As the notorious mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin announced his intention to march on Moscow late on Friday, AP teams from Moscow and Tallinn to London and Washington jumped in to cover the unfolding story, which represented the greatest challenge to Vladimir Putin’s leadership in decades.
In a country where independent reporting has become almost impossible, AP teams in and out of Russia worked 24/7 to piece together what was happening as the armed uprising played out.
AP video and photo teams led by senior producer Tanya Titova and chief photographer Sasha Zemlianichenko in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Rostov worked around strict restrictions to get images out.
Remote teams worked creatively to access more images and audio while, with the help of GMS colleagues in Moscow, APTN set up a live shot of Moscow’s White House. Other notable coverage included photos and video by Donestk freelancer Anton Sechin of a smiling Prigozhin leaving Rostov on Saturday night as locals cheered him and took selfies with him, and early morning reactions and aftermath from Lipetsk region after the withdrawal of Wagner troops, shot by Moscow-based video journalist Kirill Zarubin, with help from assistant Sergey Fedotov.
For visual packages that captivated audiences around the globe and comprehensive text coverage, the AP team covering the rebellion in Russia wins this week’s first Best of the Week Honorable Mention.