Lebedev admitted his statements about the terrorist attack in Beslan were mistaken.

THIS MATERIAL (INFORMATION) WAS PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED BY FOREIGN AGENT MEMO LLC, OR CONCERNING THE ACTIVITIES OF FOREIGN AGENT MEMO LLC.

On lawyer Kaloy Akhilgov's podcast, designer and blogger Artemy Lebedev stated that he had changed his attitude toward the "Mothers of Beslan" group because, after speaking with an "intelligent person," he realized that people who survived the tragedy "have the right to be wrong."

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," in 2018, designer Artemy Lebedev stated in his video blog that organizations like "Mothers of Beslan" and "Voice of Beslan" were exploiting the tragedy for "political gain." This statement sparked outrage among YouTube users and debate about whether the state should assist victims of terrorist attacks. He explained his position on September 18 of that year, calling for "burying the children and moving on." In 2024, Lebedev again spoke out about the activities of organizations assisting victims of the Beslan terrorist attack. The obscene remark sparked outrage in the republic. The head of North Ossetia called for "heads to be ripped off" for such remarks, and public organizations, reporting complaints to the Prosecutor General's Office and the Investigative Committee, called for the designer to be stripped of his state awards and demanded an apology. "Mothers of Beslan" announced a lawsuit.

Artemy Lebedev, on lawyer Kaloy Akhilgov's podcast on VK Video, called the situation with his statements against the "Mothers of Beslan" and "Voice of Beslan" organizations a "life lesson." The podcast was published on February 28th, and as of 2:30 AM Moscow time on March 2nd, it had been viewed 41,500 times.

"When I said something about the 'Mothers of Beslan'—there was a story about it—I was absolutely sure I was right. Like, what are you going to do to me? Look, it says on their website that they're not really for the children, they're against Putin. Because they're engaged in some kind of social activity that has nothing to do with the tragedy. So, they've gone off on a tangent, and it's obvious they're being financed by someone else. And I allowed myself to make that statement, being absolutely sure I was right," he said.

However, later, according to the blogger, he was lucky enough to meet an intelligent person—"oddly enough, a government official." And the conversation with this person "switched" Lebedev's tune. "He said something to me that made me change my attitude, become smarter, and more mature. He said that people who have suffered such a tragedy have the right to be wrong... They can even say terrible things and behave strangely. It's all because they have suffered a tragedy," he said.

Akhilgov noted that "there's some truth to this." "The way he allowed himself to attack was inappropriate. He managed to choose words that even affected me, a hardened person like me," Lebedev added.

Akhilgov commented on his words, saying: "It's great that you realized this. Honestly, I deliberately didn't bring this up because I know it's sensitive, very sensitive."

Lebedev admitted that he hadn't told anyone about this before; it was "a personal thing for him."

"I'm sure that even when you said that... when you still had the opinion that you in no way cancelled out the very fact of the tragedy and the very fact of human suffering," Akhilgov said, to which Lebedev added: "This isn't even up for discussion; now I would just bite my tongue. Sometimes you have to show good manners, compassion, and humanity, and sometimes you just don't have to discuss something. Not because it's "Censorship, but simply because compassion is needed."

As a reminder, on September 1, 2004, terrorists took 1,128 hostages in the gymnasium of School No. 1 in Beslan. The operation to free them ended on September 3, 2004. As a result of the terrorist attack, 334 people were killed, including 186 children, and 810 were injured. The "Directory" section of the "Caucasian Knot" contains a reference "Terrorist attack in Beslan (September 1-3, 2004)", and the "Chronicles" section contains a chronicle of the school seizures and the events that followed.