Ivan Safronov
Encyclopedia
Ivan Ivanovich Safronov (16 January 1956 – 2 March 2007) was a Russia
n journalist and columnist
who covered military affairs
for the daily newspaper Kommersant
. He died after falling from the fifth floor of his Moscow
apartment building. His apartment was on the third floor. There are speculations that he may have been killed for his critical reporting: the Taganka District prosecutor's office in Moscow initiated a criminal investigation into Safronov's death, and in September 2007, officially ruled his death a suicide.
. In 1979, he graduated with a major in computer engineering from the Engineering Faculty at the Dzerzhinsky Military Academy. He served as a military engineer in the 15th Command near Ussuriysk
in the Russian Far East
. In 1983, Safronov was transferred to the Titov Space Center
(Главный испытательный центр испытаний и управления космическими средствами) in Krasnoznamensk, a closed town in Moscow Oblast
. In January 1993 he began working in the press-service at the Russian Space Troops. On 2 October 1997, Safronov retired from active duty and was transferred to the army reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel
. In December 1997, he became a military columnist at the newspaper Kommersant in Moscow. In December 2002, Safronov was made a Colonel
in the army reserve.
In December 2006, Safronov wrote about the third consecutive launch failure of the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile
. The military did not acknowledge the failure. There have been further allegations that Safronov disclosed classified information in his articles. FSB agents questioned him in 2006 over a story about the Samara
-based TsSKB-Progress, the manufacturer of the Soyuz rocket. The agents wanted to know where the columnist had unearthed some sensitive data, but once Safronov showed them the website where he got his facts, the FSB dropped its case.
Safronov had returned in late February from a reporting trip to Abu Dhabi
, United Arab Emirates
, where he covered the annual IDEX 2007
arms exhibition's gathering of defense manufacturers. He had stated that he would check information that he had received on possible new deliveries of Russian weapons to the Middle East
while at the arms exhibition in the United Arab Emirates. Safronov was interested in a possible sale of Su-30
fighter jets to Syria
and S-300V missiles to Iran
. He had information that those deals would be concluded through a third party, in order for Moscow to avoid accusations in the West of selling weapons to pariah states. Safronov called the editorial office at Kommersant from Abu Dhabi to say that he had found confirmation of his facts. On 27 February he attended a press conference held by the head of the Federal Service of Military and Technical Cooperation Mikhail Dmitriev at ITAR-TASS
. There he told colleagues that he had found information that more contracts had been signed between Russia and Syria for the sale of MiG-29
jets and Pantsir-S1 and Iskander-E missiles. He added that he would not write about those deals, however, because he had been warned that doing so would cause an international scandal and the FSB would make charges against him of revealing state secrets stick. He did not say who had warned him.
Safronov fell out of the staircase window between the fourth and the fifth floors of his apartment building at 9 Nizhny Novgorod Street (Нижегородская улица) around 4 p.m. on 2 March. Two university students living in a nearby building saw Safronov on the ground with the window open above, and called emergency workers. Safronov was alive immediately after the fall, but at least a half hour passed before help arrived. Safronov was lying on his stomach, and it seemed to the students that he had tried to get up on his feet. Noticing the open window on the stairway between the fourth and fifth floors and the fact that the Safronov's shoes had come off and his jacket and sweater were pulled up to his armpits, the students called for an ambulance. Their call was not accepted, however. "We cannot collect all the drunks in Moscow on Friday night," the first responders told psychology student Lena, who had witnessed the fall. She should call back if he was still there in half an hour, Kommersant reported on 6 March 2007.http://www.kommersant.com/p747802/Ivan_Safronov_arms_trading/ During that time Safronov stopped moving altogether. The students told the daily
that they did not see anyone near Safronov, nor anyone in the windows of the stairway or leaving through the front door. At least three of his neighbors on the fourth and fifth floors were home at the time. They did not hear any suspicious noises on the stairway.
Safronov had taken sick leave on Friday and gone to a clinic in the Arbat district. He left the clinic at 2 PM and returned home. He had bought oranges which were found scattered on the stairway along with his cap between the fourth and fifth floors. Since Safronov was tall and solidly built, it would not have been easy to throw him from the small window, which was usually left open for smokers who gathered around it. However, footprints were found on the windowsill and ledge outside the window. The snow on top of the canopy over the entrance was disturbed where he fell onto it before rolling off and onto the ground below. An autopsy revealed multiple fractures and injuries to internal organs consistent with a fall from a great height. No drugs or alcohol were found in Safronov's blood.
"The suicide theory has become dominant in the investigation, but all those who knew Ivan Safronov categorically reject it," Kommersant said in an article on 5 March http://www.nysun.com/article/49888.
Ivan Safronov was buried on 7 March at the Khovanskoye Cemetery
, Moscow.
, expressed in a statement:
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n journalist and columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
who covered military affairs
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are the military services of Russia, established after the break-up of the Soviet Union. On 7 May 1992 Boris Yeltsin signed a decree establishing the Russian Ministry of Defence and placing all Soviet Armed Forces troops on the territory of the RSFSR...
for the daily newspaper Kommersant
Kommersant
Kommersant is a commerce-oriented newspaper published in Russia. , the circulation was 131,000.- History :The newspaper was initially published in 1909, and it was closed down following the Bolshevik seizure of power and the introduction of censorship in 1917.In 1989, with the onset of press...
. He died after falling from the fifth floor of his Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
apartment building. His apartment was on the third floor. There are speculations that he may have been killed for his critical reporting: the Taganka District prosecutor's office in Moscow initiated a criminal investigation into Safronov's death, and in September 2007, officially ruled his death a suicide.
Life
Safronov was born in 1956 in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. In 1979, he graduated with a major in computer engineering from the Engineering Faculty at the Dzerzhinsky Military Academy. He served as a military engineer in the 15th Command near Ussuriysk
Ussuriysk
Ussuriysk is a city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located in the fertile valley of the Razdolnaya River, north of Vladivostok and about from both the Chinese border and the Pacific Ocean. Population: -Medieval history:...
in the Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
. In 1983, Safronov was transferred to the Titov Space Center
Titov Main Test and Space Systems Control Centre
The Titov Main Test and Space Systems Control Centre is the main Russian military and commercial satellite control centre, responsible also for control of Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles...
(Главный испытательный центр испытаний и управления космическими средствами) in Krasnoznamensk, a closed town in Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at , is relatively small compared to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and, with the 2010 population of 7,092,941, is the second most populous federal subject...
. In January 1993 he began working in the press-service at the Russian Space Troops. On 2 October 1997, Safronov retired from active duty and was transferred to the army reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
. In December 1997, he became a military columnist at the newspaper Kommersant in Moscow. In December 2002, Safronov was made a Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in the army reserve.
Last reporting
Safronov wrote about changes in the defense leadership and problems in military training as well as about defense technology and military testing failures that often went unacknowledged and unreported by the army.In December 2006, Safronov wrote about the third consecutive launch failure of the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile
Bulava (missile)
The Bulava |mace]]"; designation RSM-56, NATO reporting name SS-NX-30, GRAU index 3M30) is a submarine-launched ballistic missile under development for the Russian Navy and to be deployed on the new Borei class of ballistic missile nuclear submarines...
. The military did not acknowledge the failure. There have been further allegations that Safronov disclosed classified information in his articles. FSB agents questioned him in 2006 over a story about the Samara
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
-based TsSKB-Progress, the manufacturer of the Soyuz rocket. The agents wanted to know where the columnist had unearthed some sensitive data, but once Safronov showed them the website where he got his facts, the FSB dropped its case.
Safronov had returned in late February from a reporting trip to Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, where he covered the annual IDEX 2007
International Defence Exhibition
The International Defense Exhibition & Conference, or IDEX, is a biennial arms and defense technology sales exhibition. According to the Jane's Defense Weekly website, IDEX is the largest arms exhibition in the Middle East...
arms exhibition's gathering of defense manufacturers. He had stated that he would check information that he had received on possible new deliveries of Russian weapons to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
while at the arms exhibition in the United Arab Emirates. Safronov was interested in a possible sale of Su-30
Sukhoi Su-30
The Sukhoi Su-30 is a twin-engine, two-seat military aircraft developed by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter for all-weather, air-to-air and air-to-surface deep interdiction missions.The Su-30 started out as an internal development project in the Sukhoi Su-27 family...
fighter jets to Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and S-300V missiles to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. He had information that those deals would be concluded through a third party, in order for Moscow to avoid accusations in the West of selling weapons to pariah states. Safronov called the editorial office at Kommersant from Abu Dhabi to say that he had found confirmation of his facts. On 27 February he attended a press conference held by the head of the Federal Service of Military and Technical Cooperation Mikhail Dmitriev at ITAR-TASS
Information Telegraph Agency of Russia
The Information Telegraph Agency of Russia , is the major news agency of Russia. It is headquartered in Moscow.- History :Its origin is in a letter sent by Finance Minister Vladimir Kokovtsov to foreign minister in March 1904 writing that "our trade and industrial circles, as well as the Finance...
. There he told colleagues that he had found information that more contracts had been signed between Russia and Syria for the sale of MiG-29
Mikoyan MiG-29
The Mikoyan MiG-29 is a fourth-generation jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union for an air superiority role. Developed in the 1970s by the Mikoyan design bureau, it entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983, and remains in use by the Russian Air Force as well as in many other...
jets and Pantsir-S1 and Iskander-E missiles. He added that he would not write about those deals, however, because he had been warned that doing so would cause an international scandal and the FSB would make charges against him of revealing state secrets stick. He did not say who had warned him.
Death
He died after falling from the fifth floor of the Moscow building where he lived. Prosecutors say suicide is the likeliest explanation for his death. Although Safronov's colleagues and neighbors are skeptical he would take his own life, arguing that he was in a good frame of mind, many witnesses reported he had an unusually depressed state of mind several days before the incident. Recently discovered major health problems (Peptic Ulcer) might be also a contributing factor.Safronov fell out of the staircase window between the fourth and the fifth floors of his apartment building at 9 Nizhny Novgorod Street (Нижегородская улица) around 4 p.m. on 2 March. Two university students living in a nearby building saw Safronov on the ground with the window open above, and called emergency workers. Safronov was alive immediately after the fall, but at least a half hour passed before help arrived. Safronov was lying on his stomach, and it seemed to the students that he had tried to get up on his feet. Noticing the open window on the stairway between the fourth and fifth floors and the fact that the Safronov's shoes had come off and his jacket and sweater were pulled up to his armpits, the students called for an ambulance. Their call was not accepted, however. "We cannot collect all the drunks in Moscow on Friday night," the first responders told psychology student Lena, who had witnessed the fall. She should call back if he was still there in half an hour, Kommersant reported on 6 March 2007.http://www.kommersant.com/p747802/Ivan_Safronov_arms_trading/ During that time Safronov stopped moving altogether. The students told the daily
Kommersant
Kommersant is a commerce-oriented newspaper published in Russia. , the circulation was 131,000.- History :The newspaper was initially published in 1909, and it was closed down following the Bolshevik seizure of power and the introduction of censorship in 1917.In 1989, with the onset of press...
that they did not see anyone near Safronov, nor anyone in the windows of the stairway or leaving through the front door. At least three of his neighbors on the fourth and fifth floors were home at the time. They did not hear any suspicious noises on the stairway.
Safronov had taken sick leave on Friday and gone to a clinic in the Arbat district. He left the clinic at 2 PM and returned home. He had bought oranges which were found scattered on the stairway along with his cap between the fourth and fifth floors. Since Safronov was tall and solidly built, it would not have been easy to throw him from the small window, which was usually left open for smokers who gathered around it. However, footprints were found on the windowsill and ledge outside the window. The snow on top of the canopy over the entrance was disturbed where he fell onto it before rolling off and onto the ground below. An autopsy revealed multiple fractures and injuries to internal organs consistent with a fall from a great height. No drugs or alcohol were found in Safronov's blood.
"The suicide theory has become dominant in the investigation, but all those who knew Ivan Safronov categorically reject it," Kommersant said in an article on 5 March http://www.nysun.com/article/49888.
Ivan Safronov was buried on 7 March at the Khovanskoye Cemetery
Khovanskoye Cemetery
Khovanskoye Cemetery , also known as Nikolo-Khovanskoye Cemetery , is a large and expanding cemetery servicing Moscow, Russia...
, Moscow.
Public reaction to death
General Vladimir Mikhaylov, Commander of the Russian Air ForceRussian Air Force
The Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...
, expressed in a statement:
"[Safronov] was one of those people who is remembered for his bright creative talent. It was always interesting to talk with him, not only as a professional, but also as an interesting person."