Law enforcement officials visit URA.RU for the second day in a row
In Yekaterinburg once more, staff at URA.RU's office on Karl Liebknecht Street had an unwelcome visit from the FSB. A source from our site, SAI.RU in the law enforcement agencies, announced this.
An investigator ordered the delivery of the URA.RU's chief editor, Dina Koslova, and two other employees for interrogation at the SCC of the Russian Federation for the Sverdlovsk region. Among them is Igor Sergeyev, who holds the position of the regional editor's head (arrested journalist URA.RU Denis Allayarov's boss).
"We believe that the charges against this case are summoning, not a rapid response Unit of the FSB. With the involvement of 20,000 rubles and family connections, this is not a corruption investigation, but an attempt to put pressure on the editorial office", commented URA.RU on the new visit of the tough guys (quote via Telegram channel "Bloody Bride").
The staff of the editorial office did not leave for the interrogation.
"Various rumors about alleged operational measures undertaken by FSB employees in the office of one regional information agency do not correspond to reality", announced the press service of the FSB of Russia for the Sverdlovsk region.
Later, URA.RU published information on their Telegram channel that the chief editor, Dina Koslova, had been taken away for interrogation. "The work of the editorial office has been disrupted," the message says.
URA.RU Faces Searches
On June 5, 2025, law enforcement authorities in the Sverdlovsk region arrested three employees of URA.RU for the first time. They conducted searches both in the office and the homes of multiple employees, including the editor of the Sverdlovsk department of URA.RU, Denis Allayarov. The official reason for the persecution of the journalists is the alleged purchase and use of official information, which they allegedly bought for 20,000 rubles from a law enforcement officer, the former head of department No 10 of the Police of Yekaterinburg, Andrey Karpov. He turned out to be Allayarov's uncle.
Denis Allayarov is accused of giving a bribe. The maximum sentence for this offense is up to eight years in prison. The editorial office is confident that Karpov agreed to testify on behalf of his nephew to shorten his sentence. Allayarov denies any guilt.
URA.RU's Belongings
The news outlet URA.RU is owned by businessmen Alexei Bobrov and Artem Biikov. Troubles also started in their other assets. For example, in "Oblkommunenergo". The prosecutor's office of the Sverdlovsk region filed a lawsuit for the transfer of 19 objects of the company to the ownership of municipalities almost a month after the resignation of the governor of the Sverdlovsk region Evgeny Kuyvashev.
Enrichment Data:Total Background
URA.RU is a pro-Kremlin news outlet based in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The outlet has faced several arrests, detentions, and investigations in recent years, creating concerns about press freedom and media independence in the country.
The Investigation's Timeline
2021: The Public Oversight Commission of the Sverdlovsk region submitted a report stating that URA.RU never published corrections or retractions for inaccurate information despite several requests.
2022: Aleksandr Zhabalov, the former executive director of URA.RU, was arrested for embezzling over €500,000 during his tenure with the company.
2023: Yuri Pritula, the editor-in-chief of URA.RU, was detained during an anti-corruption raid at the outlet's offices. Pritula was later released without charges, but URA.RU experienced significant self-censorship, and many employees resigned in protest.
2025 Investigation
In June 2025, three employees, including Denis Allayarov, were arrested under the investigation involving the purchase of official police intelligence. The investigation has resulted in disruptions to URA.RU's operations, despite the office employing only ten people out of more than 200 across eight Russian regions. The investigation's ongoing nature, with no clear indication of the specific charges beyond alleged bribery, and the broader implications for press freedom and the independence of media outlets in Russia remain under scrutiny.
- The ongoing investigation against URA.RU, a pro-Kremlin news outlet, has extended to the realm of politics and general-news, with the arrest of three employees, including regional editor Denis Allayarov, on allegations of purchasing and using official information, tied to Andrey Karpov, Allayarov's uncle and a former police officer.
- Amidst the ongoing investigation, crime-and-justice concerns also surface as URA.RU's employees face questioning, their workplace disrupted, and their belongings searched, raising questions about press freedom and media independence in Russia.
