By Ekaterina Janashia | 2025-10-24

When Russia started its full-scale war in Ukraine began, hundreds of journalists had to flee the country or were jailed. Independent newsrooms were shuttered. Yet a handful of reporters stayed behind, risking arrest to document the war's impact at home.

One of them is Vladimir Sevrinovsky, a Moscow-based journalist, documentary filmmaker and cultural expert who has spent more than a decade covering life across Russia's far-flung regions.

On the eve of February 23, 2022, Sevrinovsky and his fiancée were talking about their future as they left a Moscow theater -- marriage, business, journalism. The next morning, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Their plans, he says, "were messed up overnight."

Sevrinovsky, who holds a Ph.D. in economics, began reporting in 2011 and has since freelanced for outlets in Russia, Europe and the United States, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Meduza, an independent Russian-language news site. He has won dozens of media awards, and one of the films he produced was nominated for an Oscar.

Unlike many colleagues forced into exile, Sevrinovsky has chosen to remain in Moscow, chronicling how war and repression shape daily life.

Fighting over words

It started with language, Sevrinovsky told Kontur.

"At first, I was afraid, like everyone else," he recalled. "Some guys invited me to talk on their podcast. I said the word 'war' a few times, and for a moment I thought maybe I should ask them to bleep it out."

But he refused to censor himself. With official terms like "special military operation" and "denazification" replacing reality, he said, "they were raping my language -- the Russian language, beautiful, truthful, free. Was I going to help them do it? No. I realized I couldn't."

Since the invasion, Sevrinovsky has been arrested twice.

The first time came in April 2022 at the Veselo-Voznesenka checkpoint near the Ukrainian border in Russia's Rostov region. He spent a night in a police station and was fined 2,000 RUB ($24) under Article 19.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses -- disobeying a police officer. The charges were unclear.

On September 30 that same year, police in Makhachkala, capital of the Dagestan region, arrested him again as he tried to cover local protests against mobilization.

"A car pulled up next to me, and several 'eshniks' -- officers from Center E, the Interior Ministry's anti-extremism unit -- got out," he said. "They grabbed me, dragged me into the car, and then it all went downhill: a bag over my head."

A Center E major later testified he had seen Sevrinovsky "loudly cursing at the top of his lungs." On that basis, a local court found him guilty of hooliganism and sentenced him to five days of administrative arrest. His lawyer was not present.

This time, however, a Dagestani court later overturned the ruling, declaring the arrest illegal.

"We recently won the case," Sevrinovsky said. "I was even awarded compensation -- a whole 1,000 rubles [$12] for the five days I spent in jail."

Locked up

"Both times [arrests were] based on perjured police testimony," Sevrinovsky said.

"What's the point of even the most formidable defense if several officers show up and lie? The judge, even without direct instructions, will believe them -- they're the 'guardians of order,' not some unknown defendant. And you'll be locked up without a second thought."

He added that such cases are routine.

"There have been so many across Russia. It's just the way things are. Someone can be framed and jailed for an administrative offense for a week or two, and during that time, a criminal case can be pinned on them. Then they get out, get arrested again, and end up in jail for good."

Still, Sevrinovsky insists his place is in Russia.

"Living in Russia is hard, but living without it is even harder," he said. "This is my country. And why should I leave, and not all those who did this to Russia?"