Denis Karagodin / Денис Карагодин

Media Coverage

This section presents a curated overview of media coverage related to the work of Denis Karagodin, including the KARAGODIN® Investigation, the STEPINQUEST® framework, and associated research, publications, and public activities.

The materials document the investigation’s presence across a wide range of media environments — from international outlets and independent journalism to regional media and state-aligned platforms — reflecting the breadth of its public visibility and the range of contexts in which it has been reported and discussed.

Media Genesis — the origin of the media dimension of the case and its conceptual framework.

Media Index

Major International Media

  1. Carl Schreck and Dmitry Volchek.
    “One Russian’s Search for His Great-Grandfather’s Soviet Police Killers.” Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, June 23, 2016.
  2. Dmitry Volchek and Robert Coalson.
    “Discovery Of A Relative’s Executioners Leads To A Surprising Reconciliation.” Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, November 21, 2016.
  3. Tom Parfitt.
    “Russian Takes on KGB to Uncover Truth of Great-Grandfather’s Death.” The Times, November 26, 2016.
  4. Steve Rosenberg.
    “Siberian Man Tracks Down Great-Grandfather’s Executioners.” BBC News, November 30, 2016.
  5. Robert Coalson and Dmitry Volchek.
    “Great-Grandson of Man Killed in Stalin’s Purges to Sue Russian State.” The Guardian, November 30, 2016.
  6. Simon Kruse.
    “Brev fra Stalin-bødlens barnebarn: ‘Tilgiv mig’” (“Letter from the Grandson of Stalin’s Executioner: ‘Forgive Me’”) Berlingske, December 1, 2016.
  7. Kerstin Holm.
    “Namenslisten von Stalins Schergen erregen Russland.” (“Lists of Stalin’s Henchmen Stir Debate in Russia”) Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, December 2, 2016.
  8. Per Anders Johansen.
    “Politiet hentet Stefan om natten. 79 år senere avslørte oldebarnet alle de 20 som sto bak det politiske drapet i Sibir.” (“Police Took Stefan at Night. 79 Years Later His Great-Grandson Identified All 20 People Behind the Political Murder in Siberia”) Aftenposten, December 3, 2016.
  9. Veronika Dorman.
    “URSS : Denis Karagodine aux trousses des tueurs de son aïeul.” (“USSR: Denis Karagodin on the Trail of His Great-Grandfather’s Executioners”) Libération, December 8, 2016.
  10. James Marson.
    “A Russian Fights for Stalin’s Victims.” The Wall Street Journal, December 16, 2016.
  11. Gesine Dornblüth.
    “Stalins Schergen.” (“Stalin’s Henchmen”) Deutschlandfunk, December 22, 2016.
  12. Pierre Avril.
    “Les descendants des victimes de Staline en quête de vérité.” (“The Descendants of Stalin’s Victims in Search of the Truth”) Le Figaro, December 26, 2016.
  13. Anna Zafesova.
    “Ecco i boia di Stalin che uccisero mio bisnonno” (“Here Are Stalin’s Executioners Who Killed My Great-Grandfather”) La Stampa, Decebmer 28. 2016.
  14. Dmitry Volchek.
    “Nearly 80 Years Later, One Russian Family Learns Painful Truth About Executed Relative.” Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, March 21, 2017.
  15. Friedrich Schmidt.
    “Ungesühnt, doch nicht vergessen.” (“Unatoned, but Not Forgotten”) Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, August 24, 2017.
  16. Pierre Boisson and Lucas Duvernet-Coppola.
    “Une affaire russe.” (The Russian Case) Society, Paris, 2018, pp. 68–72. Photos by Alexander Anufriev.
  17. Matthew Luxmoore.
    “His Great-Grandfather Was Executed By Stalin’s Secret Police. Now He’s Being Sued.” Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, March 6, 2021.
  18. Gonzalo Aragonés.
    “Buscando a los verdugos de Stalin” (“Searching for Stalin’s Executioners”) La Vanguardia, March 10, 2021.
  19. Xavier Colás.
    “Del Gulag al olvido: la lucha de los familiares de los represaliados de la URSS” (“From the Gulag to Oblivion: Families of Stalin’s Victims Fight to Escape Forgetting”) El Mundo, March 29, 2021.
  20. Masha Gessen.
    “The Historians Under Attack for Exploring Poland’s Role in the Holocaust.” The New Yorker, March 26, 2021.
  21. Robyn Dixon.
    “He spent years uncovering the Stalin-era execution of his great-grandfather. Lawsuits seek to bury the evidence.” The Washington Post, May 9, 2021.
  22. Benoît Vitkine.
    “Russie : le combat contre l’amnésie historique de Denis Karagodine, enquêteur-citoyen” (“Russia: Denis Karagodin’s Fight Against Historical Amnesia, a Citizen Investigator”) Le Monde, June 10, 2021.

International Media

  1. Ilya Venyavkin.
    “De-Stalinization Despite the State.” The Moscow Times, November 30, 2016.
  2. David Filipov.
    “In Putin’s Russia, It Just Got Easier to Find the Perpetrators of Stalin’s Purges.” The Washington Post, November 24, 2016.
  3. Kevin Rothrock.
    “Historians Couldn’t Believe Such Documents Still Exist.” The Moscow Times, November 21, 2016.
  4. “Lietuvos pilietybę turintis Denisas Karagodinas Rusijoje rado prosenelio žudikus” (Denis Karagodin, a Lithuanian Citizen, Identified His Great-Grandfather’s Killers in Russia.). 15min, June 30, 2016.
  5. “This Siberian man spent the five years tracking down his great-grandfather’s executioners — and he just found them.” Mic.com, December 2, 2016.
  6. “El siberiano que quiere llevar a juicio al estalinismo por asesinar a su bisabuelo” (“The Siberian Who Wants to Put Stalinism on Trial for the Murder of His Great-Grandfather”) El Comercio, December 31, 2018.
  7. Ignacio Ortega.
    “Un siberiano quiere juzgar al estalinismo por asesinar a su bisabuelo” (“A Siberian Man Wants to Put Stalinism on Trial for the Murder of His Great-Grandfather”) Agencia EFE, December 31, 2018.
  8. National Post.
    “Human rights group names 40,000 secret police that killed 700,000 people in Stalin’s secret purges.” (Originally reported by The Washington Post) National Post, November 25, 2016.
  9. Aaron Tilton.
    “Justice for the Dead.” Deutsche Welle, November 15, 2016.
  10. Yuri Rescheto.
    “Deafening Silence.” Deutsche Welle (Opinion), November 11, 2016.
  11. Aleksey Aseev.
    “Victimes et bourreaux.” (“Victims and Executioners”) Courrier International, special issue *“Russie: Les héritiers de la révolution – 1917-2017”, September–October–November 2017, pp. 17–19.
  12. The Moscow Times.
    “Russian Authorities Seal Stalin-Era NKVD Archives.” The Moscow Times, March 14, 2019.
  13. Andrei Kolesnikov.
    “Fathers and Sons: A Kremlin-KGB Remake.” The Moscow Times, March 30, 2021.

Profiles and In-Depth Features

  1. Alexandra Rojkov.
    “Karagodin gegen Stalin.” (“Karagodin vs. Stalin”) GEO Magazine, No. 2, February 2018.
  2. Olesya Gerasimenko.
    ““В прокуратуре гораздо больше смысла, чем в “Мемориале”. Как Денис Карагодин ищет правду о казни прадеда” (“There Is More Sense in the Prosecutor’s Office Than in ‘Memorial’: How Denis Karagodin Seeks the Truth About His Great-Grandfather’s Execution”). BBC Russian Service, May 14, 2021.

Radio

  1. Steve Rosenberg.
    “The Man Taking Stalin to Court for the Murder of His Great-Grandfather.” BBC Radio 4 (Best of Today), November 2016.
  2. Christine Hamel.
    Interview with Denis Karagodin. ARD, May 25, 2019.
    Interview recorded for the radio report “Stalin reloaded – der Diktator hat Konjunktur.” Although the interview was not included in the final broadcast, the full responses are available on the project website.

Podcasts

  1. The Russia Guy (Podcast) — “E125: Matthew Luxmoore on Denis Karagodin’s crusade in Tomsk“, May 18, 2021 (host: Kevin Rothrock).
  2. Oleg Antonenko, Olesya Gerasimenko.
    “Подкаст “Что это было”. Лонгрид: человек, который “оживил” палачей и мечтает о русском Нюрнберге” (Podcast ‘What Was That’: Longread — The Man Who ‘Brought Executioners Back to Life’ and Dreams of a Russian Nuremberg.). BBC Russian Service. Broadcast: May 22, 2021.
  3. Vladislav Gorin, Denis Karagodin.
    “Дело против Сталина и НКВД. Денис Карагодин расследует убийство прадеда, расстрелянного в 1938-м. А самого Карагодина сейчас проверяет полиция — по заявлению сына энкавэдэшника” (The Case Against Stalin and the NKVD. Denis Karagodin Investigates the Murder of His Great-Grandfather, Executed in 1938. Karagodin Himself Is Now Being Investigated by Police — Following a Complaint Filed by the Son of an NKVD Officer.). Meduza, March 5, 2021.

YouTube Shows

  1. Ekaterina Shulman, Maxim Kurnikov.
    Program “Status” (segment: “Fathers — Theorists and Practitioners”). Episode dated November 22, 2022.

Russian National Media

Vedomosti (Russia)

  1. Nikolai Epple.
    “Герой-одиночка: Может ли частный случай уголовного преследования палачей дать старт национальному примирению” (“A Lone Hero: Can a Single Criminal Case Against the Executioners Trigger National Reconciliation?”). Vedomosti, November 21, 2016.
  2. Vedomosti Editorial.
    “Помощь и наблюдение: Чему научилось гражданское общество за пять лет” (“Assistance and Observation: What Civil Society Has Learned Over Five Years”). Vedomosti, December 7, 2016.
  3. Alexander Cherkasov.
    “Память и памятник” (“Memory and the Monument”). Vedomosti, October 30, 2017.

Forbes (Russia)

  1. Anatoly Golubovsky, Nikolai Uskov.
    “Анатолий Голубовский: «То, что делается вопреки государству, прославляет нашу страну гораздо больше»” (Anatoly Golubovsky: “What Is Done Against the State Glorifies Our Country Far More.”). Forbes Russia, March 9, 2017.

Kommersant (Russia)

  1. Stanislav Kucher.
    “Как герой-одиночка Сталину за прадеда отомстил” (“How a Lone Hero Took Revenge on Stalin for His Great-Grandfather”). Kommersant FM, November 21, 2016.
  2. Marat Kashin.
    “Будут ли новые расследования сталинских репрессий? Pro et Contra: Кто отвечает за преступления прошлого.” (“Will There Be New Investigations into Stalinist Repressions? Pro et Contra: Who Is Responsible for the Crimes of the Past”). Kommersant FM, November 22, 2016.
  3. Svetlana Belova.
    “Преступления истории: Дойдет ли потомок репрессированного крестьянина до суда” (“Crimes of History: Will a Descendant of a Repressed Peasant Make It to Court?”). Kommersant FM, November 22, 2016.
  4. Stanislav Kucher.
    “Эта правда нужна каждому, кто не хочет быть бараном, в любой момент готовым стать шашлыком” (“This Truth Is Needed by Everyone Who Does Not Want to Be a Sheep Ready to Become Shashlik at Any Moment”). Kommersant FM, November 23, 2016.
  5. Konstantin Voronov.
    “Засекреченные документы потеряли хранителя. В Новосибирске уволен глава архива, закрывший доступ к досье КГБ.” (“Classified Documents Lost Their Custodian. In Novosibirsk, the Head of a State Archive Who Restricted Access to KGB Files Was Dismissed”). Kommersant, March 28, 2019.
  6. Konstantin Voronov.
    “Директора списали в архив. Уволен архивариус, закрывший доступ к досье КГБ” (“The Director Was Filed Away in the Archives. An Archivist Who Restricted Access to KGB Files Was Dismissed”). Kommersant, March 29, 2019.
  7. Alexander Chernykh, Pavel Pavlovsky (interviewers); Oleg Orlov, Sergey Smirnov, Sergey Parkhomenko, Yuri Saprykin, Oleg Kashin, Alexander Dyukov, Denis Karagodin.
    “Допустима ли медаль в честь члена сталинской тройки” (“Is It Acceptable to Award a Medal in Honor of a Member of a Stalinist Troika”). Kommersant, February 1, 2020.
  8. Yulia Sasevich.
    “В Новосибирске сын сотрудника НКВД заявил в полицию на родственника репрессированного” (“In Novosibirsk, the Son of an NKVD Officer Filed a Police Complaint Against a Relative of a Repressed Victim”). Kommersant, March 3, 2021. 
  9. Yulia Sasevich
    “Сын сотрудника НКВД обратился в полицию из-за сведений, дискредитирующих отца” (“The Son of an NKVD Officer Filed a Police Complaint Over Information Discrediting His Father”). Kommersant, March 3, 2021.
  10. Yulia Sasevich
    “СКР занялся расследователем преступлений НКВД” (“The Investigative Committee Took Up the Case of an NKVD Crimes Investigator”). Kommersant, March 29, 2021.
  11. Cultural mention.
    “Расписание на неделю” (“Schedule for the Week”). Kommersant Weekend, April 10, 2020.
    The listing includes the theatrical project “The Funeral of Stalin”, a documentary performance featuring Denis Karagodin alongside writers, historians, and public intellectuals.

RBC (Russia)

  1. Maria Leyva and Polina Khimshiashvili.
    “Кремль прокомментировал публикацию списка 40 тыс. сотрудников НКВД” (“The Kremlin Comments on the Publication of a List of 40,000 NKVD Officers”). RBC, November 24, 2016.
  2. Darya Lebedeva.
    “Историк сообщил о пожаловавшемся на него в полицию сыне сотрудника НКВД” (“Historian Reports Complaint Filed Against Him by Son of NKVD Officer”). RBC, March 3, 2021.
  3. Denis Volkov.
    “Сталинский вопрос: почему данные социологов вызывают столько споров” (“The Stalin Question: Why Sociological Data Causes So Much Debate”). RBC, June 30, 2017.

BBC Russian Service

  1. Steve Rosenberg
    “Денис Карагодин: история поиска палачей и примирения” (Denis Karagodin: The Search for Executioners and Reconciliation). BBC Russian Service, November 30, 2016.
  2. “Карагодин, расследовавший расстрел прадеда, получил премию фонда Кудрина” (Karagodin, Who Investigated His Great-Grandfather’s Execution, Received the Kudrin Foundation Prize). BBC Russian Service, December 20, 2016.

Novaya Gazeta

  1. Ekaterina Fomina, Elena Racheva.
    “От шофера “черного воронка” до Сталина” (From the Driver of the “Black Raven” to Stalin). Novaya Gazeta, 23 November 2016.
  2. Larisa Malyukova.
    “И дольше века длится культ. Уникальный театральный показ Гоголь-центра “Похороны Сталина” можно будет увидеть в ближайшее время на YouTube” (And the Cult Lasts Longer Than a Century: A Unique Gogol Center Theater Production “Stalin’s Funeral” Will Soon Be Available on YouTube). Novaya Gazeta, 6 March 2017.
  3. Alexey Tarasov
    ““А если Вы обо всем этом знаете, то Вас самого надо расстрелять!“”. Как по доносу матери на дочь чекисты разоблачили фашистскую организацию семиклассников. И кто и по какому праву сегодня оправдывает палачей” (If You Know All This, Then You Yourself Should Be Shot!’ How the Secret Police Exposed a ‘Fascist Organization’ of Seventh-Graders Following a Mother’s Denunciation of Her Daughter — and Who Today Justifies the Executioners, and on What Grounds). Novaya Gazeta, 27 October 2017.
  4. Novaya Gazeta (Editorial Staff)
    “В Новосибирске сын сотрудника НКВД подал заявление в полицию на правнука репрессированного” (In Novosibirsk, the Son of an NKVD Officer Filed a Police Complaint Against the Great-Grandson of a Repressed Victim). Novaya Gazeta, 3 March 2021.
  5. Pavel Gutiontov.
    “Боевые заслуги. Чем мы встречаем очередную годовщину смерти Сталина? Доносом сына палача“ (Combat Merits: How Do We Mark Another Anniversary of Stalin’s Death? With a Denunciation by the Executioner’s Son). Novaya Gazeta, 5 March 2021.
  6. Kirill Martynov.
    “Мера скорби” (The Measure of Grief). Novaya Gazeta, 31 October 2017. 
  7. Tatyana Britskaya
    “Штрихбрейкеры” (Strike Breakers: FSB Officers Erase the Names of Stalin’s Executioners from Case Files). Novaya Gazeta, 18 October 2021.
  8. Dmitry Bykov.
    “Рождественское-2: Грустно жить в такой огромной снежной пелене — и стоять на темной, стремной, адской стороне!” (Christmas Poem II: It Is Sad to Live in Such a Vast Snowy Veil — and to Stand on the Dark, Grim, Infernal Side!). Novaya Gazeta, 10 January 2022.
  9. Alexey Tarasov.
    “Мы — щепки, с нами лес” (We Are Splinters, Yet the Forest Remains with Us) — Novaya Gazeta, 30 October 2024.
  10. Irina Petrovskaya, Tatyana Malkina 
    “Соловецкий камень преткновения” (The Solovetsky Stone as a Point of Contention). Novaya Gazeta, 12 December 2024.

Meduza

TV Rain

Sergey Medvedev, Denis Karagodin.
“Медведев: Привлечь всех: от следователя НКВД до Сталина. Как правнук репрессированного крестьянина требует справедливости.” (Medvedev: Bring Everyone to Justice: From an NKVD Investigator to Stalin. How the great-grandson of a repressed peasant is seeking justice.). TV Rain, 27 July 2016.


“For four years, Denis Karagodin has been gathering information about the fate of his great-grandfather, who was executed by the NKVD during the Stalinist terror in 1938. He demands that the FSB release his great-grandfather’s body, name the executioners, and hold the entire chain of those responsible for the killing accountable — from the driver to Stalin. He created the project stepanivanovichkaragodin.org [The KARAGODIN® Investigation], where he collects all available information about his great-grandfather’s fate.

Video: https://tvrain.tv/teleshow/medvedev/privlech_vseh_ot_sledovatelja_nkvd_do_stalina-414187/

Sergey Medvedev, Denis Karagodin.
“Медведев: Российский Нюрнберг: во главе списка — Сталин, Молотов, Каганович. Как частное расследование о судьбе расстрелянного прадеда превратилось в уголовное дело против советских палачей.” (Medvedev: The Russian Nuremberg: Stalin, Molotov, Kaganovich at the Top of the List. How a private investigation into an executed great-grandfather evolved into a criminal case against Soviet perpetrators). TV Rain, 5 April 2018.


“Denis Karagodin appears as a guest of Sergey Medvedev. Since 2012, he has been conducting an investigation into the fate of his great-grandfather, who was executed by the NKVD during the Stalinist terror in 1938. He created the project stepanivanovichkaragodin.org [The KARAGODIN® Investigation], where he collects all available information about his great-grandfather’s fate. At the time of the broadcast, a list of 32 individuals involved in the killing had already been established — from Stalin, Kaganovich, Molotov, Voroshilov, and Mikoyan to staff executioners, NKVD investigators, witnesses, and secretaries. As Karagodin explains, the main question is no longer whether it is possible to open a criminal case against the entire chain of those involved, but how exactly such a case can be initiated.”

Video: https://tvrain.tv/teleshow/medvedev/rossijskij_njurnberg-461211/

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (Russian Service)

The Russian-language service of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty has produced a substantial and sustained body of coverage devoted to Denis Karagodin and the KARAGODIN® Investigation, comprising no fewer than 57 articles, reports, and references.

The materials listed below represent a selective corpus, highlighting those publications that are particularly relevant to the author’s work and its public trajectory. This selection is intended as a focused entry point and does not exhaust the full extent of coverage available in the archive.

In progress…

Mediazona

  1. Mediazona (Editorial Staff)
    “Внучка сотрудника НКВД прислала письмо с извинениями томичу, установившему причастных к расстрелу деда в 1938 году” (Granddaughter of an NKVD Officer Sends a Letter of Apology to a Tomsk Resident Who Identified Those Responsible for His Grandfather’s Execution in 1938.). Mediazona, November 21, 2016.

Echo of Moscow (Radio)

The investigation conducted by Denis Karagodin — known as the KARAGODIN® Investigation — was repeatedly mentioned and discussed on the radio station Echo of Moscow in news broadcasts, analytical programs, and editorial discussions.

The investigation was also discussed on several occasions by the station’s journalists, invited guests, and commentators, including its editor-in-chief Alexey Venediktov.

Denis Karagodin himself appeared on the station multiple times as a guest commentator, including on programs hosted by Maksim Kurnikov (March 30, 2021) and Alexey Solomin (March 10, 2021), with Irina Babloyan serving as co-host.

The investigation also received attention in commentaries and essays by prominent contributors associated with Echo of Moscow, including political commentator Anton Orekh (Kravchenko). It was further discussed or referenced by journalists and public intellectuals such as Matvey Ganapolsky, Sergey Butman, and Kseniya Larina, as well as by invited experts including Vladimir Pastukhov.

Denis Karagodin also appeared in person in the Echo of Moscow studio, including on the morning program “Zhivoy Gvozd”, co-hosted by Alexander Plushev and Elena Lyakhovskaya, where he spoke about the investigation and answered questions from the host during the broadcast.

Following the closure of Echo of Moscow in 2022 and the removal of its website archives, most of these materials are no longer publicly accessible. As a result, direct links to the broadcasts cannot be provided, although the role of the station in covering and discussing the investigation is acknowledged here as an important part of the public discussion surrounding the investigation in Russia.

TV2 (Tomsk Independent Television)

The investigation conducted by Denis Karagodin — known as the KARAGODIN® Investigation — was repeatedly covered by the independent Tomsk television company TV2.

Journalists of the station produced a number of news reports and television segments about the investigation, including interviews with Denis Karagodin and coverage of developments related to the archival research and identification of individuals involved in the Stalin-era execution of his great-grandfather.

In addition to news coverage, TV2 journalists also published analytical commentaries and reflective pieces discussing the broader significance of the investigation for Russian society, including questions of historical memory, responsibility, and the legacy of Soviet political repression. Among those who wrote about the investigation were journalist Yulia Muchnik and TV2 editor-in-chief Viktor Muchnik, who examined the public and historical implications of the case and its resonance in contemporary Russia.

The station also published investigative materials connected with the project, including collaborative reporting on the role of Soviet-era officials in the repression system. Among these was a joint publication concerning Tomsk city prosecutor Nikolai Pilyushenko, whose activities during the period of political repression were examined in the investigation. The related research materials are available in the project publication “Dossier for the Prosecutor.”

Following the closure of TV2 and the removal of its online archive, most of these reports and publications are no longer publicly accessible. As a result, direct links to the original broadcasts and articles cannot be provided. Nevertheless, the role of TV2 in documenting and discussing the investigation remains an important part of the regional media coverage surrounding the KARAGODIN® Investigation.

Public Discussions

Selected public discussions

Nikolai Bobrinsky, Nikita Petrov, Nikolai Epple, Mikhail Velizhev, Irina Shcherbakova.
Программа вторых Чтений памяти Арсения Рогинского: Историк и судья.
(Program of the Second Arseny Roginsky Memorial Readings: Historian and Judge).
Roundtable discussion within the Second Roginsky Memorial Readings, International Memorial, Moscow, April 1, 2021.


This roundtable formed part of the Second Roginsky Memorial Readings, a conference посвящённой теме “The Historian’s Responsibility.” The discussion addressed the role of historians in establishing justice, confronting difficult pasts, and contributing to public understanding in situations of social division and incomplete state reckoning with historical violence.

The session was explicitly organized around the case of Denis Karagodin. Participants included legal scholar Nikolai Bobrinsky, historian of Soviet security services Nikita Petrov, cultural memory scholar Nikolai Epple, historian Mikhail Velizhev, and Memorial educator Irina Shcherbakova. In this context, the KARAGODIN® Investigation was presented as a significant case for discussing the relationship between historical knowledge, moral responsibility, and forms of justice in relation to Soviet-era repression.

Viktor Muchnik, Olga Malinova, Nikolai Epple.
Убить дважды: Колпашевский яр.
(To Kill Twice: Kolpashevsky Yar)
Public discussion following the screening of the documentary film Yar, Sakharov Center, Moscow, November 17, 2018.


The discussion addressed the history of the Kolpashevo mass grave in Tomsk region, where thousands of victims of NKVD executions in the 1930s were secretly buried and later concealed during a KGB operation in 1979. Participants examined the politics of historical memory in Russia and the challenges of confronting Soviet-era state violence.

Among those who took part in the discussion were historian and journalist Viktor Muchnik, political scientist Olga Malinova, and cultural historian Nikolai Epple; the discussion was moderated by economic journalist Boris Grozovsky. Journalist Dmitry Muratov — later a Nobel Peace Prize laureate — also spoke during the event, referring to contemporary efforts to identify individual perpetrators of Stalinist repression, including the KARAGODIN® Investigation.

During the discussion, the investigation conducted by Denis Karagodin was mentioned as an example of civic archival research that seeks to establish the names and responsibility of NKVD officials involved in political terror.

Documentation and video excerpts from the discussion are available at: https://karagodin.org/?p=21847

Ivan Kurilla.
Historical Memory and Politics in Russia 100 Years After the Revolution.
Public lecture. PONARS Eurasia, George Washington University (Russia Matters / Belfer Center, Harvard Kennedy School), Washington, DC, April 6, 2017.


In this presentation, historian Ivan Kurilla examined contemporary debates on historical memory in Russia in the context of the centennial of the Russian Revolution. Among the developments discussed was the legal investigation initiated in Tomsk by Denis Karagodin concerning the 1938 NKVD execution of his great-grandfather.

Russian State-Controlled and Pro-Government Media

Several Russian state-aligned media outlets — including federal television channels and major news agencies — reported on the KARAGODIN® Investigation conducted by Denis Karagodin in a predominantly critical and, in a number of cases, inaccurate or misleading manner.

This coverage frequently involved distortions of the investigation’s aims, selective presentation or misinterpretation of archival evidence, and attempts to discredit both the project and its author within a broader ideological and political context, which often finds parallel expression in more formalized interpretative models within academic discourse.

Documented Media Coverage (Selected Sources):

Press Media

RIA Novosti

  1. Maxim Sokolov.
    “Суд над историей, или Зачем предъявлять иск мертвецам” (Putting History on Trial: Why Bring Charges Against the Dead?). RIA Novosti, 26 May 2021.
  2. RIA Novosti.
    “Сын сотрудника НКВД заявил в полицию на правнука расстрелянного сибиряка” (Son of an NKVD Officer Filed a Police Complaint Against the Great-Grandson of an Executed Siberian). RIA Novosti, 19 August 2021.

Izvestia

  1. Natalia Oss.
    “Я боюсь справедливости” (“I Am Afraid of Justice”). Izvestia, 23 November 2016.
  2. Platon Besedin.
    “Черти беспамятства” (“Demons of Forgetfulness”). Izvestia, 19 December 2016.
  3. Izvestia (Editorial Staff)
    “Внучка палача из НКВД публично попросила прощения за деда” (“Granddaughter of an NKVD executioner publicly asked forgiveness for her grandfather”). Izvestia, 26 November 2017.

Komsomolskaya Pravda

  1. Dmitry Olshansky.
    “Как жить со списком палачей за пазухой” (How to Live with a List of Executioners in Your Pocket). Komsomolskaya Pravda, 24 November 2016.
  2. Alena Prokina.
    “34-летний житель Томска рассекретил имена палачей НКВД, убивших его деда 78 лет назад” (34-Year-Old Tomsk Resident Revealed the Names of NKVD Executioners Who Killed His Grandfather 78 Years Ago). Komsomolskaya Pravda, 25 November 2016.
  3. Elena Afonina.
    “Надо ли было рассекречивать данные сотрудников НКВД?” (Should the Data of NKVD Officers Have Been Declassified?). Komsomolskaya Pravda, 30 November 2016.
  4. Dmitry Steshin.
    “Не будите в своих предках палачей и жертв. Иначе 37-й год вернется” (Do Not Awaken Executioners and Victims in Your Ancestors. Otherwise, 1937 Will Return). Komsomolskaya Pravda, 5 December 2016.
  5. Vladimir Vorsobin, Dmitry Steshin.
    “Эхо сталинских репрессий: Надо ли делить своих предков на палачей и жертв” (Echoes of Stalinist Repressions: Should We Divide Our Ancestors into Executioners and Victims?). Komsomolskaya Pravda, 5 May 2021.
  6. Dmitry Steshin.
    “Не множьте зло на зло. Иначе 37-й год вернется” (Do Not Multiply Evil with Evil. Otherwise, 1937 Will Return). Komsomolskaya Pravda, 5 May 2021.

Moskovskij Komsomolets – MK

  1. Andrey Kamakin*.
    “Ненаказуемое прошлое: нужно ли искать палачей НКВД” (Unpunished Past: Should the Perpetrators of the NKVD Be Sought?). Moskovsky Komsomolets (MK), November 22, 2016.
  2. Antonina Rybakova.
    “Потомка репрессированного сибиряка пытаются обвинить в незаконном сборе информации” (Descendant of a Repressed Siberian Accused of Illegal Information Gathering). Moskovsky Komsomolets (MK), March 29, 2017.
  3. Irena Voronik.
    “СК проверит расследователя преступлений НКВД в Томске” (Investigative Committee to Examine Researcher of NKVD Crimes in Tomsk). Moskovsky Komsomolets (MK), March 30, 2017.
  4. Andrey Kamakin*.
    “Правнук расстрелянного НКВД крестьянина намерен добиться суда над вождями СССР” (Great-Grandson of NKVD-Executed Peasant Seeks Trial of Soviet Leaders). Moskovsky Komsomolets (MK), November 14, 2017.
  5. Stanislav Mikryukov.
    “Еще один экс-томич отказался от Родины” (Another Former Tomsk Resident Renounces His Homeland). Moskovsky Komsomolets (MK), January 21, 2017.
  6. Moskovsky Komsomolets (MK).
    “Женщина-палач из НКВД прожила жизнь в почете: архивные фото” (Female NKVD Executioner Lived a Life of Honor: Archival Photographs). Moskovsky Komsomolets (MK), October 30, 2019.

Svobodnaya Pressa

  1. Vladimir Linderman.
    “Национальная премия России вручена иностранцу” (A Russian National Award Granted to a Foreigner). Svobodnaya Pressa, January 16, 2017.

Tomskaya Nedelya

  1. Semen Kryukov.
    “Проект “Денис Карагодин”. Экзистенциальный лом против государства.” (“The Denis Karagodin Project”: An Existential Breach Against the State.). Tomskaya Nedelya (Tomsk Week), No. 20 (1397), May 17, 2019.

KARAGODIN.COM — Editorial Note: The phrase “Existential Crowbar” (“экзистенциальный лом“) derives from a conceptual framework originally developed by Denis Karagodin and first introduced in his article “Произошло убийство” (“An Act of Murder Occurred”). The author uses this concept without attribution.

Amurskaya Pravda


Media Genesis

Original publication marking the first known media reference to Stepan Karagodin and serving as the point of origin for the media dimension of the case. This article is historically associated with the initial wave of repression against him and reveals the early function of media as an instrument shaping events. Within the KARAGODIN® Investigation, this condition is inverted, with media reappropriated as a tool of analysis, documentation, public accountability, and discursive counter-response within the same media field operating as a structure shaping political reality.

  1. Tambovsky.
    “Веселый эффект” (A Peculiar Effect). Amurskaya Pravda, March 7, 1928.

Later Coverage

  1. Amurskaya Pravda.
    “Правнук первого казака-переселенца привезет в Приамурье материалы о прадеде” (Great-Grandson of One of the First Cossack Settlers Will Bring Archival Materials About His Great-Grandfather to the Amur Region). Amurskaya Pravda, April 22, 2013.
  2. Amurskaya Pravda.
    “Правнук нашел убийц главы амурского села через 78 лет после расстрела” (Descendant Identifies Killers of Head of an Amur Village 78 Years After Execution). Amurskaya Pravda, November 22, 2016.

Radio and Podcast Broadcasting

Vesti FM

  1. Armen Gasparyan.
    “Параллели”. Масса некрасивых деталей дела Дениса Карагодина (“Parallels.” A Number of Unsavory Details in the Denis Karagodin Case.). Broadcast on Vesti FM radio, November 27, 2016.

Komsomolskaya Pravda Radio

  1. Vladimir Vorsobin.
    “Гражданская оборона: “Сын за отца в ответе? Зачем потомки репрессированных затевают суды над НКВДшниками.“” (“Civil Defense.” Are Children Responsible for Their Fathers? Why Descendants of the Repressed Initiate Trials Against NKVD Officers. Broadcast on Komsomolskaya Pravda Radio, April 28, 2021.
  2. Oleg Kashin*, Eduard Chesnokov.
    “Олег Кашин [Отдельная тема]: Российское кино пережевывает наследие советского.” (Oleg Kashin: Russian Cinema Is Recycling the Soviet Legacy.) Program “Otelnaya Tema” (“A Separate Topic”). Komsomolskaya Pravda Radio, March 4, 2021.
  3. Oleg Kashin*, Eduard Chesnokov.
    “Олег Кашин [Отдельная тема]: Мощи России хватило бы, чтобы обеспечить достойный уровень жизни в Крыму.” (Oleg Kashin: Russia’s Resources Would Be Sufficient to Ensure a Decent Standard of Living in Crimea. Program “Otelnaya Tema” (“A Separate Topic”)). Komsomolskaya Pravda Radio, March 29, 2021.

Television Broadcasting

Russia-24

Konstantin Semin.
“Агитпроп. Выпуск от 26 ноября 2016 года” (Agitprop. Episode from November 26, 2016). Russia-24, 26 November 2016.


Video: https://smotrim.ru/video/1600075

Nikolai Svanidze*.
“Программа “Реплика“: Чистка исторических сосудов: жертвы, палачи и их потомки. Реплика Николая Сванидзе.” (“Clearing the Historical Vessels: Victims, Executioners, and Their Descendants.” Program “Replica”). Russia-24, November 30, 2016.


This segment, aired on the Russian state television channel Russia-24, presents a commentary by journalist and historian Nikolai Svanidze* addressing issues of historical memory, the legacy of Stalinist repression, and the societal implications of confronting past state violence.

Within the broadcast, Denis Karagodin’s investigation — developed within the framework of the KARAGODIN® Investigation — is referenced in the context of broader public discussions on accountability, archival transparency, and the identification of individuals involved in Soviet-era political repression.  

The commentary situates the KARAGODIN® Investigation alongside initiatives such as the publication of NKVD personnel records, framing it as part of an ongoing societal process of engaging with historical truth, responsibility, and the reconstruction of chains of accountability related to state violence.

Link (narrative): https://www.vesti.ru/article/1641103
Video: click

Konstantin Semin.
“Агитпроп. Выпуск от 28 января 2017 года” (Agitprop. Episode from January 28, 2017). Russia-24, January 28, 2017.


Video: https://smotrim.ru/video/1624346

Alexey Kazakov, Stanislav Bernvald.
“Вести с Алексеем Казаковым. Сибиряк Денис Карагодин обьявил, что нашел убийц своего прадеда, репрессированного в конце тридцатых. И, похоже, поспешил, потому что получил ответные обвинения в клевете.” (Vesti with Alexey Kazakov: Denis Karagodin, a Siberian resident, announced that he had identified those responsible for the killing of his great-grandfather, who was repressed in the late 1930s. However, the claim appears to have been premature, as it was followed by counter-allegations of defamation.). Russia-24, March 3, 2021.


“Denis Karagodin, a Siberian resident, announced that he had identified those responsible for the killing of his great-grandfather, who was repressed in the late 1930s. However, the claim appears to have been premature, as it was followed by counter-allegations of defamation.”

Video: https://smotrim.ru/video/2274303

Vladimir Solovyov.
“Вечер с Владимиром Соловьевым” (Evening with Vladimir Solovyov). Russia-24.


Video: to be updated…

NTV

Andrey Norkin, Ivan Trushkin.
“Место встречи: Болезненный процесс?!” (Meeting Place: A Painful Process?!). NTV, 1 April 2021.


“Who was dissatisfied with the investigation into NKVD repressions? Should we reconcile with the dark pages of our past? And why is no nation truly ready to repent for the sins of its ancestors?”

Video: https://www.ntv.ru/peredacha/Mesto_vstrechi/m52562/o648676/

Channel One Russia

Ekaterina Strizhenova, Artyom Sheynin.
“За прадеда. Время покажет. Выпуск от 09.12.2016” (For the Great-Grandfather. Time Will Tell. Episode from December 9, 2016). Channel One Russia, 9 December 2016.


“For several years, Denis Karagodin, the great-grandson of a peasant, Stepan Karagodin, who was repressed and executed in 1938, has been conducting his own investigation into his death. The study of archives and numerous requests to the FSB have yielded results. Denis identified the names of all those involved in his great-grandfather’s case and published their photographs on his website. Experts of the program “Time Will Tell” attempt to determine whether relatives should bear responsibility for the actions of their ancestors.”

Video: https://www.1tv.ru/shows/vremya-pokazhet/vypuski/za-pradeda-vremya-pokazhet-vypusk-ot-09-12-2016

Ekaterina Strizhenova, Ruslan Ostashko.
“Время покажет: Cкандальное расследование жителя Томска о судьбе его прадеда, который был расстрелян в 1938 году. Выпуск от 04.03.2021” (Time Will Tell: A Controversial Investigation by a Tomsk Resident into the Fate of His Great-Grandfather, Executed in 1938.). Channel One Russia, March 4, 2021.


“Time Will Tell (Vremya Pokazhet) is a televised discussion program in which experts, politicians, and political analysts examine current issues in public and political life at both national and global levels.

Time Will Tell: A Controversial Investigation by a Tomsk Resident [Denis Karagodin] into the Fate of His Great-Grandfather, Executed in 1938.”

Video (fragment): https://www.1tv.ru/shows/vremya-pokazhet/vypuski/o-kachestve-shkolnogo-pitaniya-vremya-pokazhet-fragment-vypuska-ot-04-03-2021

Video (full): https://www.1tv.ru/shows/vremya-pokazhet/vypuski/vremya-pokazhet-vypusk-ot-04-03-2021

KARAGODIN.COM – Analytical Note:

[*] Russian Journalists in State-Controlled and Pro-Government Media Engaging with Karagodin’s Work in a Methodologically Grounded and Analytically Consistent Manner

This list includes authors whose public statements engage with Denis Karagodin’s research, including the KARAGODIN® Investigation, in a substantively grounded and analytically consistent manner, reflecting an understanding of its methodological framework and evidentiary basis within a professional journalistic context.

Included in this list:

  1. Andrey Kamakin
  2. Nikolai Svanidze
  3. Oleg Kashin