Agentstvo tells how Jeffrey Epstein’s scheme to involve girls from Russia and the former Soviet Union in prostitution was organized and how some of these girls became his accomplices.
I The Girl from Henry
In the summer of 2022, Russian propaganda rejoiced: 37-year-old Russian-born supermodel Kira Dikhtyar was returning to Russia from New York after refusing to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At least, when interviewed by foreign media outlets over the phone, the model claimed that she was speaking from Moscow and planned to open a company there to produce replicas of Western brands that had left the country, «slightly changing the design to avoid lawsuits.»
Dikhtyar’s life story is typical for a model. As a child, she was involved in gymnastics, training under Irina Viner in the same group as Alina Kabaeva. However, her sporting career soon came to an end when Kira met a woman on the street who suggested she try her hand at modeling. That’s how she ended up at the agency of Moscow photographer Alexander Borodulin. In the early 2000s, the 15-year-old girl was sent to London for a photo shoot, but instead of a studio, Dikhtair allegedly found herself in the mansion of fugitive oligarch Boris Berezovsky. Years later, she said on Andrei Malakhov’s talk show that Berezovsky raped her — and that her friend, American financier Jeffrey Epstein, whom she met at the age of 17, helped her overcome this trauma. Despite these traumatic events, Dikhter’s career was quite successful. She lived in the US, posed for famous magazines, and modeled for major brands. She also spoke out publicly against sexual violence and in favor of raising the age of consent in different countries around the world. In an interview with an American podcast, she said that she was doing this work together with Kabaeva.
In 2022, propagandists jumped the gun in celebrating Dikhtyar’s return: the following year, she gave birth to a child from her American husband in the US and, judging by her Instagram posts, moved from New York to Virginia with her family. Nevertheless, she posts videos on social media defending the annexation of Crimea and explaining that it was necessary to start the war because of the Crimean Bridge explosion (which happened almost 8 months into the Russian invasion).
Dikhtyar is one of dozens, if not hundreds, of Russian women who had relationships with Jeffrey Epstein over the years. For example, in a database published by the US Department of Justice, Agentstvo found a former Russian model (we managed to identify her but decided not to disclose her name) who now works for the «Svoikh Ne Brosaem» (No Man Left Behind) foundation. This foundation’s board of trustees is headed by State Duma member and former children’s rights ombudsman Anna Kuznetsova. The girl has experienced a terrible tragedy in her past — a serious car crash and recovery from it — and now travels to conferences and meetings of the Ministry of Defense, talking about her experiences to participants in the war in Ukraine. They are unlikely to know that the car crash is not the only dramatic story in the woman’s life. Ten years earlier, she, like Kira Dikhtyar, became one of the Russian girls who ended up in the clutches of Jeffrey Epstein, who had already been convicted of involving girls, including minors, in prostitution. In 2010, according to correspondence published by the Ministry of Justice, the girl sent Epstein a desperate letter complaining about problems with her modeling career. She wrote that she had been forced to work for a cleaning company and was now an intern at a real estate agency, but was not earning enough money while having to send funds to her parents back home. At the beginning of the letter, the girl asked Epstein if he remembered «[the girl] who came to your house from Henry with another girl.»
Epstein forwarded this letter with the question, «How did she get this email address?» to the renowned American psychiatrist and philanthropist Henry Jarecki — he was probably the Henry who sent the girls to Epstein. Jarecki’s name had already been mentioned in connection with Epstein — in June 2024, one of the victims accused him of rape and sex trafficking after Epstein forcibly sent her to Jarecki for psychiatric treatment (the girl later withdrew her lawsuit against the psychiatrist). This man was just one cog in Epstein’s network for finding new young girls from around the world both for Epstein himself and his influential acquaintances (the victims repeatedly said that Epstein would send them to entertain his friends, organizing trips to his residences).
Epstein had many assistants like Henry Jarecki to help him find new girls — and many female accomplices as well. The names of some of them have already been mentioned earlier — the most famous are his former lover and close friend, socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, sentenced to 20 years in prison for soliciting minors to have sex with Epstein, and Jean-Luc Brunel, head of a French modeling agency financed by Epstein. Brunel was accused of raping minors, but was also suspected of organizing sex trafficking. He hanged himself in a French prison before the investigation was completed. Maxwell worked as a lure for Epstein’s future victims — she befriended girls, gained their trust, and persuaded them to have sex with Epstein, suggesting that the girls bring their friends along. But there were also many girls from the former Soviet Union.
The financier’s correspondence published by the Justice Department consists largely of conversations with the girls themselves, modeling agencies, or people like Jarecki who could introduce him to new girls. Many of the girls mentioned in the correspondence were models from the former Soviet Union — Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Lithuania. In total, the word «Russia» is mentioned 5,876 times in the new files, and the word «Russian» 8,772 times. In addition, according to RBC’s calculations, dozens of Russian cities are mentioned in the correspondence. Epstein may have visited some of these cities himself — there is no definitive evidence of his trips to Russia after 2011, but this will be discussed in more detail below. He corresponded with girls from other Russian cities and helped them plan their trips. It can be assumed that after the first criminal case, which was initiated when the mother of one of the American girls who had been victimized found out what had happened, Epstein became more cautious and began to prefer emigrants in vulnerable situations, most of whom, judging by their correspondence, had problems with work, housing, visas, and money. The Russian models mentioned in the correspondence were usually already legal adults — but the financier liked it when they looked younger than their age.
II The Pyramid
In late 2005, Jeffrey Epstein received an email from a girl named Natalya Malysheva, a Russian woman living in America. The email read «Missy, 29,» and a photo of the girl was apparently attached to it. «Does that mean 29 years old?» Epstein replied.
Letters from Malysheva became a regular occurrence, and the age of the girls whose photos she sent to Epstein kept getting lower and lower.
«Lena has gained 7 pounds since the photo was taken» — «No.» «Aina, 21, what do you think?» — «She’s fat and Asian, sorry.»
«Masha, 19» — «Cute.»
«Marianna, 19, pleasant personality» — «Not so cute.»
«Irina, 19 or 20, in the morning, Masha, 20, in the afternoon, 2 photos» — «Yes to both.»
Malysheva herself was just over 20 at the time. According to documents disclosed in court during a civil lawsuit filed by one of the victims, she worked as a masseuse and also helped Epstein find new girls for his sex empire, receiving money for this. In the fall of 2005, she met 22-year-old Sarah Ransome at a club, and they immediately became best friends. Malysheva offered to introduce Ransome to her friend — «a very kind guy, a philanthropist who can make any of her dreams come true» (Ransome recounted in the Netflix documentary Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich). Ransome went to the movies with Epstein, and a few days later, Malysheva called her and said that the millionaire was charmed and wanted to pay for Ransome’s education and that he also had his own island and invited the girl to fly there on a private jet.
During the flight, Epstein had rough sex with another girl in front of Ransome and other guests (Ransome recalled in the Netflix documentary). Once on the island, Ransome received a call from Natalia, who said that Epstein wanted to see her. The girl was ordered to lie down on a massage table, after which Epstein «simply raped» her.
A few years later, Malysheva apparently stopped working with Epstein. In 2010, she sent him a letter in which she said that she was working in real estate and doing very well at work, and that she had met a man — a millionaire — whom she felt she had known all her life. That same week, Malysheva was planning to attend a Tony Robbins coaching seminar and wrote that she had been «following his teachings» for years and that it was thanks to him that she had «attracted Epstein’s attention»: «If it weren’t for his advice, I wouldn’t have lasted a week with you.» In the same letter, Malysheva wrote that she had recently seen Henry, probably referring to Henry Jarecki, and that he looked distressed and «as if he needed someone’s embrace.» «He was an amazing friend to me,» Malysheva wrote. «He actually made sure I was okay while you were away. «In closing, the girl wrote to Epstein: «You gave me an incredible foundation, and I am forever grateful.» «Great,» Epstein replied laconically. This was probably their last correspondence (Agenstvo was unable to find any later letters from Malysheva in the archives).
By the time the Netflix documentary about Epstein, in which Natalia Malysheva’s name was first prominently mentioned, was released in 2020, she had moved from New York to Los Angeles and was trying to hide from journalists in an elite apartment with a swimming pool. Speaking to the Daily Mail, her acquaintances claimed that Malysheva herself was a victim of Epstein and was willing to cooperate with law enforcement if necessary, and that she did not know what would happen on the island to Sarah Ransome and the other girls who were raped there. Malysheva was never prosecuted in the US. The reason for this may have been the agreement that Epstein made with the authorities as part of his first criminal case in 2008 — in exchange for pleading guilty to involvement in prostitution, including of minors, all of his identified and unnamed associates would be exempt from prosecution.
Among the letters that Malysheva sent to Epstein in the mid-2000s, there are messages that she forwarded in 2006−2008 from another girl — also a Russian, Irina Chernova, a graduate of the journalism faculty of Moscow State University, originally from Krasnoyarsk. In New York, Chernova interned at CBS News and then worked for Newsbutterfly TV.
«Here is a link to my new friend. She is 19, from Moscow. She recently signed a contract with Madison.» Natalya Malysheva forwarded this letter from Chernova to Epstein with the question: «Irina’s new friend. Is she good-looking enough to meet for tea first?» «Friday night, no tea,» the financier replied.
Several more letters from Irina soon followed, also forwarded to Epstein by Natalia. «Rosie, 19 years old, thin, long beautiful dark hair.» Epstein replied, «OK.» «Jeanne» — «on Wednesday.» «Elizabeth, I know her through Jeanne, whom I asked to introduce me to her friends. 20 years old, studies at the University of Washington.» — «Why not?» «There’s a new girl here, Reseda, she’s available on Thursday morning. 22 years old, from Ufa, waitress, student, been in New York for a year, short blonde hair.» «Maya, 19 years old, from Odessa, been here a year and a half, lives in Brooklyn. She’s a little chubby, cute face, long dark hair. And, very importantly, she knows a lot of girls in Brooklyn. I already told her she’d be rewarded for helping with her friends, and she said she could do it, but first she has to ‘try it herself to see what it’s like.’»
By 2009, Irina had begun corresponding with Epstein directly — and essentially became the new Malysheva, sending dozens of emails proposing new participants for the scheme. «Good news, my friend agreed to meet next week! I’m sending another photo; she’s not ‘Miss Russia’, as they say, but still very pretty and sweet. I’m working on a few others.» «Jeffrey, by the way, I’m with another Katya from Siberia right now; she says hi. She’s available tomorrow anytime after 6.» There are dozens of such letters from Natalia and Irina in the correspondence. Both girls were actually involved not only in the selection process, but also in scheduling Epstein’s meetings, sometimes arranging for him to meet with several girls at the same time or on the same day.
Judging by the correspondence, Irina herself may have been a victim of sex trafficking. In 2010, the financier wrote to Prince Andrew (another regular figure in the Epstein files who lost his place in the UK royal family as a result of the scandal) that his friend Irina would soon be in London and was available to have dinner with him. «She is 26, Russian, very beautiful and trustworthy. And yes, she has your email address» (the email does not mention a surname, but Chernova fits the age and description). This was not the only time Epstein invited Russian models to spend time with the prince.
It is unclear how long Chernova continued to work with Epstein. Most of the emails where the sender can clearly be identified as Chernova were sent between 2006 and 2011. In 2017, Epstein wrote to a certain Irina that she should be paid $ 28,000 and discussed this amount in correspondence with his other assistants, but it is impossible to determine for sure whether he was referring to Chernova. According to investigator Maria Pevchikh, who was the first to draw attention to Chernova’s story, the latter now lives in Florida and runs a fitness blog.
Natalia Malysheva and Irina Chernova were not the only Russian women who fell victim to Epstein and later brought girls to him. In the story of the daughter of an officer and MGIMO graduate, model Svetlana (aka Lana or Svet) Pozhidaeva, even the model’s mother picked girls for Epstein. In the late 2000s, Pozhidaeva began working as a model, signed a contract with Jean Luc Brunel’s modeling agency, which also supplied women to Epstein, and moved to the United States. She soon began recruiting Russian girls, luring them to the US under the pretext of modeling careers and work in charities.
She arranged meetings for Epstein with several girls at the same time and also organized parties on his island. In December 2015, Svetlana’s mother Irina Pozhidaeva, wrote the following letter to Epstein: «Thank you for making our trip to the United States not only possible, but also unforgettable. We had a wonderful time with our daughter in your apartment in New York and your mansion in Palm Beach. My son asked me, ‘How do you like the house?’ I said, ‘It’s like in The Great Gatsby. ‘ ‘No,’ he replied, ‘it’s not The Great Gatsby, it’s The Great Jeffrey. So for our family, you are a great man.’ A month later, Irina recommended a girl for Jeffrey to her daughter: ‘She’s very pleasant to talk to, completely broke, studying, no money. I think she’s more interesting in real life.’ Lana sent this email with attached photos to Epstein.
Ukrainian Victoria Makhova was inviting her friends to meet with Epstein in 2017−2018, among other things offering him to meet a girl she called «Bulba» in her correspondence. People on social media guessed that this could be Ukrainian model Daria Bulba, who mysteriously disappeared in China in 2016. However, Epstein turned down the meeting with Bulba, approving three other girls with Russian names.
Russian snowboarder Maria Prusakova, who competed in the 2006 Turin Olympics, was also involved in recruiting girls. She met Epstein when she was 21 and was in a relationship with him for many years. Prusakova looked for «masseuses» and «personal assistants» for Epstein. In return, the financier paid for her law school tuition in Paris and her living expenses while she was studying at the University of California in 2016−2017 (according to The New York Times).
Hundreds of thousands of Epstein’s emails are sure to contain dozens more girls from the former Soviet Union who did the same work for him. The aforementioned model Kira Dikhtyar also helped Epstein find new victims. In her emails, she asks, «Do you need new friends for a massage?» and suggests new candidates from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, at least one of whom is only 17 years old. Dikhtyar asks Epstein to «take one of the girls under his wing»: «She is very loyal, but she doesn’t understand the realities of life.»
III No younger than 19
In the spring and summer of 2018, Jeffrey Epstein’s correspondence with numerous assistants and girls was filled with constant discussions about Russia and the World Cup, which the country was hosting for the first time in history. Tens of thousands of foreigners flocked to Russian cities. From the correspondence, one could get the impression that Epstein himself was planning to visit Russia. It would not have been Epstein’s first visit to a country with which he had so many ties. He visited Russia in the 2000s, including on a joint trip with Bill Clinton, and in 2014, he at least applied for a visa to visit.
Epstein also applied for a visa in 2018. In both cases, he was assisted by former official and FSB academy graduate Sergei Belyakov, who is now responsible for government relations at the Cyberus cybersecurity fund. During his time at the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Belyakov suggested that Epstein invest in one of the fund’s projects. He also helped with more delicate matters. For example, the financier turned to him when Russian woman Guzel Ganieva allegedly blackmailed his friend Leon Black.
However, it appears that he had no intention of traveling to Russia that summer. All letters regarding the purchase of tickets to World Cup matches or hotel reservations in Russian cities concern not Epstein himself, but girls from various Russian and European cities whose tickets and accommodation he paid for. For example, in a correspondence between Epstein and his assistant, they discussed paying for one of the girls’ tickets from Paris to Russia in June 2018, her trips to St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and Moscow, tickets to three World Cup matches, and accommodation in these cities. The total costs would be $ 6,000. Epstein approved this expenditure. Another girl was supposed to fly from Paris to Kazan.
According to the correspondence, Epstein himself did not plan to travel to Russia, but simply wanted to obtain a visa — his assistants discuss several times that tickets and a hotel in Russia need to be booked for the financier, but the reservation must be refundable. One of the assistants even asks if there is a chance that Epstein plans to attend the World Cup, because that would simplify the process, but the other replies that there are no such plans. As planned, Epstein received a three-year business visa. There is no evidence in the correspondence that he actually traveled to Russia that summer, nor is there any data on him crossing the border in the leaked databases. However, all these preparations and payments for the girls’ trips were hardly altruistic.
First, many of those who received tickets to Russia and the World Cup then flew to Paris, where Epstein himself planned to be in the summer. Second, his assistants could use this time in Russia to search for and meet new models. For example, in early April 2018, a girl whose name is redacted in the files writes to the financier that she plans to hold a casting in Moscow, and if he has girls he would like to «check out,» she can personally talk to them. Before traveling to Moscow, the same girl visited Kyiv and met with models there, as well as talked on Skype with girls from other Russian cities, planning to invite them to Moscow. Epstein suggested inviting all three girls she mentioned in her correspondence and asked about the girl from Togliatti («Very cute. How old is she? No one younger than 19»), to which the assistant replied that she could «take her under her wing» — invite her to a Cosmopolitan photo shoot, and then to Paris — presumably to meet Epstein himself.
«The problem is that she is very short,» the same assistant wrote to Epstein about another model. «I can’t get her into an agency and bring her from Kyiv. I can help the others with agencies and visas though. Tell me who you want to meet, the headbooker is waiting for me.»
In the same correspondence, Epstein and his anonymous recruiter sent several links to models’ profiles on the websites of modeling agencies — the Ukrainian Faces and the Russian Select. In 2013, Epstein’s correspondence also contains a link to the website of the Russian modeling agency A.B.A. Group.
Modeling agencies clearly played an important role in the network built by the financier and his recruiters. However, it is not always possible to determine the extent to which they were involved. In some cases, the agency owners were close friends of Epstein and were clearly deeply involved in what was happening — such as Frenchman Jean-Luc Brunel (founder of the Karin Model and MC2 agencies), who was charged with sexually assaulting minors in France and was also suspected of selecting partners for Epstein. Like Epstein, Brunel hanged himself in prison while under investigation. This was not the only agency of its kind. In his correspondence, Epstein discusses that arrangements with some models must be made through the agency or that the agency must receive its cut.
In some cases, connections with agencies may not have been criminal in nature. For example, correspondence from 2018 mentions the Krasnodar agency Shtorm Models and a model named Raisa, who is fluent in English. Epstein’s assistants offered the girl a trip to Indonesia through the agency, but she refused the assignment. According to the model herself, the agency’s management may not have been aware of the clients’ intentions, and they may have approached the agency under the guise of ordinary clients.
The agency’s founder Dana Borisenko stated that she had no connection with Epstein and had never sent anyone «even on foreign contracts to American modeling agencies.»
The owners of two other Ukrainian agencies, also mentioned in Epstein’s correspondence, were also quick to deny these allegations. Maria Manyuk, founder of the Kyiv agency Linea 12 Models, who corresponded with Brunel, stated that the correspondence was exclusively professional in nature and did not go beyond a standard discussion about presenting models on the American market; moreover, none of them were ultimately selected. Stas Yankelevsky, head of another Ukrainian agency mentioned in the correspondence, L-Models, also stated that his agency had never been involved in organizing escort services.
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