Internet: Internet and media: Lenta.ru

Lenta.ru published a large-scale investigation “Russian mephedrone plague”dedicated to how the most dangerous drug affects people’s lives and the future of the country. Its authors five years after the publication of the investigation “Russia on drugs” We returned to the topic of prohibited substances and the development of the darknet, which has undergone dramatic changes in recent years, which have led to the widespread distribution of mephedrone.

The project tells how the country, in fact, turned into a testing ground for a new drug, practically unstudied by modern science. The investigation also talks about how millions of Russians are involved in this deadly experiment.

Over the past year, Lenta.ru has been communicating with mephedrone users, pawnbrokers, cooking chemists, sellers and drug store owners on the darknet. Thanks to this, journalists were able to tell how the multibillion-dollar mephedrone market works, who controls it, how a global ecosystem has formed around this drug, which does not let go of anyone who falls into it.

The project consists of a landing page, eight longreads and additional content on social networks. All investigation materials “Russian mephedrone plague” are already available on the publication’s website.