March 9, 2026

FBK Showed Navalny's Death Examination, The Insider Showed His Photos from the Morgue. Journalists Explained This by Public Significance. Yulia Navalnaya Asked the Publication Not to Write About Her Husband Anymore

Photo: Maxim Shipenkov / EPA. Head of the FBK Investigation Department Maria Pevchikh published fragments from the official forensic examination of Alexei Navalny's autopsy. Shortly thereafter, The Insider published a note referencing the full report released by the anonymous Black Mirror project. Journalists also showed photos of Navalny on the forensic expert's table. The politician's associates sharply criticized the publication. The кадры were later removed. How did it all start? Today, Pevchikh published fragments from the official forensic medical examination of Alexei Navalny's autopsy on X. Before that, she stated that 'a number of media outlets are preparing a 'sensational publication' of the results of Alexei Navalny's autopsy this week.' According to Pevchikh, the FBK has possessed the results of the examination for a year and a half. At the same time, she believes that the publication of this data has no public significance. 'The only real reason for publication, as it seems to me, is the insatiable desire for sensation and headlines 'URGENT! Publication X Has Obtained Shocking Details of Navalny's Autopsy.' And the subsequent tour with 'expert' discussions of all this on air. Collecting clicks on photographs and detailed descriptions of how each internal organ of the murdered politician looks is beyond imaginable morality and ethics,' Pevchikh emphasized. What did The Insider publish? Shortly after Pevchikh's publications, one of the most famous anonymous hacker resources on the Runet, Black Mirror, released the full expert report on Alexei Navalny's death, including photographs of the politician on the forensic expert's table. The publications were made between 15:19 and 15:24 Moscow time on a mirror channel on Telegram; the main channel was blocked last summer. 'We have had this document for over a year and a half, as well as other materials on the death of Navalny. Since neither Pevchikh nor any media outlets mentioned by her provide this document in full, we decided to release it,' wrote the channel's author. At 15:43 Moscow time (20 minutes later), The Insider published a note titled 'Telegram channel 'Black Mirror' published the results of the official examination of Navalny. They refute the official cause of death.' Photographs of Navalny's body were placed on the cover and inside the publication. How did the FBK react? Associates of Alexei Navalny criticized The Insider journalists for publishing the photographs. In their opinion, the morgue pictures have no public significance. According to Pevchikh, the dissemination of these кадры is 'too cruel by any standards' and unethical towards Navalny's family. 'I cannot wish any children to face a situation where photographs of their parents' autopsies are published on the internet for everyone to see,' she noted. The head of FBK's political projects, Leonid Volkov, called The Insider's publication 'a cynical hype grab.' Georgy Alburov, an employee of the organization's investigation department, also wrote that, in his opinion, Alexei Navalny's morgue pictures 'have no investigative or informational value.' Yulia Navalnaya's press secretary, Kira Yarmysh, suggested that the pictures were published with 'full awareness' of their controversial nature. She also emphasized that the materials first appeared on an anonymous Telegram channel. FBK employee Ruslan Shaveddinov wrote that he first thinks about the reaction of Alexei Navalny's widow and children. He noted that they 'maximally want to protect' from what is happening around the photo publication. 'Such things are published to finish them off. To hurt those who loved Alexei, who believed in him, who continue his work. To intimidate others,' stated former FBK director Ivan Zhdanov. How did The Insider react? After public criticism from Navalny's associates, The Insider removed the photographs of the politician's body. In addition, the editorial office apologized to the readers. 'The Insider previously published a photo of Navalny's face (and only his face) from the forensic examination materials, as this photo is important evidence of the authenticity of the materials. However, considering that this photo may traumatize Alexei's loved ones, we have decided to replace it. We offer our deep and sincere apologies to everyone who was traumatized by this photo,' the publication stated. At the same time, the journalists did not remove the link to the original Black Mirror publication, which still contains photographs of the deceased Navalny. A note was added to the article: 'caution, the case materials contain photos that may be traumatic.' What did Yulia Navalnaya say? In response to The Insider's apology post, Yulia Navalnaya wrote: 'Hello, please remove this material entirely and never write about Alexei again. Thank you. This is not my personal request, but the request of our entire family. And change the photos on your phone wallpapers. You can use the ones you posted online, and they are now forever here.'