Hidden Camera Exposes Russian Propaganda Film Crew in Prague

In Prague's Letná district, reporters exposed a film crew from Rybar, a Russian propaganda outlet operating as a Telegram channel with 1.5 million subscribers, funded in part by the late Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and Russia's state-owned defence conglomerate Rostec. The crew arrived under the pretext of interviewing Czech media literacy expert Bohumil Kartous, but the moment they spotted journalists, both men tried to conceal their identities and fled.

Rybar's founder, Mikhail Zvinchuk, has been under EU sanctions for more than three years for aiding Russia's war effort against Ukraine, and in 2024 the US government offered a reward of up to $10 million for information about the organisation. Despite this, Rybar's film crews move freely around the Schengen zone, as their members have long resided in the EU and require no visas. In the Czech Republic, they could face up to eight years in prison for a potential violation of sanctions.

An Invitation from "Boris" with a Hint of Intelligence Work

Journalists lured the crew into a meeting under the guise of an interview with Kartous, who had previously been contacted on WhatsApp by a man calling himself "Boris" — a producer from the "Rybar analytical centre" — writing from a Russian phone number. The message reached him despite the fact that Russian authorities have blocked WhatsApp within Russia since February.

"Boris" explained that the centre was producing a documentary series about the political and economic situation in Europe and planned to film in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, France and Russia, offering to cover logistics and some expenses.

Journalists determined that behind the account was Boris Dvorkin, a Moscow resident who publicly presents himself as a documentary historian. According to the investigation, his projects are funded by the "History of the Fatherland" Foundation, established by a decree of Vladimir Putin and headed by Sergei Naryshkin, director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service.

A Confession Right in Front of the Camera

At the meeting point in Letná, journalists were met by two men who introduced themselves as Vitaly and Igor. One of them claimed to have held a German residence permit for more than ten years. Photographs allowed reporters to identify them: the cameraman was Igor Dolmatov, while "Vitaly" turned out to be Vitaly Chashchukhin, a well-known contributor to the sanctioned Russian propaganda outlets Izvestia, Channel Five and Ren TV.

Unaware that he was being filmed on Kartous's hidden camera, Chashchukhin himself confirmed: "This is a Rybar project. Maybe you know it. It's Rybar." When the journalists revealed themselves and asked the pair to explain the purpose of their visit, both crew members silently bolted in different directions and disappeared down the stairs near Čech Bridge.

Reaction from Officials and Those Involved

According to Finance Ministry spokeswoman Gabriela Krušinová, providing services to a company controlled by a sanctioned individual may be treated as indirectly supplying that person with economic resources — an offence punishable in the Czech Republic by a fine of up to 50 million crowns or criminal prosecution. Sanctions expert Jiří Skuhrovec of the organisation DatLab noted that, given the scale of the activity, it could well amount to a criminal offence.

When questioned by journalists, Boris Dvorkin claimed that Chashchukhin was a colleague who had merely helped out in his spare time with a single interview, which he said never actually took place and was never paid for. However, according to the outlet's findings, the crew had already obtained a list of at least seven more Czech interviewees, and Andor Šándor, the former head of Czech military intelligence, confirmed that a filming session with him had indeed taken place — though he later withdrew his consent after suspecting the Russian-accented team of manipulative editing.

The investigation also identified other people involved: Margarita Kostiv, a Russian national who has worked with the same sanctioned media outlets, and a producer going by the name Tanya Petrova, who tried to recruit Slovak commentator Samo Marec for the filming. Marec did not respond to the offer, describing Rybar's content as "generally very pro-Russian."

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Source: seznamzpravy.cz