Corruption and War Through the Eyes of Independent Russian Journalists

Important Stories (IStories) is an independent media outlet launched by a group of Russian investigative reporters in April 2020. It specializes in collaborative investigative reporting, data journalism, and video investigations. On March 6, 2022, IStories was designated “an undesirable organization” by the Kremlin, part of a widespread effort by the Russian government to silence journalists that have reported extensively about corruption. Recent articles published by IStories have been cited as evidence in the justification of Russian sanctions by the UK government. 

The IStories team has relocated to other countries from where it continues to report about power and corruption in Russia and the invasion of Ukraine. Its stories focus on the hidden assets of sanctioned Russian officials and their cronies; Moscow’s propaganda and disinformation campaigns; and the human cost of the war in Ukraine. 

These are the journalists who for years have been exposing the Kremlin’s abuses at a high personal risk. Their data-driven, methodic reporting provides insights into the business and motivations of Russian elites that we rarely see in Western media. IStories then illustrates, in deeply reported features, the toll that corruption takes on the lives of ordinary Russian citizens and their Ukrainian neighbors.