Aksana Panova is a Russian journalist, most known for leading the news sites Ura.ru and . She also served as campaign manager for Yevgeny Roizman's successful opposition campaign for Mayor of Yekaterinburg in 2013.[1] [2]
Panova launched Ura.ru as an independent news website in 2006.[3]
In 2006 and 2007, she led an investigation into businessman Konstantin Kremko for Ura.ru. In 2012, Kremko accused her of having extorted a bribe out of him.[4] [5]
In July 2013, she pleaded guilty to tax evasion, stating that she had withdrawn $400 000 from Ura.ru's bank accounts and transferred them to accounts set up for non-existent companies with the goal of paying staff salaries without having to pay welfare taxes.[6] In December 2013, the court dismissed one of the charges against her.[7]
In 2014, the court found her guilty of extortion, handing down a two-year suspended sentence, including a 400 000 rubles fine and being banned from conducting journalism for two years.[8]
The trial was met with widespread controversy among journalists and human rights groups, with several saying that it represented a crackdown on investigative journalism in Russia.[9] [10] OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović stated that the trial "marks a worrying trend for free media in Russia and can stifle critical speech in the country."[11]
Panova founded Znak.com in December 2012.[12] [13]
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Znak.com announced that it would be suspending its operations "due to a large number of restrictions that have recently been imposed on the work of media outlets in Russia."[14]