Sergei Markelov

USMARKELOV@GMAIL.COM

Sergei Markelov. |

As an accomplished freelance journalist with extensive experience in Russia, I have navigated complex and high-stakes environments to produce impactful work. Recognized as the first foreign agent in the country, I have earned accolades such as the 2018 ICFJ Global Health Reporting Contest award for a project on severe psychiatric disorders, the 2021 "Professional Journalist" award, the Redcollegia award for reporting on torture in Uzbekistan, and the Vmeste Media Nord-West award for a report on excavations at the Sandarmokh Memorial Cemetery. Over six years, I have collaborated with organizations like SCOOP Russia, Transparency International Russia, "Tak-tak-tak," and OCCRP, contributing to journalistic investigations published in respected outlets such as Novaya Gazeta, Associated Press, Radio Free Liberty, Current Time, TV-Rain, Meduza, Holod Media, 7x7, and Horizontal Russia.

projects

For 10+ years in journalism, I've made several journalistic investigations in cooperation with the international investigative journalists network OCCRP, Transparency International, and SCOOP Russia.

INTERNATIONAL PROJECT

7x7

AWARDED PROJECT

«Дело Пинеля»

INVESTIGATIVE PROJECT

7x7 & OCCRP

MULTIMEDIA REPORT

7x7

references

Due to his outstanding work, Sergey had been declared as a “Foreign agent” by the repressive Russian regime and with the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia to Ukraine, finally, he had to immigrate to the USA to keep doing his journalism work. Sergey has proved to be an accurate and responsible journalist, open to challenging assignments. He is a creative and solution-oriented person able to come up with new approaches to his work.

OLEG KHOMENOK

Senior Media Advisor at Internews Network,
Member of the Board of Directors at Global Investigative Journalism Network

In 2016, I visited 23 Russian cities from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Kaliningrad with #MediaPowerTour. It was a big training tour – 69 workshops in a row - on multimedia journalism for regional journalists and bloggers. Sergey travelled with me as a multimedia reporter with two tasks. First of all, he was responsible for filming, interviewing, and editing materials about our trip, also he streamed some of our workshops online. It was a two-and-a-half-month-long mobile reporting journey with huge pressure of every-day production tasks. It was hard to find a specialist who would be good as in gathering information as in editing and publishing in different multimedia formats. I'm so glad I have find Sergey for that extreme project.

OKSANA SILANTIEVA

Multimedia producer
Head of Silamedia company
MA in Multimedia Journalism (Bournemouth Uni)

Sergei demonstrated excellent qualities of being a part of a team and was easy to work with. He was also proactive in suggesting new ideas and approaches, which helped to elevate the story. He was always open to feedback and was able to seamlessly integrate his work with mine to create a cohesive final product.
Sergei is a talented, hardworking, and dedicated journalist with good knowledge of the region and is passionate about uncovering the truth.

SERGEY PONOMAREV

Photojournalist, Pulitzer Prize winner

Mr. Markelov, having helped the New York Times and worked with American-funded outlets like RFE/RL, faces grave peril at a time when, just this week, President Putin has declared open season on what he called "scum and traitors" -- all Russians who have links to and sympathies for the West. Mr. Markelov has been outspoken for a long period of time about his hostility to Russia's direction under Putin and his support for groups like Memorial.

ANDREW HIGGINS

East and Central Europe Bureau Chief The New York Times

Sergey Markelov started collaborating with Novaya Gazeta in October 2017.
Throughout such collaboration, he published in Novaya Gazeta several
materials on sensitive and socially important topics. He spoke against the established
political regime and covered high-profile lawsuits initiated by the Russian FSB. His
publications included a report on the corruption-caused collapse in Karelian fur farms -
the region located on the border with Finland; a high-profile trial of the researcher of
Stalinist repressions Yuri Dmitriev who was sentenced to 15 years in prison; he wrote
about excavations in the Sandarmokh tract where about 7,000 people were shot in the
1930s; covered protests in support of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny; local
protests by residents and activists against unlawful decisions of regional authorities; in
cooperation with other journalists of Novaya Gazeta, Markelov was engaged in
investigative journalism dedicated to fraudulent schemes and corruption deals of
businessmen who have strong support in the regional and federal government.

Dmitry Muratov

Editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, Nobel Prize awardee

My foreign agent's journey

NYC LOCATED

e-mail: usmarkelov@gmail.com