Watch Russian journalists react to the revelation their colleague wasn't murdered after all

Journalists celebrate.
(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/Радіо Свобода)

When Russian war correspondent Arkady Babchenko turned up at a press conference on Wednesday, looking very much alive despite previous reports that he had been shot dead, the crowd applauded in astonishment.

Babchenko's colleagues, however, were way beyond astonishment when they learned he had faked his death, erupting into cheers when the supposedly-dead journalist showed up on TV. Not even Babchenko's own wife knew about the plan, which Babchenko revealed by apologizing to her on-air. Babchenko was only pretending to have died as a part of a plot to capture assassins who were after him, The Associated Press reports.

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Summer Meza, The Week US

Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.