The Financial Times, an international business newspaper, has published a list of 25 Russians whom it considers the country’s movers and shakers. The list includes representatives of various spheres: politicians, journalists, bloggers, business elite and celebrities.

Igor Kalyapin ranks among the most influential Russians in the category “Journalism/ blogs/ activism”.

“He founded the Nizhny Novgorod Committee Against Torture in 2000. It has become one of the most effective human rights NGOs in Russia, taking on cases of kidnapping, torture and murder by security forces in the Caucasus that local activists dare not touch. This work was documented in a recent film by state TV channel NTV, which, predictably, was censored before it got on the air.” (Financial Times).

Besides Igor Kalyapin, this category also features such famous activists as Yevgenia Chirikova, defendant of the Khimki forest, Human Rights Watch researcher Tanya Lokshina, ect.    

This list includes the most glaring Russian representatives, such as blogger Alexei Navalny, ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin, “the black prince of the Kremlin propaganda machine” Vladislav Surkov, “Russia’s answer to Paris Hilton” Ksenia Sobchak, director Valeria Gai Germanika.