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Tatiana Chervenko, Aleksandra Arkhipova and Yaroslav Levchenko were reported by other Russians and received different sentences
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In Sovietera Russia, it was common practice to report neighbors, colleagues and even strangers to the authorities. Now that the government is cracking down on war critics in Ukraine, it has happened again.
“I learned how to betray from my grandfather, who was also a traitor,” says a woman named Anna Korobkova. She says she lives in a large Russian city, but refuses to say which one.
She says that her grandfather was an anonymous informant for the Soviet secret police during the Stalin government (19241953), when denunciations were commonplace.
And Korobkova is following in his footsteps. Now she is reporting anyone she considers critical of the war in Ukraine.
Serial whistleblower
Korobkova says she has made 1,397 reports since Russia’s fullscale invasion of Ukraine. She says people have been fined, fired and labeled as foreign agents because of their complaints.
“I don’t feel sorry for you,” he says. “I’ll be happy if they get punished because of my complaints.”
Shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, new censorship laws were introduced.
Since then, Korobkova has spent most of her free time online, often reporting people for “discrediting the Russian army” a crime punishable by a fine of up to 50,000 Russian rubles or up to five years in prison if committed more than twice .
Korobkova is very careful when talking to me and only communicates via email. She doesn’t want to show her face and refuses to prove her identity. He justifies himself by saying that he often receives death threats and fears that his data could be hacked or stolen.
The woman seems to have two reasons for denouncing her compatriots.
First, she tells me that she believes she will help Russia defeat Ukraine, and second, she believes this will help protect her own financial stability.
She lives alone and works parttime as a humanities teacher, relying heavily on her savings.
But Korobkova fears that Russia will end up having to pay reparations if the conflict moves towards Ukraine, and that this could affect the finances of the entire country and everyone who lives in it.
“All those who oppose the special military operation are rivals for my own wellbeing,” she explains, predicting that a victory for Ukraine would be a loss for her. “I could lose all my savings and have to get a fulltime job.”
According to independent Russian human rights group OVDInfo, more than 8,000 lawsuits have been filed against people for discrediting the army since the new censorship laws were introduced.
Goals
Korobkova particularly denounces people who speak to the press, especially those who appear in international media such as the BBC. One of Korobkova’s targets is anthropologist Aleksandra Arkhipova.
Photo credit: Aleksandra Arkhipova/Personal Archive
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As an anthropologist, Aleksandra Arkhipova researched the revival of whistleblowing in Russia
“She reported me seven times,” says Arkhipova. “Writing reports is their way of interacting with authorities. She sees it as her job.”
“She has found her niche. Her denunciations silence the experts quite effectively,” adds Arkhipova, who is now in exile and believes Korobkova’s behavior may have contributed to her being designated a foreign agent by the Russian state in May.
“Friends of mine who she denounced are now refusing to speak to the media. So you could say she was successful. Mission accomplished.”
Another target was a Moscow teacher named Tatiana Chervenko.
When Russia introduced patriotism courses in September 2022, Chervenko decided to teach mathematics, she told Rain TV, Russia’s last independent channel, which was closed by the government and is now based in the Netherlands.
Korobkova, who saw the interview on television, then began to make accusations against Chervenko. She reported it to her boss, the Moscow Education Ministry and the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights.
Chervenko was subsequently fired in December 2022.
Photo credit: Tatiana Chervenko/Personal Archive
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Professor Tatiana Chervenko says she was fired because of the allegations against her
Korobkova shows no remorse for her actions. Instead, it proudly maintains a database of the people it reports, including consequences.
It states that as a result of their complaints, six people were dismissed and 15 were subject to administrative proceedings and fines.
‘Invoice’
While Korobkova insists she is targeting those she believes are enemies of the state, others told the BBC that the allegations were also being used to “settle scores” in Russia.
The fisherman Yaroslav Levchenko comes from the Kamchatka Peninsula in the far east of Russia and is known not only for its volcanic landscapes and extraordinary wildlife, but also for its large military presence. Many people in this region are supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin, including Levchenko’s colleagues.
Credit: Yaroslav Levchenko/Personal Archives
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Yaroslav Levchenko is in prison awaiting trial
In February 2023, Levchenko’s ship docked in the port of Kamchatka after a monthlong fishing trip. He says a fellow fisherman offered him an alcoholic drink, which he declined. He believes that the man already had a grudge against him and they both ended up in an argument.
Levchenko explains that he was hit in the head with a bottle and later woke up in the hospital.
Levchenko says that when he was fired and went to the police to file a report, he was horrified to learn that he was the one who was being reported not for assault, but for expressing antiwar ideas. He claims police told him there was not enough evidence to press criminal charges against his colleague.
Levchenko was arrested on July 13. According to court documents obtained by the BBC, he is accused of justifying terrorism, which he denies, and is being held in custody.
The only way he can tell his story to the BBC is through letters delivered by his lawyer.
“State investigators allege that I used physical force against other sailors… thereby expressing intent to participate in hostilities against the Russian Federation,” Levchenko writes.
Credit: Yaroslav Levchenko/Personal Archives
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Levchenko is accused of justifying terrorism, according to documents seen by the BBC, which he denies
Levchenko’s friends believe that the complaint against him was filed to divert police attention from the attack against him and the fact that alcohol was consumed on board a ship, which was prohibited.
“I just want to go home,” says Levchenko. “The sky is visible from my cell through several rows of bars and it is unbearable,” he wrote in a letter to his friend shared with the BBC.
“Endless fees”
Russian police have admitted they have been inundated with complaints since the start of the war.
Officials anonymously told the BBC that they spend a lot of time investigating and probing “endless allegations about the discretization of the army.”
“People are always looking for an excuse to report someone over the ‘special military operation’,” a recently retired police officer told the BBC, adding: “Whenever something serious comes to light, there is no one to investigate. But everyone went to look.” I published a report from a grandmother who saw a curtain that looked like the Ukrainian flag.
With President Putin repeatedly calling to “punish traitors” and the end of the war in Ukraine still not in sight, serial whistleblowers like Korobkova show no signs of stopping reporting on their compatriots.
“I will continue to write reports,” she wrote in an email to the BBC, adding: “I still have a lot of work to do.”