Body Found in Bosphorus Believed to Be Missing Russian Swimmer
The swimmer has not been seen since he entered the water
The body of Russian swimmer Nikolai Svechnikov has presumably been found in the Bosphorus Strait half a year after his disappearance. His family is now traveling for identification.
Nikolai Svechnikov took part in a race across the Bosphorus. The athlete started along with three thousand participants but never reached the shore. The search for the Russian began only 12 hours later after the first reports that one of the swimmers had not finished. As relatives and friends of Nikolai say, he is an experienced swimmer and was capable of overcoming the distance. Crossing the strait was a long-held dream of the Muscovite.
Everything known about Nikolai Svechnikov«s disappearance — in one video
Employees noticed the body of a man in the sea off the coast of the Kuruçeşme district in Beşiktaş and reported it to the police. Specialists arrived at the scene and extracted it from the water. The deceased was in a wetsuit. Turkish police suspect that the deceased could be Nikolai.
«An unidentified body of a man has been discovered in the Bosphorus. Marine police extracted the body from the strait; it was wearing a swimming suit. Presumably, it concerns the missing participant of the August swim, Nikolai Svechnikov,» according to a message from the IHA agency.
Active searches for the swimmer were halted on October 31, 2025. However, the investigation into this case continues to this day. Currently in Turkey is the swimmer«s relative Alena. She is precisely traveling for identification.
«I was relieved that during yesterday»s storm in Istanbul and the Bosphorus, his body wasn«t carried ashore. But now, with this news about the found man, I don»t know what to think. I«m waiting for Alena to call; she»s on her way for identification. I hope it«s not him,» said Nikolai«s mother Galina Svechnikova to our colleagues at MSK1.RU.
Close ones and acquaintances of Nikolai complained that the police did not show particular zeal, and the investigation began only the day after the swim. The swimmer«s wife Antonina Svechnikova intends to sue the organizers of the swim. At the beginning of the year, she even attempted to meet with President Vladimir Putin and ask for his help in the search.
There have been many versions of what could have happened to Nikolai. We discussed them in detail in a separate article.
It was assumed that the swimmer could have deliberately left the route and staged his disappearance. However, his mother does not believe this; she detailed to our colleagues from MSK1.RU about her son and that ill-fated day. The woman believes that Nikolai survived and does not remember what happened to him.
