'I'm part of a miracle': Russian journalist returns to work after being stabbed in the neck

Story transcript

Less than two months after getting stabbed in the throat, popular Moscow radio journalist Tatyana Felgenhauer is going back to work Saturday.

Felgenhauer, a morning show host and deputy editor at the Russian independent news radio station Ekho Moskvy, was stabbed at their studio in October. She has rebounded after an operation and is now prepping for her first interview and program, post-attack.

"I think I'm OK, really. It was not easy but a lot of very, very, very good people helped me," she told As It Happens host Carol Off. "And it was really, it was a miracle. So it helps really just understanding that I'm part of a miracle."

It's part of a string of attacks on journalists and opposition activists in Moscow. Yulia Latynina, a fellow Ekho Moskvy host, was hit with a suspected arson attack on her car in September. She fled the country but Felgenhauer is staying put.

"It's very, very hard," she said. "There are so many crimes against journalists. And I think it's a huge problem for our country."

• Moscow journalist in intensive care after stabbing attack
• Putin's annual press conference is a 4-hour love-in

As part of her return, Felgenhauer attended Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual press conference Thursday and asked him a heated question among a glut of adoring ones.

She told Off about that experience and her recovery; here's part of their conversation:

​You asked President Putin why innocent Russians were going to jail when people who were friends of Vladimir Putin's were not being punished for any of the things that they were doing or not doing.

It's like we have two different realities of injustice. So there is special justice for special people who are friends or, I don't know, just loyal to the president and they just can't ignore the law.

And I think that it's not right. And we cannot just say, 'Oh OK, so they are just friends of president. It's OK.'

You can't ask any follow up questions, you get only one chance. How did Mr. Putin ... answer your question?

Honestly he didn't … he didn't answer and I wasn't surprised. I knew that he wouldn't answer me because in this case I think … the question is more important than the answer.

Because he just said that 'Oh it's a trial, so we should be independent. And it's not my job and it's not my business.'

When you stood up to ask this question, people in the room know you. They knew that you ... still [have] scars on your neck from where this man stabbed you. Vladimir Putin, other journalists, everyone in the room would know that you were attacked at work for doing your job. Is that right?

Yeah, everyone knew that I am who I am.

What do you remember of those moments when that man burst in?

I was sitting in our guest room and ... suddenly somebody took me to my neck and next moment I felt the heat. That's all. And I was surprised. I didn't expect this.

And then I think I tried to fight and then two guys from our security came and I just run. So that's all.

And then we called the emergency. And I was waiting and tried to stop bleeding. So I was trying to, you know, 'Don't panic, just don't panic.' But it was scary.

Has the attack on you, has it changed the way you work?

No ... I think no. I cannot return to my morning show right now because I need more time for rehabilitation because this show lasts three hours and it's a long time to talk.

But tomorrow, I return to my work. As always, nothing will change, I promise.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. With files from the Associated Press.