‘I hope this stigma stays with him for life’

Two years ago, reporter Alina Shcheglova told Meduza about being raped. Now her attacker — a fellow journalist — is finally going to prison.

Two years ago, Meduza wrote about Alina Shcheglova, a journalist in Veliky Novgorod who came forward about being raped by local newspaper editor-in-chief Mikhail Bogolyubov. She sought publicity for her case after filing charges privately and realizing that police would ignore the attack without public pressure. For the past two years, Shcheglova has testified in courtrooms that Bogolyubov sexually assaulted her, while his lawyers blamed her for the incident, arguing that she never resisted Bogolyubov’s advances, claiming that she delayed going to the police, and characterizing her as a “promiscuous” woman. On September 30, 2021, the Novgorod Regional Court upheld Bogolyubov’s April 2021 conviction by a district court, sustaining his four-year prison sentence. Meduza special correspondent Irina Kravtsova, who wrote about Alina Shcheglova two years ago, sat down with her to talk about the case, whether she regrets speaking out, and how the whole ordeal has changed her.

‘I expected the consequences’

Alina, is it true that you first spoke about the assault publicly in an interview with Meduza?

Yes, that’s right. Local news outlets were afraid to write about this story. Back then, the editor-in-chief of the Novgorod publication Vashi Novosti wrote about the case very vaguely — that a certain journalist pressed rape charges, mentioning neither my name nor his [Mikhail Bogolyubov’s]. Afterward, the editor-in-chief was summoned to the Investigative Committee and told that he should not publish this story under any circumstances. He was forced to sign a confidentiality agreement, even though he wasn’t a witness or a person of interest in the case. After that, nobody wanted to publish the story.

Were you scared before we spoke? Scared about telling a national news outlet about being raped?

Of course, I was. This isn’t the kind of fame you’d want, to put it lightly. But the prospect of the rapist going unpunished was scarier. He’s already gotten away with this once, and I am sure that other girls and women would’ve fallen victim to him. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I let him get away with what he did, and then found out that he did it to someone else, too. How could I look my daughters in the eye knowing that a rapist walks free in this town, and I did nothing to bring him to justice? So, I took a risk. And I am very happy that the risk paid off.

Why did you decide to do this?

I had no choice, because I knew that the longer I waited, the more likely it was that the case would be swept under the rug. Bogolyubov’s wife is a police colonel and she pressured me to drop charges, even though that’s illegal. Later I found out that she spoke to the investigators about my case. It became clear that this case wouldn’t go anywhere without publicity.

You mentioned that after Meduza published the report, strangers would send you threats on social media. What do you think pushed them to do that?

Oh, yes. It was mostly men who messaged me; about 75 percent of senders were men. They wrote all kinds of nasty things: that this couldn’t have happened, that “I wouldn’t get it up looking at you,” they made awful comments about my appearance and demanded that I drop the charges. They claimed that since I wasn’t sober, I basically asked for it.

Women I didn’t know messaged me, too. A small portion of them wrote the same things as the men, that this couldn’t have happened and that I should drop the charges. The rest wrote that a similar thing had happened to them, but they didn’t have the courage to go to the police.

Approximately how many people messaged you?

Since the article was published, I’ve received more than a hundred private messages. I remember how my phone would quickly run out of battery because messages just kept coming in. I even made my VK profile private. It was complete strangers from different cities who messaged me. Some had families and pets in their profile photos. People who think of themselves as normal and well-socialised were writing such horrible things to a woman they didn’t know, who was a victim of a violent crime. I still have around 60 unread messages.

It really was a great mystery for me: what has to happen in your thought process for you to write hateful messages to a complete stranger after reading a story about them in the news? You can’t know the whole situation, you will likely never meet them, and they probably don’t care about your opinion. So, what’s the point?

Did you ever regret going public with this story?

I expected the consequences. I was sure that this would happen. I’ve seen how people on the Internet react to stories like this. And most women who face violence aren’t ready for this. I completely understand: it takes so much courage to report such a crime, and then you get hit with another wave of shit.

‘He kept lying and digging himself a deeper hole’

This morning, when I wanted to get in touch with you, it turned out that I had lost your number, so I messaged your husband and asked him to give it to me. He replied, “What, are there new developments in the story?” Did you break up?

Yes, we broke up. It has nothing to do with this story, but at the same time it does. We discussed a divorce before it had happened, but we weren’t determined to separate. And then this happened, and it had a bad impact on our relationship. I was angry at him for initially not supporting me. He was the first person I told, and he didn’t believe me. So… after that, I couldn’t look at him the same way. The trust was gone. This was the worst thing that could’ve happened to me, and he just said, “This couldn’t be!” He should have asked me what happened and listened, and only then drawn his own conclusions. Of course, this had a big impact on our decision to get divorced.

It was funny that Bogolyubov’s supporters claimed that I accused an innocent person in order to avoid a divorce. But I didn’t try to avoid the divorce. In the end, we got divorced after I had decided to leave him for another man, so I suggested that we finally end the relationship.

Why did Bogolyubov’s lawyers make these claims, when from the very beginning you had evidence that you were assaulted?

I indeed had proof, but he kept lying and digging himself into a deeper hole. But the thing is, in court, no matter how much proof I had, his supporters kept trying to prove that I am a “loose woman” and that’s why Bogolyubov did what he did.

How did they try to prove in court that you’re “promiscuous”?

In the beginning, the defense team tried to establish just how “promiscuous” I am. They asked my colleagues if they had observed any promiscuity in my behavior. As far as I know, they all replied that I have three small children and that I had only started working with them a year ago. Even if I wanted to, I just didn’t have the time for cheating or an affair. I think I’m very lucky that nobody was able to “prove” that I’m promiscuous because if they could, it would be much more difficult for me to defend my position in a Russian court.

What questions did Mikhail Bogolyubov’s lawyers ask you in court?

They fixated on the fact that I didn’t go to the police the very next day after it happened. On a Saturday! They asked, “How many years have you been using the Internet?” and I responded, “Why does it matter?” They would then say, “Well, since you are familiar with the Internet, why couldn’t you figure out how to get in touch with the police on a weekend?” And so on. They were particularly pushy with questions about my relationships with men, and whether I flirt. They asked witnesses if they would characterize me as a flirt.

One of the defense’s tactics was claiming that I was allegedly hiding an affair, so as to avoid a divorce. Well here you go, he was found guilty, and I’m divorced. And it’s now clear that I never tried to hide any affair, because there was no affair. Besides, I wasn’t afraid of the divorce: I got divorced because I felt like it was needed.

How did you find your lawyer?

I was told that lawyers in Novgorod cooperate with investigators, so there’s no point in hiring them. So, I tried to find a defense lawyer in St Petersburg. In the end, my lawyer’s wife called me herself and told me that they read my story in Meduza, and it made her husband furious. She offered me his services.

I remember that when it all happened, the Novgorod Journalists’ Union was not on your side since they hadn’t seen any proof that Bogolyubov was guilty. Did they eventually support you?

No. And it’s sad that the very people who wrote how I wouldn’t be able to look them in the eye when it turned out that there was no crime, in the end were the ones who couldn’t look me in the eye and admit that they were wrong. And they’ll never admit that they were wrong, because they’re still convinced that this never happened to me. They think the investigation just took my word for it.

Of course, this wasn’t the case. Anyone who is even a little bit familiar with our justice system knows that anything a victim says must be corroborated by evidence. The accused does not have to defend their innocence— they are taken at their word. Any contradictions work in the favor of the accused.

My lawyer and I decided to fight my case. I’m tremendously grateful to him: he was my biggest source of support. I couldn’t have done it without him. We managed to prove everything, and the court had no doubt that Bogolyubov was guilty. I am very happy that even the appeals didn’t change his sentence.

Did attitudes towards Bogolyubov change after the verdict? Amongst locals and amongst journalists? You mentioned that even the city’s administration wrote positive letters about him for the court hearing, and many were on his side until the end.

I think everyone stood by their opinion, verdict or no verdict. That’s just how it is in Russia. This whole situation happened in October [2019], and he wasn’t fired until December. Actually, he wasn’t even fired — he resigned. I know for sure that he had no desire to resign. And even despite his public resignation as editor-in-chief, he still kept working at the same newspaper. He worked there until the end, until he was taken away in handcuffs.

When it all started, his wife asked you to drop the charges…

I don’t think she did it out of desire to cover up for a rapist. I think she was just worried about her own job. If the charges had been dropped, it probably would have been easier for her at work.

Did they get divorced?

Yes.

‘I’ve become a different person’

How have you changed after everything you’ve been through?

You know, a year ago I thought that it didn’t really affect me. Now I realize how wrong I was. I can tell how traumatized I am. It’s quite clear, based on my personal life.

I was a victim, and I’m haunted by this. I wasn’t the winner in this situation at all. I just held myself together and did everything in my power to make sure he went to prison. This was catastrophic for my mental health. Naturally, I’m not doing great.

Could you please elaborate?

I thought everything was fine. I hardly ever think back to what happened. For me, this story is over. But the problem is, I can’t just forget it and let go.

I’ve become a different person. My behavior and my confidence in myself changed, and my belief in how I should be treated did too. Instead of feeling like a winner and someone who was able to overcome this situation, I find myself in situations where I let people treat me worse than I deserve. I had hoped that this victory would make me stronger. But, in fact, everything that happened was very detrimental to my relationship with myself.

Unfortunately, this story did not make me stronger. I really regret that there aren’t any organizations in Russia that could help me. I could call a helpline, but I know that a one-on-one session with a specialist would help me much more than a phone consultation. But in Russia that is exceptionally difficult, especially in the regions.

I used to have a psychologist, and I’m very grateful for her and everything she’s done for me. She believed me and believed in justice. I think I quit too early because I thought I didn't need help anymore. I should’ve stayed in therapy. Probably, I needed the help of a psychiatrist, because this is very serious trauma.

Do the people in your hometown treat you differently?

I recently talked to someone who is active in our town. He said how he couldn’t believe that someone like me — someone “so small and fragile” — managed to achieve justice, because it’s just impossible to get our police to do their jobs. It was a big moment for me because it’s true, I really did manage the impossible.

However, there hasn’t been anyone brave enough to admit that they were wrong when they didn’t believe me at first. We’re all brave when it comes to writing things online, but few can talk to a person face to face. That’s why I’m proud of myself for being able to go through with this and tell my story— through the justice system. I said and did everything I wanted.

But there are still people who think the accusations are groundless. They will continue to think so, no verdict will convince them otherwise.

Why do you think people are so determined not to believe victims?

I guess they think that if a woman has ulterior motives, it takes nothing for her to accuse an innocent person. For some reason, people here think I did it “for the clout,” since the feminist movement is so popular. They think the hype would bring a victim some kind of benefit.

Were you accused of this?

Of course. I knew I would be. This is why I didn’t file a civil claim against the accused so that no one would be able to say that I did it “for the clout.” I had nothing to gain from my words or actions. I just wanted him to be held accountable for what he did.

Because now, when he leaves prison, everyone will know why he was locked up and what he might do. Women will be wary of him. I hope that this stigma will stay with him for life.

Unfortunately, in our society, it's common for people to believe the rapists rather than the victims. Because usually the rapist isn’t a nasty creep from the street, but rather a person close to you: a colleague you’ve known for 20 years, who has never said a mean word to you. If three years ago someone had told me that this would happen, and who the rapist would be, I wouldn’t have believed them. I knew this person, and my husband knew him too— they’re childhood friends. My God.

After having gone through all this, what advice would you give to other women who have faced violence?

I would tell them that any choice they make — whether to go to the police or not— is valid. Only the woman herself can decide what to do. Each one decides for herself whether she can go down this road and what it will cost her. I was able to do it, but I wasn’t alone: my sister, my friends, and my acquaintances had my back. But not everyone has this kind of support. I had the ability to go to the press, and I used this resource, but not everyone has this and not everyone is ready to talk about these incidents publicly, like I did. And they certainly can’t be blamed for any decision they make in this situation.

Interview by Irina Kravtsova

Abridged translation by Maria Zelenova