Former editor-in-chief of Politics Today Ksenia Parfenova left for Spain. This publication is part of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s media group, which is under sanctions

Ksenia Parfenova, who headed the editorial office of Politika Segodnya, which is part of the Patriot media group of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of PMC Wagner, left for Spain, writes Rotunda.

Parfenova took over as editor-in-chief of Politika Segodnya in the fall of 2022 (according to sources, the previous editor-in-chief urgently left for Kazakhstan amid announced mobilization, according to Rotunda).

In mid-February 2023, Parfenova said on social networks, she applied for a Spanish student Schengen, submitting a certificate of employment. After the European Union imposed sanctions on the Patriot group on February 25, Parfenova wrote, she was sure that she would not receive a visa. “But on March 1, they invited me for a passport. Unbelievable, but they did!” she reported.

In March 2023, Parfenova wrote a letter of resignation, but, as Rotunda points out, she is still mentioned on the Patriot website as a member of the coordinating council of the media group.

Parfenova has been working in structures associated with Prigozhin since 2014, including at the “troll factory” in Olgino. Having taken the post of editor-in-chief of Politika Segodnya, Parfyonova, according to the source of the publication, was “not delighted” with her work, but, like all colleagues, “justified herself by the fact that everywhere and all journalism is like that.”

Parfenova, judging by the posts in her social networks, does not plan to return to Russia yet. She refused to answer questions from Rotunda journalists, saying that she “would like to pause any relationship with the media.”

• The inclusion of companies in the sanctions lists does not directly entail the denial of visas to their employees (unless they are personally sanctioned). However, when considering a visa application, this fact, as well as other information about the person requesting permission to enter the country, can be taken into account and influence the decision.