investigator at BBC's Russian service and BBC News.

Also by Andrei Soshnikov

May 30, 2025
NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden Is Now A Registered Russian Taxpayer, RFE/RL Finds

Edward Snowden, the former US National Security Agency whistleblower who has lived in Russia since his revelations rocked the US intelligence community in 2013, has a taxpayer identification number, Systema, RFE/RL’s Russian investigative unit found.
March 22, 2025
'Ethnic Slavs Only:' Russian State Tenders Discriminate Based On Race

Despite laws banning discriminatory hiring practices, Russian state entities are advertising jobs with the requirement that applicants be of “Slavic appearance,” an RFE/RL investigation has found.
August 17, 2024
Russian Murder-Plot Suspect's Family Lives In 'Spectacular' British Mansion, Investigation Concludes

Systema traced Instagram posts by Olga Savelyeva, wife of Russian legislator Dmitry Savelyev, recently detained on suspicion of ordering a contract killing, to a multimillion-dollar mansion in the U.K.’s Wentworth Estate, a former home to Elton John and Augusto Pinochet.
August 09, 2024
In Fugitive Oligarch's Long Shadow, Free Trips Recruit Hundreds Of Young Moldovans To Love Russia

RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service infiltrated a secretive outreach effort affiliated with fugitive billionaire Ilan Shor’s banned political party that lavishes free trips and gastronomic delights on young foreigners so they “get to know Russia.” In exchange, all they must do is “show interest.”
May 16, 2024
Russian Gas Tycoon Hires Putin's Daughter's Beau For Murmansk LNG Project

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s children and their spouses have long benefitted from access to state contracts and the wealth of his friends. Now the romantic partner of his elder daughter has been tapped for a key role in a Russian billionaire's liquified-natural-gas projects.
December 29, 2023
That Time Putin Visited A St. Petersburg Strip Club As Russia Waged War In Chechnya

Russian celebrities are scrambling to apologize for attending an “Almost Naked” party as the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine grinds on. A quarter-century ago, Vladimir Putin visited a St. Petersburg strip club as Russian forces fought a bloody campaign in Chechnya.
December 21, 2023
How The Korean Rumored Ex-Fiancé Of Putin's Daughter Landed A Career At Gazprombank

A South Korean man who was rumored in the past to have been engaged to one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s daughters has had a long career at Gazprombank, a large state-linked lender where two of Putin’s sons-in-law have also worked, a new RFE/RL investigation has found.
April 05, 2023
Leaked Files Show China And Russia Sharing Tactics On Internet Control, Censorship

A window into the level of cooperation between China and Russia in censoring their respective Internets and monitoring dissent was unveiled in files from closed-door meetings in 2017 and 2019 between officials from the Cyberspace Administration of China and Roskomnadzor that were obtained by RFE/RL.
September 03, 2022
Coming Of Age: Former President Medvedev's Son Joins The Party In Putin's Russia

Amid venomous outbursts from his father in support of the war on Ukraine, former President Dmitry Medvedev’s 27-year-old son joined the ruling United Russia party this summer. Current Time and Meduza take a look at Ilya Medvedev as he emerges from the shadows.
May 20, 2022
From Munich To Sevastopol: Who Is The Ballet Master Linked To Putin's Daughter?

Media this week have reported that Russian ballet master Igor Zelensky is the longtime partner of Yekaterina Tikhonova, who is believed to be the second daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Current Time and its partners look into who Zelensky is and what the future might hold for him.
April 08, 2022
The Secretive Life Of The Dutch Man Who Was Believed To Be Vladimir Putin's Son-In-Law: An Investigation

An investigation by Current Time and Meduza looks at the secretive life of the Dutch man who is believed to have been Vladimir Putin’s son-in-law -- the husband of Putin’s eldest daughter, Maria.
January 17, 2022
The Search For The Russian Assets Of The Kazakh President's Family

Despite the opacity of both the Kazakh and Russian governments, an investigation by RFE/RL's Russian Service and Current Time has uncovered evidence of the Russian business dealings of Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev's son and former wife.

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