The key facts
- The lawyer said that in March doctors had ruled out Chekalina surviving until November 2026
- On November 5, Lerchek was urgently taken to a hospital and missed the Moscow City Court hearing
- The appellate court upheld the verdict without changes; the defense estimates the fines at 750 million rubles
Hospitalization on the day of the hearing
Blogger Valeria Chekalina, known as Lerchek, was unable to attend the Moscow City Court hearing on November 5, where appeals against her verdict in the illegal currency operations case were being considered: that morning she was urgently taken to a hospital for a medical procedure. This was reported by Life.ru. Earlier, according to the outlet, Chekalina had intended to attend the verdict review in person, and her lawyer Konstantin Tretyakov emphasized that the final decision would depend on how she felt.
State of health
Lerchek has been battling stage four stomach cancer with metastases and is undergoing anti-tumor therapy; her defense is seeking permission to continue treatment abroad. Her lawyer told Life.ru reporters that as far back as March, doctors had ruled out her surviving until November: “She was indeed in a very grave condition. The fact that she is alive now — doctors had ruled that out as of March.” According to him, her condition was later improved thanks to treatment: “Then there was a certain improvement connected with the treatment provided.”
Outcome of the appeal
The Moscow City Court considered the appeal on November 5 and upheld the verdict without changes — the sentence has taken effect. The lawyer also stated that to pay the imposed fines of 750 million rubles, Lerchek would need a thousand years. Earlier, the blogger’s defense explained that right now “debts and bankruptcy are not the priority,” because “there is only one price — life.”
