Elena Milashina (1978) is a Russian investigative journalist known for her reporting on human rights violations and political corruption in Russia. She reported for the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta on topics including the war in Chechnya, the persecution of LGBT people in Russia and the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. On 3 May 2019, she received an honorary doctorate from the VUB and ULB during Difference Day. Milashina shared the honour of her honorary doctorate with her colleagues, not least with the six murdered editorial staff members. In the years that followed, Milashina received several death threats and was physically assaulted.
Honorary Doctorate Difference Day for Freedom of Expression 2019
Elena Milashina is a Russian investigative journalist who reports on human rights violations and political corruption in Russia. She has reported for the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta on topics including the war in Chechnya, the persecution of LGBT people in Russia and the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Milashina has received numerous awards for her journalistic work. Despite threats and intimidation from the Russian authorities, she continues to report on controversial issues. On 3 May 2019, she received an honorary doctorate from VUB and ULB during Difference Day. After the ceremony, Milashina emphasised that she wanted to share the honour with her colleagues, not least with the six murdered editorial staff members.
It was 1997 when Elena Milashina began working as a journalist for Novaya Gazeta. The Russian independent newspaper is known for its critical and investigative stance towards the Russian government. Milashina met Anna Politkovskaya, who was later murdered on the orders of the Russian regime, and who became one of her most important mentors. In 2000, Milashina devoted a series of articles to the dubious disaster involving the nuclear submarine Kursk. In 2001, she received the “Golden Pen of Russia” award for her investigative work.
She delved into obscure cases such as the terrorist attack in Beslan in 2004, where more than 330 people were killed during the hostage-taking. She wrote about the murders of her fellow journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006 and Natalya Estemirova in 2009, both of whom were fervent human rights activists. Milashina continued the investigations that Politkovskaya had started. She also immersed herself in her own independent research into unsavoury events in the North Caucasus and Chechnya. She drew attention to enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial executions, torture and intimidation.
But her sharp and revealing pen did not protect her from danger. In April 2012, she and a friend were knocked down on the street. At the time, Milashina was working on an investigation into a police drug detective who had been caught with drugs himself. The attack was never thoroughly investigated. Threats also continued. After Milashina published an article in Novaya Gazeta in 2017 about the persecution of homosexuals in Chechnya, the Chechen government declared a jihad against the entire editorial staff of the newspaper. Milashina was forced to leave the country and went into hiding in Istanbul for a few months.
In February 2020, Elena Milashina and human rights lawyer Marina Dubrovina attended the trial of blogger Islam Nukhanov in Chechnya. The man had been illegally detained and tortured in the basements of the Ministry of Internal Affairs after showing a YouTube video about the luxurious homes of the head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, and his allies. But the presence of both women was not appreciated. On Instagram, Milashina received death threats from Kadyrov, and shortly afterwards, Milashina and Dubrovina were violently attacked by an organised gang in the lobby of their hotel. The investigation was halted due to the disappearance of technical “evidence”.
On 12 April 2020, Milashina published an article in Novaya Gazeta about how the Chechen governor denied the COVID-19 pandemic; about how Chechens in quarantine no longer dared to report coronavirus symptoms for fear of being seen as terrorists. A day later, Chechen leader Kadyrov reproached the Federal Security Service for not silencing her. Since the publication of her article in Novaya Gazeta on 15 March 2021, “I served in the Chechen police and did not want to kill people”, Elena's situation has deteriorated and Chechen officials have launched a smear and intimidation campaign against Elena and Novaya Gazeta.
On 4 July 2023, human rights lawyer Aleksandr Nemov and Elena Milashina travelled to Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, to attend the sentencing of Zarema Musaeva. Musaeva was tried by the Chechen authorities on trumped-up charges related to the activities of her children, one of whom is a human rights defender. According to the Memorial Human Rights Centre, three black cars blocked the taxi carrying Nemov and Milashina from the airport. Masked attackers dragged both of them out of the taxi and beat them with clubs. The attackers broke Milashina's fingers on both hands while forcing her to unlock her phone. Nemov was stabbed in the leg. They threatened to kill them if they did not stop their human rights work. They also destroyed their recording equipment and important documents. Zarema Musaeva was later that day sentenced to 5.5 years in a penal colony, after an unfair trial without her lawyer, Nemov, present.
On 21 February 2025, Novaya Gazeta reported that authorities in the Russian republic of Chechnya had suspended the investigation into the brutal attack on Milashina and Nemov. In a statement, the Chechen investigative committee said that no suspects could be identified.
Amnesty International has recently received no further updates regarding Elena Milashina. Since this human rights organisation was designated an “undesirable organisation” by the Russian authorities in May 2025, a number of individuals campaigning on her behalf have ceased their activities.
Sources: VUB Today, Amnesty International en Novaja Gazeta.
