Mikhail Zygar

Mikhail Zygar (Russian: Михаил Викторович Зыгарь) is a Russian journalist, writer and filmmaker, and the founding editor-in-chief of the only Russian independent news TV-channel, Dozhd (2010 - 2015). Under Zygar's leadership, Dozhd provided an alternative to Kremlin-controlled federal TV channels by focusing on news content and giving a platform to opposition voices. The channel's coverage of politically sensitive issues, like the Moscow street protests in 2011 and 2012 as well as the conflict in Ukraine, has been dramatically different from the official coverage by Russia's national television stations. Zygar is also the author of the book 'All the Kremlin's Men', the history of Putin's Russia, based on interviews with Russian politicians from Putin's inner circle. The book has become an outstanding best-seller in Russia. 2Biography Zygar was born in Moscow, 31 January 1981. He became known as a war correspondent of Kommersant, the most influential Russian newspaper, covering wars in Iraq and Lebanon, genocide in Darfur, and revolution in Kyrgyzstan. In May 2005 Zygar was the only international journalist to report from Uzbekistan's Andijan (Andijan Massacre). After that he investigated Russian arms supplies to Uzbekistan. In August, 2005 he was brutally beaten by unknown men in Moscow, supposedly Uzbek security agent