A Russian-born activist posing as a Finnish journalist has toured occupied Crimea to deliver a series of pro-Kremlin propaganda statements, according to an investigation by Crimea.Realities, a project of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Konstantin Mikhailovich Lebedev, who presents himself under the Finnish name Kosti Heiskanen, arrived on the Ukrainian peninsula on August 31, 2026, where Russian state media have heavily promoted his claims that life under Moscow rule is flourishing.
Lebedev was born in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, and originally held a Russian passport before adopting his Finnish persona. During his tour across the occupied region, he proposed opening a permanent Crimean press bureau dedicated to foreign journalists and bloggers.
Russian propaganda outlets have extensively covered the visit, describing Lebedev as a Finnish war correspondent. Newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets published an article detailing his visit, reporting his claim that no occupation of the peninsula had occurred and that local residents had actively sought to reunite with Russia. Lebedev added that he had last visited Crimea 22 years ago and returned to inspect its current development.
On September 1, 2026, Lebedev appeared on Radio Sputnik in Crimea to praise Russian infrastructure spending. He stated during the broadcast that Western media outlets had failed to sow panic or distort the situation on the peninsula, claiming it was obvious that Russia was investing massive funds into local development.
Propaganda tour across occupied Crimea
Four days later, on September 5, Lebedev recorded a video message in Crimea addressed to the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb. Russian news site Gazeta.ru published the recording while describing Lebedev as a Finnish public figure and military correspondent. In the message, Lebedev invited President Stubb to visit Crimea to see for himself that no occupation existed, suggesting the Finnish leader should sample local pastries, fruit, and Western beer available on the peninsula.
On September 6, media outlet Life.ru reported comments in which Lebedev compared Crimea to the Canary Islands. He insisted that local residents were not fleeing the territory and highlighted what he described as well-developed transport links across the region.
The weekly publication Argumenty i Fakty Crimea featured Lebedev in a report asserting that no blockade existed against the peninsula. The paper reported that Lebedev had arrived in Russia by invitation in early 2022 and remained in the country following the launch of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, officially termed a special military operation in Russia. According to the outlet, Lebedev became a volunteer and war correspondent visiting conflict zones, collecting clothing, footwear, and medical supplies for wounded Russian soldiers while joining the Union of Journalists of Russia.
Local Crimean online channels also amplified his messaging. On September 10, the Telegram channel Incident Crimea DTP CHP quoted Lebedev claiming that Crimean residents rejected Western and Ukrainian influences and felt entirely Russian. He dismissed reports regarding currency exchanges involving Ukrainian hryvnias in Crimea as falsehoods intended to disrupt upcoming elections to the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament.
By September 13, the Telegram channel Crimea Operational reported his formal proposal to establish a press hub on the peninsula. Lebedev argued that creating a Crimean bureau for foreign bloggers and reporters would allow international media outlets to broadcast stories about daily life under Russian administration.
Russian roots behind the Finnish identity
While Heiskanen is a common surname in Finland, Lebedev has no connection to prominent Finnish figures bearing the name. The surname is shared by Lieutenant General Mikko Heiskanen, who headed the Military Economy Division of the Finnish Defence Forces during 2024 arms deliveries to Ukraine, NHL ice hockey defender Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars, and the late Janne Heiskanen, former drummer for the rock group The Rasmus who died in 2022.
In contrast, Lebedev was born in Leningrad in 1978 to a family of Red Finns who had moved to the Soviet Union during the 1930s. Investigating his background in June 2024, independent media outlet The Insider revealed that Lebedev began his career as a pro-Kremlin commentator in 2004 by claiming that ethnic Russians faced harsh living conditions in Finland.
The Insider reported that Lebedev maintained Russian citizenship and domestic registration, using a Russian passport for domestic flights between St. Petersburg and Moscow as early as June 2000. In 2012, using the name Kosti Mikael Heiskanen, he relocated to Germany to establish travel businesses in Hamburg and Berlin. Back in 2004, he had launched Focus Magazine, a Russian and Finnish publication alleging discrimination against Russians in Finland, obtaining a press card from a weekly magazine union that later dissolved.
Connections to Kremlin propaganda networks
Broadcaster Current Time, a Russian-language television and digital network managed by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, identified Lebedev as a regular guest on Russian state television shows and media outlets in occupied eastern Ukraine. Positioning himself as a European journalist, he regularly praises Moscow while criticizing Western policy, asserting that Finland suffered economic damage from sanctions imposed after Russia annexed Crimea and invaded Ukraine.
Current Time also reported that Lebedev maintains close ties to the late Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian businessman known as Putin's chef who founded the St. Petersburg troll factory to promote Kremlin narratives online. Although Lebedev relies heavily on his credentials as a European reporter during interviews with Russian outlets, he routinely omits his past association with Prigozhin.
The investigation into Lebedev was published by RFE/RL freelancer Andriy Pokrovsky, writing under a pseudonym for security reasons. The reporting was produced as part of a project by the Institute of Mass Information with financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
