On 11 June 2024, the office of online media outlet Arktichesky Obozrevatel in Murmansk was searched by Russian security forces, editor-in-chief Vyacheslav Gorodetsky reported. According to him, six FSB officers arrived to the office and announced that they would conduct “control measures” at the premises: their actions were thus not part of a formal search. Gorodetsky said that officers threatened to use physical force and firearms if he did not act according to instructions.
FSB officers reportedly inspected all printed materials at the office in detail, including paper trash, following which they confiscated all electronic devices on site, including computers, phones and data storage devices.
Gorodetsky was then taken to the regional FSB headquarters in Murmansk, where he was questioned for several hours. The journalist said he refused to answer any questions. According to him, these were related to his work collecting information about Russian military casualties caused by the war in Ukraine, as well as information about mobilization in Russia. FSB officers reportedly earlier claimed that Gorodetsky could have been gathering information considered to be a state secret in Russia. The journalist was eventually released and allowed to return home without charges being pressed against him.
Authorities had previously searched the homes of Arktichesky Obozrevatel journalists in April 2023.