CNN spoke with Maria Pevchikh, head of the investigation department at Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation. She is also the executive producer of CNN’s film “Bulk.”
Here is what she said:
Question: What can Navalny’s story tell us about Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian regime as we watch this war they started?
A: That’s a pretty good background. In fact, it explains a lot. This film gives a lot of context and explains how we found ourselves at this moment and where Putin invades countries and kills people and somehow diverges.
Question: You have supported the functioning of the Anti-Corruption Foundation since Navalny was arrested. Why is it important to continue this work?
A: It’s not just me. There are dozens of other people working with us.
It is a matter of principle for us to continue our work despite the fact that Alexei is in prison. That is exactly what Putin wanted to happen. Putin wanted to imprison Navalny and destroy his work – to stop our investigations, to stop our political work, to stop everything. It is a matter of principle for us to show Vladimir Putin and everyone who is responsible that this will not work. That we will continue our work and work harder and harder than we did before. And we intend to continue as long as necessary.
Q: As the head of investigations at this foundation, what did you reveal recently?
A: We did two this month. There was an investigation we did for the yacht Scheherazade. It is parked somewhere in Italy and has no owner. I think this is the 11th or 12th most expensive yacht in the world. Nobody knows who it belongs to. In our investigation, we have proven that it belongs to Vladimir Putin.
And last week we published an investigation into Valery Gergiev, a Russian conductor and classical musician who is a very famous and frequent guest at places such as the Metropolitan Opera and the Grand Opera. He is not only a very famous musician, but also a staunch supporter of Putin and Putin’s war. So, we did a big investigation into how Valery Gergiev gets paid for Putin’s public whitening abroad.
Question: Navalny was recently sentenced to more time in prison. What do you think the future holds? Will he be able to get out of this prison?
A: I don’t think these numbers mean anything. He can be sentenced from nine years to 99 years to 900 years. It is practically meaningless.
Navalny’s case is purely political. Vladimir Putin decided to imprison him indefinitely. So, as many people say, Navalny’s sentence is essentially a life sentence. The question is whose life will it be? I am almost certain that Navalny will remain in prison, probably until Putin leaves office until Putin is removed from power. Our mission is to make this day come as soon as possible and for Alexei to be released from prison as soon as possible.
Q: In this documentary, we learn about Navalny’s vision of Russia, what he envisioned for his future. Do you expect Russia to ever be realized?
A: Absolutely. This is the plan. This is what we have been working on for many years. It would be strange if we did something for a decade that we didn’t believe in and didn’t believe was possible.
I am convinced that the so-called “beautiful Russia of the future” – as Alexei calls it – is indeed possible. This is achievable and achievable and yes, it will take a lot of effort and a lot of work to ensure that it will happen, but there are so many people, so many Russians who want to do this work, who are willing to risk their life, their careers, everything, just to make sure that one day Russia will become a free and democratic country.
Join tomorrow at 9pm ET to watch CNN’s “Bulk” on CNN.
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