Petrushov was known for his exposés of government corruption in Kazakhstan, including a story which ended the career of Kazakh Politburo member Dinmukhamed A.
[1][3] Founded in 2000, Petrushova's weekly Respublika focused on covering business and economic issues in Kazakhstan, and frequently published stories highly critical of president Nursultan Nazarbayev's regime.
[1] Petrushova bought a digital copier so that Respublika could do its own printing, but then the paper's offices became the target of intimidation and threats.
[3] In July, Petrushova was given an eighteen-month jail sentence on tax charges, but served no time after a judge ruled that the case fell under an amnesty.
[2] Petrushova eventually left the country for Russia, where she continued to publish via the Internet, living apart from her family for their safety.
[3] In Moscow, Petrushova edited the Assandi Times, a publication which has reported extensively on the United States Department of Justice investigation into allegations that president Nazarbayev and his allies had accepted US$78 million in bribes from American oil companies in 2000.