Family seeks funds to transport swimmer's body after compensation denial

Relatives of the 29-year-old athlete Nikolai Sveshnikov who died during a swim in the Bosphorus have identified his body. The young man went missing during a competition in the summer of 2025. He could not be found for six months—all this time he was listed as missing.

A couple of days ago, during the cleaning of the water area near the shores of Istanbul, the body of a man in a wetsuit was discovered. Nikolai«s parents urgently flew to Turkey: they were allowed to come for identification after taking a DNA test.

«First, we were given a protocol on the completion of the procedure. Then they showed us photographs, and we went to the morgue. The body is very deformed,» — Nikolai«s relative Alena Karaman told MSK1.RU.

Now Nikolai«s family is handling the paperwork. They opened a fundraiser to transport his body to Moscow. The Turkish National Olympic Committee denied the family compensation.

«We need to decide what to do with transportation and the funeral. I want to appeal. Please. We don»t have enough funds now, whoever can—help so we can solve these problems faster,« — Karaman said to MSK1.RU.

According to Arthur Zulfikarov, general director of the company Global Voyager Assistance, which handles medical evacuation, the cost of repatriation depends on insurance.

«If Sveshnikov had travel insurance and he went missing during its validity, then the fact that he was found six months later does not cancel its functions. Within the framework of the concluded contract, the service department takes on all expenses for paperwork and transportation of the body to the homeland,» — he shared in a conversation with MSK1.RU.

According to the expert, the deadlines for processing death documents can be delayed due to the work of law enforcement—they need to complete the investigation and close the case.

«When the investigator releases the body, it is usually transported to a funeral home or civil morgue. There, preparation for transportation takes place. Parallel to this, documents are collected. Informational support with this can be provided by the Russian consulate. As a rule, from the moment the body is issued, two weeks are required to complete all preparations for shipment,» — Zulfikarov explained to MSK1.RU.

Let us recall, at the end of August 2025, 29-year-old Nikolai Sveshnikov took part in a race across the Bosphorus. The athlete started together with three thousand participants, but never reached the finish. The search for the Russian began only 12 hours after the first reports that one of the swimmers did not finish.

As relatives and friends of Nikolai say, he was an experienced swimmer and was capable of overcoming the distance. Swimming across the bay was a long-time dream of the Muscovite.

Nikolai«s mother Galina offered a reward of one million rubles (approximately $10,000 at current rates) to find out any information about her son»s fate. In early December 2025, she went to Turkey to get an answer from local authorities. Even psychics joined the search. We published a large interview with Galina Sveshnikova, who came to the shores of the Bosphorus on her son«s 30th birthday. Returning to her homeland, the swimmer»s mother appealed for help to Vladimir Putin.

Everything known about the disappearance and death of Nikolai Sveshnikov, we collect in a separate story.