In the French city of Biarritz, an attempt was made on the founder of Gulagu.net Vladimir Osechkin. He told about this in the stream of Yulia Latynina. According to Osechkin, an accident helped stop the murder – he noticed a red dot on the wall. He was warned about the impending assassination attempt by Bellingcat investigator Khristo Grozev, says Osechkin.
“There was a message from Christo and his source that helped me and those involved in my security to prevent my murder. A man with close ties to the FSB and organized crime left Russia for Biarritz. They persuaded me to evacuate and leave for literally two days, although I did not want to, I wanted to catch them here. But we went to the mountains for the weekend, I insisted that we come back after the weekend, that was a week ago. In the evening, the family was at the theater, and I worked in the dark, no one thought that I was alone at home. I worked in the dark with documents, a macbook with subdued lights, it is so convenient for me to work. When the children and my wife arrived, we cooked dinner, and I remember that I was carrying plates to set for the children and with peripheral vision on one of the terraces I saw a red dot moving towards me through the terrace railing.
According to Osechkin, the lights went out and everyone quickly fell to the floor, he and his family were preparing for the behavior during the assassination attempt.
“Since we were undergoing special training, we were warned and coached – so that we would not hesitate and not wait until we were riddled. Immediately, the light turned off, the children on the floor, the children and their wife spent about an hour in one of the protected rooms. We immediately lowered the blinds, the relevant services arrived. An investigation has begun. Neighbors have already testified, they heard popping shots. They didn't hit me, there were shots, the sight went in my direction. <Helped to survive> apparently the killer's mistakes or lightning speed – I saw the <sight> by chance with peripheral vision.
Vladimir Osechkin and his project Gulagu.net are engaged in human rights protection, as well as publicity of what is happening in the Russian penitentiary system. In October 2021, Osechkin reported that he had more than 40 GB of videos, documents and photos at his disposal. These files testify to cases of mass torture in colonies subordinate to the Federal Penitentiary Service. The publication of these videos caused a great resonance and a number of dismissals in the FSIN system. Sergei Savelyev, who handed over this archive to Osechkin, was also forced to leave Russia for France.