The second service of the FSB is known for its program of poisoning and killings of Russian oppositionists. But, as The Insider found out, literally the same unit that poisoned Navalny and monitored Boris Nemtsov has been responsible for the state doping program in Russian sports over the past years. The doping itself is produced by the same Signal center that synthesized Novichok and epibatidine. Available in English Contents 1. FSB between poisons and doping 2. Family contract 3.

FSB colonel Dmitry Kovalev has traveled the world to support Team Russia, sitting with his colleagues in the stands at hockey matches in South Korea and appearing before Swiss courts to argue, in his professional capacity, against the decisions of international authorities to punish Russian athletes over their state's systematic doping programs.

As The Insider was able to establish, the synthesis of epibatidine (the poison that killed Alexei Navalny) was carried out by employees of the Signal Scientific Center, and some components that could be used for the synthesis of this poison were imported into Russia by ABCR Chemi Rus LLC, whose managers were found in calls from Signal employees. ABCR Chemi Rus LLC is 90% owned by the German company abcr GmbH.

As The Insider previously established, it was Russia’s Signal Scientific Center that had carried out the synthesis of the epibatidine poison that was used to kill Alexei Navalny. Some of the substances identical to those that may have been used for its synthesis, were imported into Russia by ABCR Chemi Rus LLC, whose managers appeared in the phone records of Signal employees.

Center 795, which emerged after the start of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine and comprises elite units from the GRU and FSB, was established as a top-secret and fully autonomous entity designed to carry out the most critical operations, ranging from military missions in Ukraine to political assassinations and abductions abroad. The Insider has managed to identify all of the center’s key leaders and sponsors, determine its location, and pinpoint its main areas of activity.

Appearing during a full-scale war, Center 795, which includes the elite forces of the GRU and the FSB, was created as a top-secret and completely autonomous structure intended for the most important operations, ranging from military operations in Ukraine to political assassinations and kidnappings abroad. The Insider was able to identify all the key leaders and sponsors of this center, establish its location and the main directions of its activities.

Investigations Roman Dobrokhotov , Hristo Grozev February 26, 2026 On February 19, Russian woman Nomma Zarubina, arrested in the United States, made a deal with the investigation and pleaded guilty to giving false testimony regarding her cooperation with the FSB and engaging in prostitution. The Insider studied some details of the activities of agent “Alice,” which included attempts to seduce opposition members on behalf of the FSB and infiltrate think tanks related to international security.

Investigations Roman Dobrokhotov , Christo Grozev 26 February 2026 On Feb. 19, Nomma Zarubina agreed to a plea bargain.

On Feb. 19, Nomma Zarubina agreed to a plea bargain.

General Vladimir Kondratyev, the director of Russia’s State Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology (GosNIIOKhT), published a paper in 2014 on the testing of epibatidine, the toxin used to poison Alexei Navalny. The trials were ostensibly conducted to determine epibatidine’s analgesic effect, but the content of the article suggests that research actually focused on methods for detecting the substance.

Investigations Roman Dobrokhotov 20 February 2026 Investigation: Laboratory. How employees of NII-2 FSB are poisoning activists, journalists and public figures General Kondratyev, director of GosNIIOKhT (the institute that participated in the creation of Novichok), in 2014 published an article about the trial of epibatidine, which was later used to poison Navalny.

Доступно на русском In 2013–2014, the GosNIIOKhT research institute published two papers on epibatidine. The first focused on synthesizing the poison, while the second dealt with testing its effects on the body. The second paper, titled “Non-Opioid Analgesics. Analytical Support of Preclinical Trials of Endo-Epibatidine,” was ostensibly meant to study the substance’s pain-relieving properties. In reality, however, only a few lines were devoted to its analgesic effect.

Доступно на русском The Kremlin controls half of the sociopolitical content After the start of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, the German segment of Telegram was flooded with channels spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda. Some that had previously been negligible in size grew to hundreds of thousands of subscribers within a short period, and the disinformation they circulated was picked up by even larger German-language Telegram channels.

Investigations 6 February 2026 Approximately half of all socio-political content in the German Telegram segment is controlled by the RT network and continues to actively spread pro-Kremlin disinformation, an analysis by The Insider and Novaya Gazeta Europe shows. The channels began to pump up their audience immediately after the full-scale invasion and, despite European sanctions, continue to actively promote fake news.

After the start of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, the German segment of Telegram was flooded with channels spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda. Some that had previously been negligible in size grew to hundreds of thousands of subscribers within a short period, and the disinformation they circulated was picked up by even larger German-language Telegram channels.