Global Shining Light Finalist: The Kremlin Cook’s Toys (Russia)

Photo: Courtesy of Fontanka.ru

In the run-up to the 11th Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Hamburg this September 26 to 29, we’re featuring one Global Shining Light Award finalist per day. The winners, chosen from 12 outstanding investigative projects, will be announced at the conference.

The Shining Light Award, first given out at our 2007 Global Conference, uniquely honors investigative journalists in developing or transitioning countries whose work was done under threat, duress, or in the direst of conditions.

The finalists were selected by an international panel of judges from a record 291 projects. All the stories were published in 2017 or 2018. The award is sponsored by the Global Investigative Journalism Network, an association of 182 organizations in 77 countries.

This year, given the broad range of work submitted, we divided the submissions into two categories: large outlets (with ten or more staff) and smaller outlets (with fewer than 10 staff). We hope you’ll agree that this year’s finalists showcase extraordinary journalism by some extraordinary journalists.

Large Outlets Category: “The Kremlin Cook’s Toys,” Fontanka.ru and Novaya Gazeta (Russia).

Reporter: Denis Korotkov.

Denis Korotkov completed several searing investigations into Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, sometimes known as “Putin’s chef,” who ran the infamous St. Petersburg “troll factory” and other pro-Putin media operations. Korotkov revealed how dozens of mercenaries were killed fighting for Wagner, a Prigozhin-financed private paramilitary group accused of fighting in Syria, eastern Ukraine, and other places on behalf of Russia’s government.