Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Who's up for a little defenestration?

It's a tried and true method of dispatching your enemies:
A prominent regional journalist investigating crime, politics and the war in Syria has died following a fall from a window of his fourth-floor apartment in Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city.

Maxim Borodin, 32, was found by neighbours on the ground outside his apartment on Friday. He died in hospital two days later, without ever regaining consciousness. 
Of course, the authorities aren't gonna admit to much:
Police say there were no signs of forced entry into his apartment, and the door was locked from the inside. But friends and colleagues have said they are suspicious of the circumstances surrounding his death.
Locked from the inside proves nothing, but don't worry about that. It hadn't gone well for Mr. Borodin in recent months:
Mr Borodin was well-known for delving into Yekaterinburg’s criminal underworld. He was among those who broke the story of unreported deaths in the Kremlin’s shadow armies fighting in Syria. He also published investigations into Russia’s religious right, and the violent protests around “Matilda”, a supposedly blasphemous film depicting a love affair between Tsar Nicholas II and a young ballerina. 
As one of only few investigative voices in the region, Mr Borodin often felt the brunt of official and criminal displeasure. Just two weeks ago, he was in intensive care with a major head injury. And in October, he was hit over the head with a metal pipe – that attack he linked to his work covering the Matilda protests. 
There are places where being a journalist is a dangerous job. It rarely is here, but it's worth remembering the price you pay for running afoul of those in charge in a place like Russia.

3 comments:

3john2 said...

Defenestration (being thrown from a window) is a time-honored Czech custom. There have been 3 famous defenestrations and one depontification (being thrown from a bridge) in their history. The third defenestration was post-WWII as the Soviet-backed communists were trying to exert their control of the Czech government. Jan Masaryk, a distinguished diplomat and politician from a historically prominent political family, was serving as foreign minister of the Czech administration and considered a bit too independent. He was found dead on the street in his pajamas outside his apartment building. Suicide was the official version. The Czechs noted that Jan was always a very fastidious man, and even took care to close and lock his bedroom window before jumping.

Bike Bubba said...

"blasphemous"? Since when is the Czar God? And since when are subjects surprised when nobles have mistresses?

Really, if Russia ever wants to be prosperous, even their crooks need to realize they need to rein it in a little It's not a surprise that the economic boom of New York City followed Rudy Giuliani's vendetta against the Mob, and continued as he and others reined in lesser criminals through the NYPD.

Gino said...

looking at what is said on social media today, this country may be on its way to such shananigans if current trends continue to worsen.
you cannot oppose the party . it will not be allowed.

we still have a semblance of political propiety. the left appoints Special Counsels to engage in pre day ligght no-knock visits from attornies. its only a matter of degrees until the 'attornies' are arriving in masks.