Leonid Martynyuk

Leonid Martynyuk (born June 20, 1978) is a Russian opposition author, video producer and journalist.

Biography Born in Lviv, Ukraine, Martynyuk graduated from Kuban State University (KubSU) with a Master's degree in Sociology in 2001.

From 1999 to 2006 Martynyuk worked in the campaign headquarters and the executive committee of the Krasnodar branch of the Union of Right Forces party and represented the organization in election commissions. From 2006 to 2008 he worked as PR-manager on a Nokia project in the company Agency of Humanitarian Technologies - South.

Political activity Martynyuk is a member of the political councils of the Solidarnost (Solidarity) opposition movement and a former member Winter Olympics in the Sub-Tropics: Corruption and Abuse in Sochi and Putin. War.

Martynyuk is the author of a viral YouTube channel titled The Lies of Putin's Regime, which has a total of over 55 million views for all the videos posted.

Persecution in Russia In August 2014, the Moscow arbitration court began hearings on the claim launched by Vladimir Yakunin, the head of Russian Railways, one of the largest state-owned companies, against the authors of the investigative report Winter Olympics in the Subtropics, Boris Nemtsov, a leader of the Russian opposition, and Leonid Martynyuk. The plaintiff asked the court to require the defendants to refute them and to pay jointly and severally to 3 million rubles. A representative of Russian Railways claimed: "Almost all of the Russian Railways' negative reputation abroad is due to the defendants' report. The media reprinted this report in whole or partially about 400 times, including statements about Russian Railways. This greatly distorted the entire news media image of Russian Railways. It became negative."

Leonid Martynyuk was arrested this incident was staged in retaliation against opposition activity of Leonid Martynyuk, triggered in particular by his movie "Who Shot Down the Boeing over Donbass?", which had collected a million hits. The co-сhairs of the People’s Freedom Party Boris Nemtsov and Mikhail Kasyanov issued a statement, in which they called the charges of hooliganism fabricated. They argued that "the court refused to view the security camera footage, which would have rendered Leonid's absolute innocence obvious."

On March 4, 2015, a complaint on the arrest was sent to the ECtHR. On May 26, 2015, Alexander Popkov, a lawyer of the human rights organization Agora, said that the Strasbourg Court had registered his complaint; and he received a respective notification of the ECtHR. "The complaint to the ECtHR concerns Martynyuk's unlawful detention and trial, which resulted in his 10-day arrest," the RAPSI quotes Popkov as saying. Martynyuk has won the case in 2019.

Career in the United States Since December 29, 2014 Leonid Martynyuk has been living in New York City. based on materials collected by the late Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. He wrote a chapter on the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 and conducted in-depth research into Russia’s military involvement in Ukraine. In 2016, Martynyuk participated in the report’s presentation in Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, and New York City, drawing attention to the Kremlin’s covert operations in Donbass.

Martynyuk began working as a journalist for Voice of America in June 2022, contributing articles and video reports that focus on Russian politics, disinformation, and international affairs. His work for VOA continues his long-standing commitment to investigative journalism and exposing authoritarian practices, particularly within the Russian government. Through in-depth reporting and analysis, Martynyuk provides insights into the Kremlin's narratives and their global impact.

On May 30, 2025, Leonid Martynyuk was among more than 500 Voice of America employees laid off by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees the government-funded news outlet. Kari Lake, a senior adviser at USAGM, called Voice of America an example of government waste.