Investigating Power: Media, Accountability, & Political Opposition in Contemporary Russia

Join the Chicago Forum for a public conversation with Maria Pevchikh, investigative journalist, Head of the Investigations Department, and Chairwoman of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, a Russian non-profit organization founded by Alexei Navalny. She will be joined in conversation with Scott Gehlbach, Elise and Jack Lipsey Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy and the College.

As institutional mechanisms of political oversight become increasingly constrained in some political systems, investigative journalism has emerged as a powerful means of uncovering corruption and scrutinizing the exercise of power. Using contemporary Russia as a case study, this conversation will explore how investigative reporting, independent media, and civil society actors shape public knowledge and political discourse amid political repression and growing control over the media environment.

The discussion will also consider how recent political and wartime developments influence public opinion, opposition activity, and patterns of political engagement within Russia and among communities abroad—raising broader questions about political opposition and prospects for change.

The event is open to the public, and will include time for audience Q&A.

In partnership with Malyi Center for the Study of Institutional and Legal Integrity at the University of Chicago Law School and the Center for East European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies.

With funding support from the Chicago Forum’s Zell Speaker and Event Series and Zell Family Foundation.

Speaker Bios:

Maria Pevchikh is Head of Investigations and Chairwoman of the Board of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), the organization founded by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Over the past fifteen years, she has led more than one hundred investigations exposing corruption among Russia’s political and economic elites. Her investigation into a lavish Black Sea palace linked to Vladimir Putin has been viewed more than 135 million times on YouTube. Investigations by FBK have contributed to sanctions and asset freezes against Russian officials and oligarchs totaling more than €1 billion. Pevchikh is also the executive producer of the Academy Award–winning documentary Navalny. She holds degrees from Moscow State University and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Scott Gehlbach is the Elise and Jack Lipsey Professor in the Department of Political Science, the Harris School of Public Policy, and the College at the University of Chicago. His research focuses on authoritarian and post-authoritarian political systems, with particular attention to Russia, Ukraine, and other post-Soviet states. Gehlbach’s work examines how political institutions shape economic and political outcomes in authoritarian regimes. He is the author of Formal Models of Domestic Politics and currently directs the University of Chicago’s Ph.D. Program in Political Economy.