The Russian Billionaire Who Became a Social Media Star

President Vladimir Putin's destruction of independent media in Russia has been a disaster for obvious reasons. But it has also forced a pro-Kremlin billionaire out into the open to protect his reputation in what could be the beginning of a new kind of healthy public debate there.

Three months ago, Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation released a documentary it had made about the lavish lifestyle of Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev. The film has since been viewed 21.6 million times. It was also the main reason tens of thousands of people, mostly young, took to the streets across Russia in late March. In the film, Navalny didn't present conclusive proof that Medvedev had illegally obtained expensive property. He showed, however, that several large country estates in Russia, used personally by Medvedev, as well as an Italian vineyard and other assets, had fallen into the hands of secretive nonprofit foundations run by Medvedev's longtime friends.

In Russia, top officials are immune from prosecution until President Vladimir Putin decides otherwise. No legal repercussions ensued for Medvedev. A subplot in the Medvedev investigation, however, created them for Navalny himself.