Russians Vitaly Chashchukhin and Igor Dolmatov, who work for the newspaper "Izvestia" and the pro-Kremlin propaganda channel "Ribar", have been living in Berlin for years. The information was first reported by the Czech portal "Seznam Zprávy". Both Russian propagandists criticize politics and life in Germany, but remain in the country legally. How is this possible and how widespread is this phenomenon?
The "Izvestia" employees live in a prestigious Berlin neighborhood
"Seznam Zprávy" exposes the Russians, including luring them to Prague for an "interview" with a Czech expert. There they admit that they are preparing material for the propaganda channel “Ribar”, and before that they had made reports for “Izvestia” and other Russian media.
As established in the framework of various media investigations, Chashchukhin has lived in Berlin since at least 2014, Dolmatov - for at least eight years. Both work in the correspondent office of “Izvestia” in the German capital, Chashchukhin has been leading it since 2019. They are registered in the prestigious district “Zehlendorf”. Chashchukhin lives in a two-story villa and regularly travels to Russia in his sports “Porsche”.
EU: “Izvestia” employees can remain in Europe
As the investigative journalists writing about this case write, Chashchukhin and Dolmatov worked in sanctioned media. This is true, but the restrictions on "Izvestia" and "Ribar" are different.
When the EU introduced sanctions against 27 Russian media outlets in 2022 over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, "Izvestia" was among them. However, the EU website noted that the ban only applied to broadcasting and licensing - the "measures" would not prevent the media outlet and its collaborators from carrying out non-broadcasting activities in the EU, such as investigations and interviews.
The EU is aware of "Ribar", but only its creator is under sanctions
The Russian propaganda channel "Ribar" is not on the EU sanctions list, although its co-founder Mikhail Zvinchuk has been subject to personal sanctions since June 2023. This means that his assets in the EU are subject to freezing, he is prohibited from entering the EU, as well as from receiving money and other economic benefits.
On October 9, 2026, his wife, as well as his employees, were arrested as part of an operation to disrupt "hybrid activities" of a network of channels that British and American authorities have linked to the spread of Kremlin propaganda.
Mikhail Zvinchuk is a former employee of the press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Together with Denis Shchukin, he is a co-founder of "Ribar", which currently has over 1.5 million subscribers. Zvinchuk is believed to have been linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin.
What lawyers and investigative journalists say
German law professor Kilian Wegner explained to DW that if EU sanctions prohibit broadcasting, it does not follow that the employees of the media outlet in question also fall under this ban. For media outlets that are only banned from broadcasting, "the provision of services from Germany is permitted, as long as they do not serve to circumvent the broadcasting ban," Wegner points out. "For example, it is permitted to conduct journalistic investigations in Germany, to film interviews or to write texts. But it is prohibited to create a YouTube channel through which prohibited content could be distributed. Such violations are also punishable," says the lawyer.
German journalist Alexei Hoch, who participated in the investigation into Chashchukhin and Dolmatov, for his part points out: "Sanctioned persons should not be provided with economic resources. But journalistic work, i.e. conducting investigations and taking interviews for a company under sanctions, can also constitute an economic resource. The media outlet for which the journalists work can profit from these materials, broadcast them, place advertisements and thus receive income".
The Federal Export Control Agency told Hoch that journalistic activities could be considered an economic resource, but each case must be considered individually. According to Hoch, the case must be resolved by the court. For this, however, according to him, it is necessary to precisely track the cash flows between the employees of Russian media outlets in Germany and the specific sanctioned persons in Russia. Hawke's speculation is that Chashchukhin and Dolmatov may be receiving their salaries in Russia, not Germany.
Does the Kremlin need propagandists on the ground?
German propaganda expert Leon Erlenhorst told DW that the Russian authorities now need less and less propagandists on the ground. "The majority of channels on Telegram, TikTok and Instagram operate without propagandists in Germany itself. They use videos from secondary or external sources, which are then used to prepare the publications. Therefore, very often there is no need for anyone to be present on site at all," the expert notes.
According to Erlenhorst, it is difficult to estimate how many Russian propagandists remain in Germany - he estimates that there are several dozen. His estimates are based on the number of apartments in the Russian House in Berlin before its closure and the estimated number of their residents. Erlenhorst says about Chashchukhin and Dolmatov that they are definitely among the propagandists of Russia in Germany.
Residence ban
Erlenhorst rejects the claims that propagandists of Russia feel more free in Germany than in other EU countries. At the same time, he recalls the refusal of the migration authorities in Berlin in November 2024 to grant residence to four Russian journalists, as well as the ban imposed in October of the same year on two other pro-Russian activists from entering the country for 20 years.
"This means that the problem is being recognized. And if there is enough evidence, appropriate measures should be taken. But in this area, as in many others related to information warfare, we are acting quite carefully and slowly", says Erlenhorst. He added that it is likely that after the case of Chashchukhin and Dolmatov has become public, the German authorities will take the necessary action in this regard as well.
Source: www.dw.com