Elena Milashina (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Милашина, Елена; born 1978) is a

investigative journalist Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

for '' Novaya Gazeta.'' In October 2009, she was awarded

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

's Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism.

Biography

Elena Milashina was born on October 28, 1977 in the city of

Dalnegorsk Dalnegorsk (russian: Дальнего́рск, lit. ''far in the mountains'') is a town in Primorsky Krai, Russia. Population: Name It was formerly known from its founding in 1897 as Tetyukhe (russian: Те́тюхе; ; literally meaning "river ...

Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai (russian: Приморский край, r=Primorsky kray, p=prʲɪˈmorskʲɪj kraj), informally known as Primorye (, ), is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, located in the Far East region of the country and is a part of t ...

. She studied at a school in the city of Amursk. In 1994–95, she took part in the FLEX exchange program; this helped her to further enter the

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

. In 1997, Milashina began working as a reporter and journalist for '' Novaya Gazeta'', while studying at the same time. One of her mentors was

Anna Politkovskaya Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya (;, ; uk, Ганна Степанівна Політковська , 30 August 1958 – 7 October 2006) was a Russian journalist and human rights activist, who reported on political events in Russia, in partic ...

. In 2000, Milashina published a series of materials on the ''Kursk'' nuclear submarine disaster, for which she received the Golden Pen of Russia award from the Journalists Union of Russia in the Journalistic Investigations category. In 2001 she graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of

. The areas of professional interest of Milashina include corruption, human rights violations in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

and Chechnya, in particular, the investigation of the 2004

Beslan school siege The Beslan school siege (also referred to as the Beslan school hostage crisis or the Beslan massacre) was a terrorist attack that started on 1 September 2004, lasted three days, involved the imprisonment of more than 1,100 people as hostages ( ...

, the 2006

assassination of Anna Politkovskaya On 7 October 2006, Russian journalist, writer and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead in the elevator of her apartment block in central Moscow. She was known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict and for criticism of Vlad ...

, the 2008 conflict in South Ossetia, and the 2009 abduction and murder of Natalya Estemirova. In October 2009, Milashina became the laureate of the annual prize (Alison Des Forges Defender Award for Extraordinary Activism) of the international human rights organization

. She continues investigations started by her colleague

, who was assassinated in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

in 2006, and her own independent investigations into occurrences in the

. She was a 2009-2010 Fellow of the University of Michigan

Knight-Wallace Fellowship The Knight-Wallace Fellowship (previously known as the NEH Journalism Fellowship and the Michigan Journalism Fellowship) is an award given to accomplished journalists at the University of Michigan. Knight-Wallace Fellowships are awarded to reporte ...

for Journalists in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In the early morning of April 5, 2012, Milashina, along with her friend Ella Asoyan, was attacked by two unknown assailants in the Balashikha neighborhood of Moscow. In 2013, Milashina was given an

International Women of Courage Award The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...

. While visiting

Grozny Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a po ...

, Chechnya on February 6, 2020, to attend a trial, Milashina and human rights lawyer Marina Dubrovina were attacked and beaten by unknown female assailants at the lobby of the Kontinental hotel. ''Novaya Gazeta'' reported on February 8, 2022 that Milashina had been forced to leave Russia due to threats against her.

Awards

Free Media Awards Free Media Awards (formerly: Gerd Bucerius Prize for Free Press in Eastern Europe, ) is the press prizes awarded by the two foundations The Fritt Ord Foundation and the ZEIT-Stiftung. History and prize consideration The prize was launched in ...

2016

References

External links

Milashina Speaks Out on Alarming Rise in Murders, Threats Against Critics of Government Abuses in North Caucasus
- video report by ''

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Milashina, Elena 1978 births Living people Women war correspondents Russian journalists Women in the Chechen wars Russian women writers Moscow State University alumni Women human rights activists Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award Free Media Awards winners Journalism as a Profession Awards winners