Rashkin Report

Gregory Shvedov, Editor-in-Chief of "Caucasian Knot", a media organization dedicated to covering Chechnya and Caucuses region of Russia, was threatened on Instagram by Chechen leader's Ramzan Kadyrov, right-hand man, and speaker of Chechnya parliament Magomet Daudov. Mr. Shvedov is not taking this quietly and is filing legal complaints, calling for an official investigation. In this conversation, Caucasian Knot's Editor-in-Chief explains why he feels it is important to continue to use courts and legal means, to fight against social media threats that some may consider to be either not as threatening, or too threatening to complain. Mr. Shvedov explained that the most effective way to create pressure on Chechen leaders who routinely intimidate people over social media, is to apply public pressure to them, which is what he is doing, in part by going public with his complaints. Mr. Shvedov received a lot of support from journalists within Russia and Europe, which he found important, pleasing and reassuring.