Ekaterina Gordon told who asked for help for Lercek

Lawyer Ekaterina Gordon, in addition to a public video message in support of blogger Lerchek (real name - Valery Chekalin), wrote and sent out many letters on this issue. Gordon told RBC about this.

In addition to an organized mass appeal to President [Vladimir Putin], we have also written and sent letters to many. From the presidential administration to the presidential press secretary [Dmitry Peskov]. Valeria was also actively assisted by [President of the International Boxing Association (IBA)] Umar Kremlev, the lawyer said.

According to Gordon, “what exactly worked,” she doesn’t know. "I think it's all together," she added.

Gordon represented Chekalina in the divorce from Artem Chekalin and the division of property in 2024. In April 2026, she also agreed to become a public defender for Artem Chekalin, who had previously been sentenced to seven years in prison.

The current situation, according to the lawyer, can “positively affect” the case of the former spouse of Lerchek Artem Chekalin, found guilty of deporting abroad on forged documents more than 251 million rubles and sentenced to seven years in prison. “Artem has asked me to be his public defender; therefore, I ask you not to forget him. Valeria will go for treatment, and we all need to fight to mitigate the sentence for a father of many children, which children need, said Gordon.

Earlier this week, the lawyer posted a video message on Instagram (owned by Meta Corporation, which is recognized in Russia as an extremist organization and banned) in which she called the pardon of the president “last chance” for the blogger. “Valeria Chekalina is dying. She needs this pardon as court permission to travel to China because it is her last hope for life. I ask you, colleagues, public people, friends, subscribers, let us publish this request everywhere, let us all appeal to our president, to the presidential administration, to our entire country.

On November 14, Putin signed a decree on pardoning Chekalina, who was sentenced conditionally for illegal currency transactions. Two days earlier, her lawyer, Konstantin Tretyakov, said that Lercek had asked the president to do so. In early November, the Moscow City Court kept her a five-year suspended sentence and a fine. After the pardon, the blogger’s lawyers called the decision a victory and thanked the president.

According to Peskov, the head of state pardoned Lerczek for humanitarian reasons, given the serious illness of Chekalina and the presence of minor children.

Lercek was found guilty of illegal currency transactions with forged documents committed by an organized group on an especially large scale. The prosecution requested six years of probation and a fine of over 1.2 billion rubles. The blogger pleaded not guilty.

The case concerned income from the Ideal Body fitness marathon. According to the prosecution, from September 2021 to February 2022, Chekalina, her ex-husband Artem and business partner Roman Vishniak transferred 251.6 million rubles to the UAE, indicating in the documents the false purpose of payments. In April, Artem Chekalin was sentenced to seven years in prison and a fine of 194.5 million rubles.

In March 2026, the proceedings against Chekalina were separated into a separate case and suspended due to stage four stomach cancer with metastases diagnosed after the birth of the fourth child. In July, the process was resumed after the conclusion of the Blokhin Cancer Center about the absence of contraindications for the blogger’s participation in meetings.

In October, Chekalina reported new metastases in the lungs, adrenal glands and ovaries. She was preparing for a second line of chemotherapy, with doctors recommending treatment in China. However, a court permit was required to travel abroad, and the Moscow City Court in early November ordered the blogger not to change his place of residence and to register monthly at his place of residence.