Blogger Lerchek (Valeria Chekalina) submitted a request to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation to check the actions of the Interior Ministry investigator, who allegedly refused to release her from house arrest to see a doctor.
The Investigative Committee is required to check the actions of the investigator to confirm the existence of a crime, Konstantin Tretyakov, Chekalina’s lawyer, told TASS, stressing that the blogger “now suffers from stomach cancer in the fourth stage.”
“In total, more than ten applications for permission to go to the doctor were submitted,” said the statement sent by Chikalina’s defense to the Investigative Committee, the text of which was reviewed by RIA Novosti. The application, among other documents, is accompanied by a discharge summary from the Blokhin National Research Center for Medical Oncology, the agency said.
Valeria Chekalina, who was one of the top-earning Russian bloggers on Instagram, according to Forbes, was charged in 2023 with tax evasion and money laundering along with Artem Chekalin, to whom she was married at the time. By March 2024, both criminal cases had been filed against the Chekalin family It was closed.
In October 2024, the Chekalin family, which had already broken up by that time, became accused in a third criminal case – related to illegal withdrawal of funds outside the Russian Federation. Valeria Chekalina was placed under house arrest. In February 2026, the blogger gave birth to her fourth child, and in March, Cecicalina’s partner, Luis Squicciarini, announced her cancer diagnosis. Scvicchiarini said Chikalina began complaining of pain a year ago, and then was not allowed to break her house arrest and see a doctor.
On March 16, the Gagarinsky Court in Moscow canceled the house arrest imposed on Chikalina due to her cancer, and suspended consideration of her case until the defendant’s participation in the trial resumed.