Valery Panyushkin is a journalist, writer, and author of reports from the Maidan, which were read into the microphone on Maidan Square to show that Russian journalists are capable of telling the truth. Panyushkin is the author of eleven books, most of which are non-fiction and two of which („Prisoner of Silence“ and „12 Dissenters“) are dedicated to the Russian opposition. His international bestseller „Gazprom: The New Russian Weapon,“ co-authored with Mikhail Zygar, has proven to be almost prophetic. Panyushkin has left Russia and lives abroad.