Deputy editor resigns over pressure to release ‘exclusive’ videos about Putin’s alleged palace

Sergey Titov, the deputy editor of pro-Kremlin media outlet Mash, has announced his resignation. This comes after the outlet released an “exclusive” video filmed at Vladimir Putin’s alleged Black Sea palace, followed by an interview in which billionaire Arkady Rotenberg came forward claiming to be the property’s real owner.

Though Titov didn’t refer to these publications explicitly, his announcement on Telegram referenced recent “videos” the outlet had published:

I know everything about Mash’s reputation, I know about the shameful things, but we really did everything we could (when we could). We [supported] Golunov and fiercely supported the people in Belarus […] We lived in this grey zone and fought desperately for the opportunity not to write shit. But then they decided differently. You saw the videos yourself. The work of talented people, […] all of our experiences simply crossed out by the decisions of people in suits who [don’t care] about journalists.

Titov underscored that he cares deeply about the media holding that own Mash and has respect for the outlet’s editor-in-chief, Maxim Iksanov, adding that “they didn’t decide all this.” “But higher up it’s like in the goddamn USSR,” he said.

• On January 29, Mash released video footage allegedly recorded inside the seaside residence reportedly built for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mash editor-in-chief Maxim Iksanov claimed to have gotten access to the grounds from an unnamed technical supervisor. In the video, Iksanov also calls on the project’s owner to come forward. That same day, The Insider published an article linking Iksanov to the Russian Presidential Administration.
• On January 30, Mash released an interview in which Russian billionaire and long-time Putin associate Arkady Rotenberg tells Iksanov that he’s the owner of the property attributed to Putin. Allegedly, he plans to turn it into a hotel.