Journalist Maksim Kononenko said that he had a very bad relationship with the editor-in-chief of Echo of Moscow, Alexei Venediktov, but he considers him a man and cannot accuse him of meanness.
“My personal relationship with Venediktov is very bad. I didn't ruin them, he ruined them. After that same post about the mothers of Beslan. He still thinks that I said something disgusting,”Kononenko wrote in Telegram.
He added that he also has complaints against Venediktov, since he allegedly "behaved dishonestly" with him long before that post.
“But Venediktov is a man. Man. I can show him. But I cannot convict him of meanness. Maybe I don't know something. But this material did not add knowledge to me. Venediktov is not mean. This is the most important knowledge about a man for me,”he wrote.
Kononenko also said that “if a drunk man touches a woman’s legs, this is normal”. But if the woman said no, then “the man fell behind,” Kononenko explained his idea.
“This is what happened in the case of Veduta. Although personally I do not believe Vedute. Because Veduta is a pretty mean woman. And I was convinced of this more than once. But I just believe Lesya Ryabtseva. Because I know her pretty well,”he said.
Kononenko noted that Venediktov can only be accused of “touching women with a living legal wife” and this is “bad”, but “not as bad as what Shenderovich did”, who, according to him, was cheating on his wife.
“Shenderovich behaved meanly. Venediktov - no. Yes, I am a sexist,”said Kononenko. He stressed that he has been living with one woman for 25 years and raising children, but he "has no moral claims against Venediktov."
“There are many claims. But there are no moral ones. He is a man,”said Kononenko.
Earlier, the former press secretary of Navalny, Anna Veduta, accused Venediktov of harassment, allegedly in 2012.
Venediktov denied these charges.
He was supported by Tina Kandelaki, who called Venediktov her friend, although she admitted that he "touched her knees."