Berlin-based video journalist Mstyslav Chernov gave AP unprecedented access to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s return to Moscow, ensuring AP was the only news agency broadcasting live the moment Alexey Navalny stepped onto a plane in Berlin for the flight returning him to Moscow, where he would be arrested.
Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia aboard a plane in Berlin for the flight returning the opposition leader to Moscow, Jan. 17, 2021.
AP Photo / Mstyslav Chernov
Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia stand in line at passport control after arriving at Sheremetyevo airport, outside Moscow, Jan. 17, 2021.
AP Photo / Mstyslav Chernov
Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia stand at passport control before Navalny was detained by police after arriving at Sheremetyevo airport, outside Moscow, Jan. 17, 2021, in a still frame from video.
AP image from video
Alexei Navalny kisses his wife Yulia as he is detained by police at passport control after arriving at Sheremetyevo airport, outside Moscow, Jan. 17, 2021, in a still frame from video. Russia’s prison service said the opposition leader had been detained at the airport.
Still image from video
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s wife Yulia is surrounded in Sheremetyevo airport, outside Moscow, Jan. 17, 2021.
AP Photo / Pavel Golovkin
The moment Navalny announced his decision to go home, AP senior producer Tatiana Titova had arranged a ticket to put Chernov on the same flight. On Sunday, Chernov was ready, transmitting live from his phone as soon as he stepped inside the plane cabin.
When Navalny showed up alongside his wife, lawyer and associates, AP clients worldwide got their first glimpse of a remarkable journey taken by the man who was poisoned for challenging President Vladimir Putin’s rule. Chernov also shot still images that were well used, including the front page of Monday’s New York Times.