99% It's Him': Swimmer's Family Awaits Bosphorus ID

The mother of a Russian swimmer who vanished in the Bosphorus is preparing to fly to Turkey as authorities work to identify a body found in the strait.

Jan 23, 2026

The family of the missing swimmer is prepared to identify the body discovered in the Bosphorus strait.
Source:
Nikolai Svechnikov / Instagram (an extremist organization, activities banned in the territory of the Russian Federation)

Today in Istanbul, during work to clean the Bosphorus waters, employees discovered the body of a person in a swimsuit and handed it over to the marine police. Turkish authorities suggest that this could be the body of Russian swimmer Nikolai Svechnikov, who disappeared without a trace on August 24, 2025, while swimming across the Bosphorus.

A relative of Nikolai Svechnikov, Alena, who lives in Istanbul, is now going to the police and then to the morgue to identify the body of the found man.

«Nothing is known for sure yet, but we assume that it could be him with 99% probability,» Alena told MSK1.RU.

The mother of Nikolai Svechnikov is now preparing to fly to Turkey. The family has also requested assistance from the Russian General Consulate in Istanbul.

In January, the swimmer«s wife, Antonina Svechnikova, tried to meet with President Vladimir Putin and ask for his help in the search. The swimmer»s family was already offered to issue a death certificate for a close relative. Earlier, the mother of Nikolai Svechnikov, Galina, spoke in detail about her son and that ill-fated day.

For Nikolai«s birthday, his mother Galina flew to Istanbul to meet with representatives of the Russian consulate general. She was promised to organize a meeting with the head of the region, where they will discuss the search for the swimmer. In turn, the lawyer of Galina Svechnikova met with a Turkish prosecutor— they were assured that Nikolai is still being searched for, and a criminal case has been opened against the organizers of the swim.

MSK.RU is monitoring the situation. All news about what happened in August 2025 in Istanbul with Russian swimmer Nikolai Svechnikov, we collect in a special section.