Full Breakdown
FSB Dawn Raids Force Investigative Journalists into Exile as They Publish Controversial Putin Biography
By Drooid · · How we work
Dawn Raids and Immediate Aftermath
At 6 a.m. on June 29, 2021, Roman Badanin was awakened by a knock on his Moscow apartment door. Masked men identified as officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB) forced entry, while a parallel raid occurred at the home of his colleague Mikhail Rubin. Both journalists are founders of the independent investigative outlet Proekt. The raids served as a stark warning; Rubin later found his passport deliberately placed on a table, a signal that the agents wanted him to leave the country. Within less than three weeks, the Kremlin declared Proekt “undesirable,” prompting Rubin to leave Moscow the next morning, choosing exile over imprisonment.
The Biography “The Tsar in Person”
Badanin and Rubin have spent four decades conducting investigations and hundreds of interviews, culminating in a near-800-page biography titled *The Tsar in Person*. Published only in Russian and French, the work traces Vladimir Putin’s rise from a low-level KGB operative to a ruler who has held power since 2000. The authors portray Putin as a modern-day tsar lacking ideology, driven by a desire to remain in power, and responsible for “limitless cruelty.” Badanin says the book is aimed at young Russians and international readers to counter myths about the president. The Kremlin has banned the volume.
Official Statements & Responses
Roman Badanin told *Le Monde* that the biography is intended to let “the facts reveal the truth” about Putin and his system, emphasizing that the war in Ukraine is a tool for power retention rather than an expression of ideology. Badanin, now residing in California, reported that FBI agents visited his home “last year” to warn him of a credible threat of an attack by foreign special services.
Verbatim Quote
- “I left Moscow the next morning,” — Mikhail Rubin
Impact and Ongoing Threats
Even from abroad, both journalists describe continued intimidation they label “Putin’s death squads,” suggesting the Kremlin’s reach extends to dissidents overseas. Their exile underscores a broader climate of fear and violence that independent media in Russia face, reinforcing concerns among international observers about press freedom under Putin’s rule.