Around 100 Moscow metro employees have been dismissed after they appeared in an email database leak exposing half a million supporters of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the independent Dozhd broadcaster reported Saturday.
Vasily Shelyakov, the deputy head of the Moscow metro trade union, told Dozhd that the ex-staffers directly link their termination to last month’s leak containing their emails. Navalny’s team had collected the addresses in an online campaign to organize mass nationwide protests and blamed the breach on a rogue employee it suspects of being a Federal Security Service (FSB) recruit.
“Many people who had been fired have bottled everything up and haven’t yet turned to” the union, Shelyakov said, estimating that up to 200 metro staffers may have already been fired.
The list is expected to be updated at a union meeting on Monday, Dozhd reported. The union also hopes to challenge the dismissals with the Moscow metro’s prosecutor’s office, in addition to either class action or individual lawsuits.
Metro employees who have been given the pink slip include drivers, station and escalator attendants and others.
“The dismissals have stopped thanks to media attention, but it’s not for long,” the union said on its website urging former employees to come forward.
The Moscow metro says it employs 60,600 people.
Russian authorities seek to outlaw Navalny’s movement, which has spent years releasing investigations alleging corruption among senior government officials and backing anti-Kremlin election candidates, as “extremist.” The designation would put its members as well as its supporters at risk of jail time.
The mass firings highlight new job security risks for Russians who openly support Navalny following years of expulsions and threats of expulsion for students supporting him.
Navalny, 44, is serving two and a half years in a prison colony for violating parole on old fraud charges during his recovery from a near-fatal poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. The Kremlin denies its involvement and questions the claims, voiced by European scientists, that he was poisoned with the Novichok nerve agent in August 2020.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
