24th October, Rosbalt

Russia Tests Artificial Intelligence in Courts Across More Than 20 Regions

Russia’s Supreme Court Chairman Igor Krasnov announced that artificial intelligence (AI) systems are being piloted in courts across more than 20 regions, including Moscow, the Moscow Oblast, Amur and Vologda regions, during a visit to China focused on exchanging experience in AI technologies. The pilot programmes involve analysing judicial precedents and Supreme Court legal interpretations, identifying errors and inconsistencies in legal documents, and automating court hearing transcripts, with plans to eventually extend AI services to all Russian courts. Krasnov emphasised that AI would serve exclusively as a technical assistant to improve judicial efficiency, transparency and fairness, while judges would retain sole responsibility for evaluating evidence and delivering final verdicts.

24th October, Life.ru

Russia’s Youth Football Team Returns to FIFA Tournament Under National Flag and Anthem After Four-Year Absence

Russia’s under-15 national football team will participate in the FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival in Baku, Azerbaijan, marking the first appearance of Russia’s national football team in an official FIFA-organised tournament since 2022, competing under the official flag and national anthem. The team will face Sudan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Djibouti and Sierra Leone during the group stage of a competition involving 189 national teams, with matches played in an eight-a-side format consisting of two 20-minute halves.

24th October, National News Service (NSN)

Saudi Arabia Will Not Host Russia’s Intervision Song Contest in 2026 Amid Organisational and Security Concerns

The international Intervision Song Contest, revived by Russia in 2025, will not take place in Saudi Arabia in 2026, with organisers reportedly considering postponement until 2027. The article attributes the disruption to unresolved organisational arrangements and security concerns arising from escalating Middle Eastern conflicts, despite earlier assurances by Russian officials, including Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov, that preparations were continuing. The cancellation follows the competition's relaunch in Moscow in September 2025 with participants from more than 20 countries, while music producer Iosif Prigozhin has criticised its organisation and questioned its long-term viability.

24th October, Novaya Gazeta

Patriarch Demands Silence: Russian Orthodox Church Restricts Clergy’s Speech and Tightens Rules for Ukrainian Orthodox Believers

Patriarch Kirill and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) approved new requirements obliging prospective clergy to pledge not to make online statements discrediting the Church or distorting its teachings, with violations potentially resulting in defrocking. The Synod also adopted regulations requiring individuals baptised in Ukrainian Orthodox denominations deemed schismatic by Moscow to undergo rebaptism when joining the ROC, while prohibiting Ukrainian-language worship in communities seeking admission. These decisions reflect the Church's increasing alignment with Russia's political system, comparing the new clerical oath to Soviet-era loyalty pledges and highlighting the contrast between the treatment of Ukrainian Orthodox believers and converts from other Christian denominations.

23rd October, RBC

Russia Introduces Register of Convicted Expatriates Subject to Financial and Civil Restrictions

Russia's Ministry of Justice published the first 12 names in a new register targeting its citizens living abroad who have been convicted or fined for specified offences and are deemed to be evading punishment, including opposition figures Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Ekaterina Schulmann, Leonid Gozman and Vladimir Milov. Established under legislation signed by President Vladimir Putin on 4 August 2026, the register imposes 14 restrictive measures, including the freezing of financial assets, limitations on banking and property transactions, and restrictions on consular services, passport issuance and access to digital government services. The legislation, unanimously approved by the State Duma in July, was defended by officials as a means of enforcing accountability among Russians abroad, while legal experts questioned its compatibility with constitutional guarantees of equal treatment and state protection of citizens overseas.

22nd October, Izvestia

Russia’s Federal Tax Service Tightens Scrutiny of Large Businesses, Quadrupling Tax Collections

Russia’s Federal Tax Service (FNS) intensified oversight of major corporations during the first half of 2026, increasing revenue collected through tax compliance measures by 4.4 times to 91 billion roubles compared with the same period in 2025. The number of on-site tax inspections targeting major companies rose by 83%, while additional collections from tax oversight across all businesses increased by 50% to 326 billion roubles. The intensified scrutiny reflects efforts to combat tax evasion, expanding digital monitoring capabilities and growing pressure to replenish federal revenues amid a budget deficit of 5.2 trillion roubles in the first nine months of 2026.

22nd October, Verstka

War Veteran Turned Mayor Dismissed After Challenging Local Corruption in Russia's Kirov Region

Nikita Gorelov, a veteran of Russia's war in Ukraine and graduate of the presidential Time of Heroes programme, was dismissed as mayor of Sosnovka in Kirov Region following a municipal government reform that abolished the town's independent administration. Appointed in October 2024 with the backing of Governor Alexander Sokolov, Gorelov publicly accused local United Russia officials of corruption and was subsequently ordered to return to the front, although the order was never enforced following public controversy. Kremlin officials had previously described his appointment as the most unsuccessful example of integrating war veterans into government, while Gorelov accused regional authorities of exploiting veterans for publicity before abandoning them.

21st October, Meduza

Monument to Alexander Solzhenitsyn Returned to Central Vladivostok One Day After Removal

A monument to Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, dismantled on 20 October from Vladivostok's Korabelnaya Embankment, was unexpectedly returned to its original location the following day after plans to relocate it to the Square of Faith and Hope encountered difficulties. City authorities explained that the monument's dimensions were unsuitable for the smaller square and that residents had complained it would obstruct views, prompting plans to modify the site before proceeding with the relocation. Unveiled in September 2015 to commemorate Solzhenitsyn's return to Russia through Vladivostok in 1994, the monument was intended to be moved to a square built on the site of a former Soviet transit camp, where the Memorial organisation had helped establish a memorial to victims of political repression.

21st October, Interfax

Palace for Veterans of the War in Ukraine to Open in Moscow by the End of 2027

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced plans to open a Palace for Veterans of the Special Military Operation in Ekaterininsky Park by the end of 2027, transforming an existing social rehabilitation centre into a facility for veterans and their families. The reconstructed complex, comprising two three-storey buildings covering 22,000 square metres, will provide rehabilitation, social integration programmes, preventive healthcare, adaptive physical education and nutritional support, with an emphasis on flexible daytime and short-term services. Sobyanin highlighted the park's historical association with the Russian military, including its proximity to the Central Museum of the Soviet Army, the Soviet Army Theatre and the Central House of the Russian Army, while announcing that the park's wider reconstruction would be completed by the end of 2026.

21st October, Meduza

Founder of Ultranationalist Publishing House Black Hundred Wanted in Russia, Possibly for Desertion

Russia's Interior Ministry placed Dmitry Bastrakov, founder of the ultranationalist publishing house Black Hundred (Chornaya Sotnya) and its associated Listva bookstores, on its wanted list without publicly specifying the criminal charge. According to leaked information, Bastrakov was reportedly investigated for unauthorised absence from a military unit, potentially stemming from the reassignment of his Tyl-22 humanitarian team to another formation in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in 2023. Bastrakov, who established Black Hundred in 2013 and has been involved in Donbas since 2014, founded Tyl-22 after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine to support civilians and Russian soldiers, while his bookstores have served as venues for meetings involving pro-war writers, military correspondents and separatist leaders.

21st October, The Insider

Putin’s Doppelgangers: Who Is Behind the Kremlin’s Doppelganger Disinformation Network and What Do They Do?

An investigation reveals how Russia’s Presidential Administration established the Doppelganger disinformation network in 2022 under the supervision of Sergei Kiriyenko, with political consultant Ilya Gambashidze’s Social Design Agency coordinating its operations. The network reportedly involves hundreds of participants, including Presidential Administration officials, former diplomats, MGIMO graduates, political consultants and pro-Kremlin media figures, with Alexander Kharichev overseeing operations targeting Ukraine and Sofia Zakharova coordinating campaigns directed at Western countries. Its methods include impersonating established news outlets, manufacturing fake stories and videos, deploying AI-generated content, and staging offline provocations to amplify anti-Western narratives, undermine support for Ukraine and exploit political and social divisions in European countries.

21st October, Novaya Gazeta Europe

Head of Yabloko’s Omsk Branch Fined Over 15-Year-Old Social Media Comment

An Omsk district court fined Tatyana Shneider, head of the regional branch of the opposition Yabloko party, 10,000 roubles for allegedly inciting hatred through a VKontakte comment dating back to 2011. Shneider denied writing the comment, claiming her account had been repeatedly hacked, while VKontakte informed prosecutors that it could neither confirm nor disprove the comment’s origin because records from that period were unavailable. According to Yabloko, anti-extremism officers discovered the comment during the 2026 State Duma election campaign, while party chairman Nikolai Rybakov alleged that the prosecution was intended to prevent Shneider from participating in the 2027 Omsk municipal elections

21st October, ComNews

Roskomnadzor Updates List of Countries Providing Adequate Personal Data Protection

Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor published Order No. 253, updating its list of foreign countries recognised as providing adequate personal data protection, reducing the number from 89 to 88. Ukraine was removed from the list, while the United States remains excluded, although numerous Western countries, including the United Kingdom and France, retain their recognition. Experts explained that inclusion depends on comprehensive data protection legislation, an independent regulatory authority, and enforcement mechanisms, noting that the United States lacks a unified federal framework comparable to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

19th October, Current Time

Pro-War Blogger Tatyana Montyan Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison Over Calls for Violence Against ‘Okhranota’/Regime Loyalists

A court in Donetsk sentenced pro-war blogger and lawyer Tatyana Montyan to 18 months in a penal colony for public calls to extremism, following a 2022 statement advocating violence against the so-called okhranota/regime loyalists. Montyan claimed that her prosecution was connected to her criticism of developments in Russian-occupied Donbas, and she was added to Russia's register of terrorists and extremists in October 2025. Before the criminal proceedings, prominent pro-government figures, including Ekaterina Mizulina and Vladimir Solovyov, had criticised her, with Mizulina reporting her publications to the Interior Ministry over allegations of discrediting the Russian military.

19th October, RBC

16,400 Construction Companies Closed in Russia Over the Past Year

The number of construction companies operating in Russia declined by 16,400, or 4.3%, over the past year, leaving 362,300 businesses active as of 1 October 2026, according to SPARK data cited by RBC. Some 30,400 companies are undergoing bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings, while another 41,700 have had their bank accounts frozen by the Federal Tax Service and 47,100 face a high probability of bankruptcy. Experts attribute the industry's mounting financial difficulties to rising project financing costs, declining sales, and the exhaustion of financial reserves that had sustained construction businesses over the previous two years.

19th October, The Insider

Monument to Felix Dzerzhinsky Unveiled on Sakhalin as At Least 19 Similar Monuments Have Been Installed Since 2022

Authorities in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk unveiled a monument to Felix Dzerzhinsky, founder of the Soviet secret police (Cheka) and a principal organiser of the Red Terror, marking at least the third such monument inaugurated in Russia in 2026. At least 19 monuments honouring Dzerzhinsky have been unveiled across Russia and Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories since 2022, including seven in 2025. Sakhalin Governor Valery Limarenko praised Dzerzhinsky as a symbol of discipline, duty and patriotic service, while the article highlights the historical role of the Cheka in organising mass repression and its institutional legacy in Russia's modern security services.

18th October, The Insider

Russia’s Security Forces Remove Ivan Zolo from Stage in Donetsk over Video Featuring Alleged Satanist Symbolism

Russia’s security personnel detained blogger and musician Ivan Zolo during a concert in occupied Donetsk on 17th October, removing him from the stage and forcing the cancellation of the performance. According to Zolo, the detention concerned an earlier video in which he wore a T-shirt allegedly featuring prohibited Satanist symbolism (rumours indicate that it was a Slayer band T-shirt), purchased in 2022 before Russia's Supreme Court banned the purported "International Satanism Movement" in July 2025, prompting him to promise to delete the videos and destroy the garment. The incident follows a series of similar cases involving alleged Satanist imagery, including prosecutions over pentagrams, the disruption of a black metal concert in Moscow, and the detention of a political candidate over images published before the prohibition.

16th October, Vedomosti

Which Sectors in Russia Face the Highest Bankruptcy Risks?

Corporate bankruptcies in Russia increased by 11% in the first half of 2026, reaching 3,547 cases and marking the first increase in nine years. Trade and construction accounted for the largest shares of bankruptcies, with each sector representing approximately one-quarter of the total. According to analysis of data from Fedresurs and Rosstat, bankruptcy risks in construction were twice the national average, with similarly high or higher risks in energy, utilities, and mining, while education, healthcare, culture, IT, and telecommunications faced the lowest risks.

13th October, Kommersant

Speaking Is Optional: Interior Ministry Proposes Expanding Russian-Language Examination Exemptions for Migrant Workers

Russia's Interior Ministry proposed exempting foreign workers employed by companies in priority development territories from examinations in Russian language, history, and legislation, seeking to address labour shortages and encourage investment in economically strategic regions. The proposal would extend existing exemptions to all eligible foreign workers regardless of their country of origin, with experts suggesting that the measure could improve recruitment while affecting only a relatively small proportion of Russia's migrant workforce. However, specialists warned that language barriers could create workplace safety risks in construction, manufacturing, and extractive industries, while the proposed exemptions introduce further inconsistencies into Russia's evolving migration regulations.

12th October, Fontanka

Putin Ratifies Labour Migration Agreement with India: What Will Change for Workers

President Vladimir Putin signed a law ratifying a bilateral agreement with India to facilitate temporary employment for citizens of both countries, while maintaining work permit requirements and restrictions on employment outside authorised activities. The agreement establishes provisions for equal employment conditions and labour-market regulation, with implementation dependent on both countries completing the necessary procedures. There has been growing recruitment of Indian workers in the Russian Federation, alongside difficulties involving employment quotas, language barriers, and reported cases of withheld passports and unpaid wages.

12th October, Sportbox

European Aquatics Intends to Bring Major International Competitions Back to Russia in the Coming Years

European Aquatics President António Silva announced plans to restore major international aquatic sports competitions in the Russian Federation within the next few years, including both senior and junior events. During his first visit to Russia, organised at the invitation of Russia’s Aquatics Federation Chairman Dmitry Mazepin, Silva emphasised Russia’s importance to European and global aquatic sports and reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to Russian athletes’ participation in accordance with World Aquatics’ decision of 30th April. Following productive discussions with the Russian Federation, Silva expressed confidence that the time was right to propose hosting international competitions in Russia again, potentially including the European Swimming Championships within five years.

11th October, Antibot4Navalny (X)

Claims That Ukrainian Strikes on Yandex Data Centres Silenced Russia’s Propaganda Bots Are Based on Misinterpreted Data

The Russian disinformation-monitoring project Antibot4Navalny challenged claims that Ukrainian drone strikes against Yandex data centres had significantly disrupted Kremlin-controlled social media bot networks, arguing that widely circulated Cloudflare statistics had been misinterpreted. According to the project's eight-post thread, the reported collapse in automated traffic concerned Yandex's own network rather than Russian internet traffic generally, with the affected activity likely consisting primarily of legitimate search-engine crawlers that automatically index websites rather than accounts spreading propaganda on social media. Antibot4Navalny further demonstrated that Cloudflare's broader measurements of automated traffic originating from Russia remained largely consistent with previous weeks, meaning the available data did not substantiate claims that Russian online influence operations had been substantially disrupted.

8th October, Novaya Gazeta Europe

Russia’s Defence Ministry Proposes Allowing Military Police to Set Ambushes for Draft Evaders and Operate in Civilian Clothing

Russia's Ministry of Defence has drafted a presidential decree significantly expanding the powers of military police, granting them investigative authority over military-related criminal cases and additional powers to locate and detain draft evaders and soldiers who have deserted their units. Under the proposal, military police would be authorised to set up ambushes, checkpoints, observation posts, and patrols; question individuals; pursue suspects; and cordon off areas where wanted servicemen might be hiding. The amendments would also permit military police officers to operate in civilian clothing with permission from their superiors, make their orders binding on personnel from other military formations and allow the use of ordinary military vehicles to transport detainees in areas under martial law.

8th October, Novaya Gazeta Europe

Kazakhstan-Born Russian Stripped of His Only Citizenship for Missing Military Registration Deadline and Banned from Russia for 50 Years

Russian authorities revoked the citizenship of 31-year-old Vladislav E., who was born and raised in Kazakhstan and obtained Russian citizenship in July 2025, after he failed to report to a military enlistment office on the designated date, despite subsequently registering voluntarily and paying a fine. Having renounced his Kazakhstani citizenship in accordance with Kazakhstan's prohibition on dual nationality, Vladislav was left stateless and received a 50-year ban on entering Russia, although he has continued living in Surgut for more than six months. Two courts have rejected his appeals against the authorities' decision, and while the Interior Ministry maintains that he can reapply for residency and citizenship, Vladislav intends to challenge the ruling before a higher court.

8th October, The Insider

At Least Nine Political Prisoners Have Died in Russian Detention Since the Beginning of 2026

At least nine political prisoners have died in Russia’s detention facilities since the beginning of 2026, according to The Insider, with the latest victim being 52-year-old Igor Yakovenko, who died in a Krasnodar pre-trial detention centre after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour and returned to custody for palliative care. Yakovenko had been sentenced to five years in prison in October 2025 for allegedly preparing to join the Freedom of Russia Legion, while human rights organisation Memorial reported that he had been beaten in detention and questioned whether his prosecution might have resulted from an FSB provocation. The other eight deaths involved prisoners convicted on charges ranging from treason and alleged terrorism-related offences to anti-war expression, with several cases involving reports of inadequate medical treatment, deteriorating health, alleged abuse or suspected suicide.

8th October, The Insider

Russian Security Forces Search Home of Pro-War Blogger Roman Alekhin Amid Fraud Allegations and Foreign Agent Designation

Russian law enforcement officers searched the home of pro-war military blogger Roman Alekhin, seizing his phone and laptop, although he remained free and subsequently explained that he was a witness in a criminal investigation concerning anonymous bomb threats sent to a court in August 2025 that included his cryptocurrency wallet address. Alekhin, who had previously been investigated on suspicion of fraud after a leaked video allegedly showed him discussing how to divert part of a 200-million-rouble donation intended for medical assistance to Russian troops, was designated a foreign agent by the Ministry of Justice in September 2025. After the designation, Alekhin announced he would stop posting on social media because of the psychological burden of mandatory foreign-agent labelling, while authorities fined him three times in 2026 for failing to comply with the associated regulations.

8th October, Novaya Gazeta Europe

Russian TikToker Jailed for Nine Days Over Coded Calls to Protest Election Results by Searching for a Missing Cat Named Freedom

An 18-year-old TikTok blogger from Yekaterinburg, identified as Evelina, served nine days in administrative detention for allegedly organising an unauthorised demonstration after posting a video encouraging people to search for a fictional missing cat named Freedom, a coded campaign protesting Russia's election results. Police reportedly interrogated her for approximately five hours, threatened criminal prosecution over her phone's contents and political associations, and forced her to record an apology video discouraging participation, as they had done with other participants in the campaign. The initiative originated with a TikTok account called People Against, reportedly created by a 15-year-old seeking a peaceful and safe form of protest, but subsequently attracted accusations of provocation and unsubstantiated allegations linking activists from the anti-internet-censorship movement Scarlet Swan to its organisation.

7th October, Mediazona

Russian Student Sentenced to 19 Years in Prison After Alleged Torture, Disputed Evidence and Complaints Against Investigators

A Russian military court sentenced 19-year-old Russian State University for the Humanities student Dmitry Bokov to 19 years' imprisonment for allegedly preparing a terrorist attack on a mosque, with investigators treating his attendance at shooting, self-defence and driving lessons as evidence of terrorist training. According to his family, security officers tortured Bokov during his detention in October 2025, using electric shocks, strangulation and a field telephone to obtain his phone password, while the prosecution subsequently relied on messages discovered on a separate Xiaomi smartphone that he and his defence insisted did not belong to him. His parents further alleged that investigators expanded the charges against Bokov in retaliation for the family's legal challenges and complaints, raising concerns about the reliability of the evidence and the fairness of the proceedings.

7th October, Sirena

Tomsk University Expels Opposition Activist Over Social Media Posts from 2017 and 2019

Tomsk Polytechnic University expelled Anton Isakov, head of the regional branch of the opposition party Rassvet, following administrative convictions related to social media posts published several years earlier, despite his plans to participate in elections to the State Duma and Tomsk Regional Duma. In June 2026, Isakov received 15 days of administrative detention for displaying the Facebook logo in a 2019 post, which authorities classified as extremist symbolism, and in July he was fined 5,000 roubles for a 2017 post linking to the website of Open Russia, designated an undesirable organisation. Following a request from prosecutors, the university initiated disciplinary proceedings and issued an expulsion order on 2nd October, citing the promotion of prohibited ideologies and behaviour undermining the constitutional order, while university representatives reportedly told Isakov that extremists had no place in higher education.

7th October, The Insider

Russia Adds 14-Year-Old Girl to Terrorist and Extremist Register for the First Time.

Russia's Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring) added 14-year-old Sofia Moiseeva, born in Samara, to its register of terrorists and extremists, making her the youngest girl ever included, although the authorities have not disclosed the reasons for her designation. Another 14-year-old from Samara, Albert Zakirov, was added to the register six days earlier, but no information is publicly available about his alleged offences or any connection between the two cases. According to research cited by The Insider, at least 779 individuals had been added to the register before reaching adulthood, including 754 (almost 97%) since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, while the number of minors currently listed had reached 518 by 24th September 2026.

7th October, Vedomosti

Russia to Open Its First Overseas Public Services Centre in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Russia will establish its first overseas multifunctional public services centre (MFC) at the Russian House in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, providing Russian citizens living abroad with access to administrative services such as obtaining individual pension insurance numbers (SNILS) and electronic signatures, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko announced. A similar facility is expected to open in Kazakhstan within the coming months, while the government plans eventually to extend these services to foreign nationals. According to the report, submitting applications through the Gosuslugi state services portal and arranging document delivery via Russian Post or MFC offices could cost up to 5,000 roubles per service, with the fees covering staffing, supplies and other operating expenses.

7th October, Mediazona

Scientist Sentenced to Three and a Half Years in Prison for Donating 2,000 Roubles to Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation

Moscow's Gagarinsky District Court sentenced 50-year-old biologist Sofia Rozenfeld, a senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences specialising in Arctic geese, to three and a half years in a penal colony for financing an organisation designated as extremist, following two donations of 1,000 roubles each to Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) in August and September 2021. Rozenfeld maintained that the payments were automatically deducted while she was on a scientific expedition without communication access, that she cancelled her subscription upon learning of the FBK's designation as extremist, and that her donations had been motivated exclusively by opposition to corruption rather than support for extremism. Prosecutors had requested a five-year prison sentence, while her defence argued that her actions posed no genuine danger to society; according to Mediazona, she became the third known woman to receive an actual prison sentence for donating to the FBK.

7th October, RBC Kaliningrad

Russian Pensioner Who Swam to Lithuania Seeking Asylum Sentenced to Six Years in Prison

A military court in Kaliningrad sentenced 68-year-old Igor Odintsov to six years in a strict-regime penal colony for allegedly publicly promoting terrorism on social media, also prohibiting him from administering websites and online channels for three years. Odintsov, who opposed Russia's invasion of Ukraine, had crossed the Neman River into Lithuania on 17th September seeking political asylum, telling Lithuanian authorities that he faced persecution in Russia for his online activities, but was returned to Russia the same day, where he was re-arrested. Lithuanian border officials subsequently claimed that his request for international protection had been ambiguously expressed and that there was insufficient evidence of danger to justify admitting him, while the Russian court delivered its verdict on 30th September, leaving open the possibility of an appeal.

7th October, Novaya Gazeta Europe

FSB Proposes State-Funded First-Class Flights for Senior Officials Travelling on Holiday or for Medical Treatment

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has drafted an order allowing members of its governing board, including the director, deputy directors and other senior officials, to travel first class at state expense not only on official business but also for holidays and medical treatment. Under existing rules, these officials are entitled to first-class travel for business trips and relocations but only business class for personal travel, a distinction the proposed changes would eliminate. The proposal also establishes travel entitlements for other senior officers, eligible family members and families of deceased servicemen, while permitting additional expenses for transporting weapons, classified documents and military equipment during official journeys.

6th October, Vedomosti

Russia's Shortage of Industrial and Manual Workers Could Reach 2.6 million by 2030

Russia could face a shortage of 2.61 million manual and industrial workers by 2030, compared with approximately one million in 2024, according to projections by consulting firm Ecopsy, with the share of unfilled positions rising to 10.5% of total demand. The projected shortage is primarily driven by demographic decline, particularly the shrinking population of workers aged 30–39, compounded by younger generations' declining participation in manual occupations and the limited capacity of migration to compensate for these trends. Although increases in labour productivity and the higher retirement age are expected to partially mitigate the shortage, the latter is projected to retain only approximately 390,000 additional workers, leaving significant structural imbalances across Russia's labour market.

6th October, Interfax

Russia’s Investigative Committee Drops Criminal Case Against Children's Hospice Director Lida Moniava

Russia's Investigative Committee has terminated the criminal case against Lida Moniava, head of the Lighthouse charity foundation and children's hospice, who had been accused of spreading allegedly false information about the Russian Armed Forces, according to her lawyer Mikhail Biryukov. The investigation was discontinued because her actions did not constitute a criminal offence, following her detention on 2nd September and the subsequent imposition of restrictions on her activities by a Moscow court. Investigators had accused Moniava of publishing false claims on Telegram about Russian military actions against Ukrainian civilians, allegations she denied during questioning.

5th October, Meduza

Number of Russian Citizens Holding EU Residence Permits Increased by 105,000 Since the Start of the War

The number of citizens of the Russian Federation holding valid temporary or permanent residence permits in the European Union increased by approximately 105,000 (14%) between the end of 2021 and the end of 2025, rising from 772,000 to 877,000, according to Eurostat data cited by the media project Volna. Germany hosted the largest number of Russian residence permit holders (218,000), followed by Spain (117,000) and Estonia (78,000), while Spain recorded the greatest increase over the four years (+44,000), followed by Cyprus (+27,000) and France (+14,000). Conversely, Latvia, Estonia and the Czech Republic experienced declines of 15,000, 9,000 and 8,000 respectively, with the overall growth in Russian residents across the EU concentrated in 2022–2023 before largely stabilising.

5th October, Current Time

Russian Activist Deported from the United States Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Allegedly Justifying Terrorism

A Russian court sentenced Leonid Melekhin, an activist from Perm, to six years in a penal colony on charges of justifying terrorism, reportedly stemming from Telegram posts featuring anti-Putin imagery and an online comment whose contents remain unknown. Melekhin left Russia in 2023 after being detained for displaying a placard supporting Alexei Navalny and subsequently sought political asylum in the United States, where he was held in immigration detention before his application was rejected despite an existing criminal case against him in Russia. Following his deportation in July 2025, Russian security officers detained Melekhin at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, and he was placed in pre-trial detention before receiving his prison sentence.

5th October, Kommersant

Russian Federation Considers Charging Users for International Internet Traffic to Discourage VPN Use

Russia's Ministry of Digital Development is reportedly discussing with mobile operators the introduction of additional charges for international internet traffic exceeding 50 GB on 5G networks, as part of broader efforts to reduce VPN usage. Although the ministry had previously considered implementing the measure in October 2026, telecommunications operators currently lack the necessary technical infrastructure to distinguish and bill international 5G traffic separately, making delays likely. Industry experts suggest that the measure would initially affect relatively few subscribers because of limited 5G coverage and the high proposed threshold, with only 13.8% of mobile users consuming more than 50 GB of total monthly traffic.

5th October, Current Time

Activist Dmitry Morozov, Who Attempted to Organise a Rally for Fair Elections in Izhevsk, Arrested on Drug Charges

A court in Izhevsk ordered the arrest of 27-year-old activist Dmitry Morozov on charges of possessing a large quantity of narcotics, with prosecutors alleging that 0.38 grams of mephedrone were discovered in his home and claiming unspecified links to a Ukrainian armed formation. Morozov's father reported that his son had visible injuries following his detention on 3rd October and that his lawyer had been denied access to him for more than 24 hours. The arrest followed Morozov's efforts to organise a demonstration against electoral fraud, during which he successfully challenged the city authorities' refusal to authorise the rally, securing a court order requiring them to provide an alternative location and time.

3rd October, Meduza
The highest-grossing film of the month in Russia was “Twilight.” Yes, that one

The 2008 film Twilight became Russia’s highest-grossing film in September after returning to cinemas on 17 September and earning around 340 million Rubles, outperforming newly released Russian films. It was the first time since nationwide box-office records began in 2015 that an older re-released film, rather than a new release, topped the monthly Russian box office. Almost half of the audience was aged 18 to 24, with research cited by the article indicating that social media, recommendations from friends and the franchise’s continuing online popularity played a major role in attracting viewers.

2nd October, SOTA
RVC tells PACE that the Russian opposition has turned elections into a source of income

At an open session of the Russian platform at PACE devoted to the recent elections in Russia, Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) political representative Pyotr Bakumov argued that protest voting had produced no meaningful results and that opposition-backed electoral mechanisms were incapable of influencing the Russian regime. He said that encouraging participation in elections creates additional risks for activists inside Russia and accused some representatives of the exiled opposition of turning elections into a source of income by benefiting financially from promoting protest voting. The RVC called for resources spent on election campaigns to be redirected towards other methods of opposing the Russian regime and said it was prepared to cooperate with political forces that shared its methods and objectives.

2nd October, Vedomosti
What will make up Russia’s budget revenues next year?

Russia’s government expects federal budget revenues in 2027 to rely increasingly on non-oil-and-gas sources, which are projected to reach 38.2 trillion Rubles out of total revenues of 45.8 trillion, while oil and gas revenues are expected to fall to 7 trillion Rubles, or less than 17% of the total. VAT is projected to remain the largest source of revenue at just over 20 trillion Rubles, while higher receipts are also expected from corporate profit tax and personal income tax, including through tax changes affecting cross-border e-commerce, passive income and bank deposits. Experts cited said the growing non-oil share represents a significant structural change in the budget, although some questioned whether corporate profits will recover strongly enough to deliver the projected tax revenues.

2nd October, SOTA Vision
Editor of the “Natsdem” Telegram channel Kirill Nikulenkov released from prison

Kirill Nikulenkov, one of the editors of the “Natsdem” Telegram channel, was released on 2 October after fully serving a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence. In October 2025, the channel’s administrator Georgy Paramoshin was sentenced to eight years on charges including inciting hatred, calling for extremism and organising an extremist community, while investigators alleged that “Natsdem” combined national-democratic rhetoric with criticism of Vladimir Putin and opposition to the war in Ukraine. Paramoshin remains imprisoned, and in July his lawyers said he was being subjected to pressure while in pre-trial detention.

2nd October, The Moscow Times

“They never gave it to me”: pro-war writer Prilepin says he was not put in charge of a theatre despite Putin’s instruction.

Zakhar Prilepin said that a year after Vladimir Putin ordered the creation of a patriotic theatre project, he still had not been given a theatre to lead, despite previously being identified as a likely head of the initiative. Prilepin also complained that an alternative plan to devote 20% of programming time in Russian theatres to productions connected with the war in Ukraine had not been implemented in practice. Putin’s May 2025 instruction called for a Moscow-based theatre promoting contemporary “patriotic” drama, with the Culture Ministry, Moscow authorities, the presidential culture council and the Russian Writers’ Union involved in the project.

2nd October, SOTA
Justice Ministry refuses to register the organising committee of the “Civic Mycelium” party over wording of Russian citizenship.

Russia’s Justice Ministry refused to register the organising committee of the “Civic Mycelium” party because its documents described members’ citizenship as “Russia” rather than “Russian Federation” and did not separately specify the authorised representative’s citizenship in the relevant agenda item. The party argued that the Constitution treats “Russia” and “Russian Federation” as equivalent names and noted that the same wording had not caused objections during an earlier attempt to register the political movement Rassvet, which nevertheless also remains unregistered. The refusal was signed by Alexander Akulov, deputy head of the Justice Ministry department responsible for protecting national interests from foreign influence, which also handles issues involving designated “foreign agents.”

2nd October, Verstka
Supreme Court classifies data on people convicted under political articles and on crimes committed by security officials.

Russia’s Judicial Department under the Supreme Court withheld a range of statistics from its 2025 crime report, including data on treason, disclosure of state secrets, sabotage, extremist organisations, “discrediting” the army, and several administrative offences used in politically sensitive cases. It also concealed figures on crimes committed by military personnel, judges, prosecutors, investigators, police officers and prison-service employees, as well as the number of lawsuits seeking to have people declared dead or missing. The department had previously removed two decades of judicial statistics from its website and said the changes reflected revised publication rules, although some earlier data were subsequently restored.

1st October, Bumaga
Pro-war literary figures discuss the “special cultural operation”: they say it has failed.

Pro-war writers, publishers and musicians at a St Petersburg roundtable concluded that a proposed “special cultural operation” had failed because of insufficient state support, divisions within the pro-war cultural community and denunciations among its members. Participants argued that Russia had failed to build the cultural and entertainment infrastructure needed to promote their worldview, while some blamed the post-Soviet abandonment of ideology and negative portrayals of the Soviet state for weakening public identification with state-oriented patriotism. They also complained that pro-war literature and music receive inadequate institutional support, including difficulties entering school reading programmes and securing platforms for works connected to the war in Ukraine.

1st October, NN.ru
“I didn’t come here to sign a contract.” Canadian Feenstra assesses his prospects of staying in Russia

Canadian farmer Arend Feenstra, who moved to Russia with his wife and eight children under a simplified programme for citizens of “unfriendly countries” sharing “traditional family values,” said he cannot currently obtain permanent residence without signing a military-service contract. Feenstra said his family still considers the move to the Russian Federation worthwhile but has stopped encouraging other foreigners to follow them because the rules keep changing and there is no clear route from temporary to permanent residence. He plans to seek clarification from the Defence Ministry and could instead apply for another temporary residence permit when the current one expires, while expressing hope that the rules governing permanent residence and citizenship will eventually change.

1st October, RBC
“Anti-Fraud 3.0”: what is included in the draft new package of measures against fraud

Russia’s Digital Ministry has proposed a third package of anti-fraud measures that includes tighter rules for SIM-card sales, additional grounds for blocking telephone numbers and new requirements for telecommunications and hosting providers. The proposals would prohibit Russian hosting providers from supplying infrastructure to certain VPN and proxy services, while clients using hosting services would face stronger identification and verification requirements. The package contains several dozen initiatives aimed at expanding oversight of telecommunications and internet infrastructure as part of the authorities’ campaign against cyberfraud.

30th September, The Insider
European Volleyball Confederation allows Russia’s senior national teams to compete for the first time since 2022

The European Volleyball Confederation has allowed Russia’s men’s and women’s national teams to return to competitions under its authority, covering both indoor and beach volleyball, although the conditions of participation have not yet been determined. Russia’s and Belarusian teams were suspended in March 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Russia’s return has since proceeded gradually, with youth teams readmitted earlier in 2026 and the International Volleyball Federation lifting restrictions on senior Russian teams in July. Russia’s men’s and women’s teams are already due to participate in the 2027 Volleyball Nations League, while the CEV decision also creates a potential route for them to qualify for the 2028 European Championships.

30th September, Current Time
Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan agree to exchange data on “terrorists” and “extremists”

Russia and five other CIS countries agreed to exchange information rapidly on organisations and individuals designated as terrorist or extremist, as well as potential terrorist attacks, threats to state sovereignty, foreign fighters, trafficking and organisers of illegal migration. Russia's extremism and terrorism laws are also used in politically motivated prosecutions, citing the designation of Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation and other groups as extremist or terrorist. It also reports that at least 225 criminal cases over alleged financing of extremism through donations to the FBK were opened across 64 Russian regions in spring 2026, while terrorism-related convictions rose sharply during the first half of the year.

30th September, Kommersant
Films about corrupt law-enforcement officers may no longer receive state funding.

Russia’s Culture Ministry and the Internet Development Institute have reportedly told film producers that state funding will no longer be available for films or series depicting corruption or criminal activity involving the Interior Ministry, FSB, Investigative Committee or prosecutors. The restriction has not been formalised in law and was reportedly communicated orally, but producers were told that violating the rule could jeopardise state financing for future projects. Sources cited by Kommersant said the policy is intended to prevent negative portrayals of the security services from undermining trust in state institutions, while critic Yevgeny Bazhenov argued that removing negative aspects of society from state-funded cinema could make such content less credible.

30th September, Meduza
Kremlin says it is not negotiating the release of political prisoners: “We categorically deny the existence of any political prisoners,” Peskov says

The Kremlin is not discussing with the United States an arrangement under which sanctions on Russia would be eased in exchange for the release of political prisoners, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, arguing that Russia categorically denies having any political prisoners. Peskov nevertheless said Russian and US security services continue regular contacts concerning previous types of prisoner exchanges, after The Atlantic reported that Donald Trump had approved exploring such an arrangement. Memorial currently lists 1,368 political prisoners in Russia and says the list is deliberately incomplete, while its wider database contains more than 5,700 people deprived of liberty in cases showing signs of political motivation.

29th September, Riddle Russia
Seven mistakes in analysing data from Russia — and how to avoid them

Dmytro Voronenko argues that analysts of Russia often misread official statistics because the state can alter definitions, suppress inconvenient data, manage prices and use administrative measures that make published indicators appear more stable than underlying conditions. Using examples from inflation, GDP, oil production, fuel markets and refinery output, he warns against treating official figures as independent market signals, repeating secondary estimates without their caveats, ignoring regulatory changes, relying on broad aggregates and overlooking buffers or delays that temporarily conceal deterioration. He argues that analysts should trace figures back to their sources, examine the state decisions that shape them, separate relevant components from headline totals and treat data suppression or emergency support measures as evidence that conditions may already have worsened.

29th September, Kommersant
Rules for taking Russian cash abroad tightened again.

President Vladimir Putin tightened restrictions on taking cash Rubles out of Russia, cutting the permitted amount for individuals from the equivalent of $100,000 to 1 million Rubles and extending the rules beyond the Eurasian Economic Union to Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Companies and individual entrepreneurs remain prohibited from exporting cash Rubles to the covered countries, subject to limited exceptions, while customs authorities, the FSB and the Interior Ministry are responsible for enforcing the rules. Experts cited by Kommersant said the measures are intended to make the origin and purpose of cross-border cash movements more transparent and to curb schemes that use cash Rubles to bypass conventional banking, currency-control and compliance procedures.

29th September, Meduza
VPN restrictions intensified in Russia after the elections

Following the State Duma elections, Russian authorities began a new wave of restrictions against VPN services, with ten providers reporting increased blocking over the previous week. One major VPN service said restrictions peaked on 25 September and caused disruptions for many users, while other providers reported having to replace servers or seeing all of their foreign locations and server IP addresses blocked by Roskomnadzor. Alexei Kozlyuk, chairman of the VPN Guild, said the escalation was expected after the elections but described it as a continuation of a campaign that had already intensified in early August rather than a fundamentally new wave.

29th September, Vedomosti
Metro’s Russian assets transferred to temporary management.

President Vladimir Putin transferred the Russian assets of German retailer Metro to the temporary management of UK Torg Rus, a company created in September 2026 and headed by Metro Russia CEO Johannes Maria Tolay. The arrangement is unusual because Metro’s existing management effectively remains in charge, allowing operational continuity while the foreign owners lose corporate control but retain formal ownership. Experts cited said the structure may limit foreign beneficiaries’ influence over corporate decisions and profit distribution without disrupting day-to-day operations, and does not necessarily indicate preparations to sell the Russian business.

28th September, Vedomosti
Interior Ministry identifies professions for employing foreigners outside quotas.

Russia’s Interior Ministry has prepared a new list of occupations for qualified foreign specialists who will be exempt from quotas on work permits, including six positions applicable regardless of the employer’s sector and another 180 professions across 11 areas of economic activity. The ministry received authority to establish such lists as part of a transfer of powers from the Labour Ministry, although the lists must still be coordinated with it. The relevant law was signed in July 2026 and will enter into force on 23 January 2027, following earlier criticism by State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin that the previous Labour Ministry list of 192 professions was too broad.

28th September, Meduza
FSB opens criminal case against former model and Russian Democratic Society head in London Ksenia Maximova, threatens anti-war Russians abroad

The FSB announced that Ksenia Maximova, head of the London-based Russian Democratic Society and an Ealing councillor, had been placed on international and federal wanted lists and charged with participating in a terrorist organisation because she cooperates with the Anti-War Committee of Russia. The security service also accused Maximova of organising fundraising and other assistance for Ukraine and issued a warning to anti-war Russians living abroad, saying that Russian counterintelligence knows their identities and tracks their activities. Maximova, a former model who co-founded the Russian Democratic Society in 2022 and became the Anti-War Committee’s UK consul in 2024, was elected to Ealing Council in May 2026.

28th September, Novaya Gazeta
Lawyer Biryukov confirmed reports that political scientist Kynev was beaten during his detention and explained why this became known only on the third day.

Lawyer Mikhail Biryukov confirmed that political scientist Alexander Kynev sustained bodily injuries during his detention and is currently being held in the medical unit of SIZO-1, while materials concerning unidentified individuals responsible for the injuries have been separated into a separate proceeding. According to Biryukov, the information was initially withheld from the public at Kynev’s request so as not to interfere with investigative checks. Kynev, who was detained on 25 September on charges related to the large-scale sale or transfer of narcotics, denies the accusations, while colleagues, journalists and public figures have described his detention as politically motivated.

27th September, Vecherka
Russia and Belarus to Return to International Practical Shooting Competitions

Athletes from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to return to international practical shooting competitions from 2027 following a decision by the General Assembly of the International Practical Shooting Confederation. Athletes from both countries will also be permitted to compete under their national flags and anthems. The Russian Federation said negotiations had continued for a long time, and the 2027 season will be the first in several years in which Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete under their national symbols and contend for medals in the overall standings.

25th September, RBC
Putin Describes Moscow’s Response to Alleged Violations of Russian Speakers’ Rights in the Baltic States

President Vladimir Putin said Russia is aware of what he described as violations of the rights of Russian-speaking populations in the Baltic states and has developed an established approach to responding to them. He said Moscow would continue defending the rights of its “compatriots” through humanitarian measures and international law, explicitly stating that Russia had never intended to use other instruments and did not plan to do so. At present, the statement therefore serves more as a reminder of a potential grievance or casus belli narrative than as a proclamation of military action, with Putin explicitly denying any intention to use military means against the Baltic states.

25th September, MK
Russia’s Citizens Travel 11 Times Less Frequently Than Americans

Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said citizens of the Russian Federation make an average of about 0.63 tourist trips per person annually, compared with approximately seven in the United States and nearly ten in Japan, which he described as evidence of significant untapped potential in Russia’s domestic tourism market. Domestic travel in Russia increased by 2% over the past year to 92 million trips, while foreign travel grew by almost 9% to 30 million, with Turkey, Abkhazia and Kazakhstan the most popular destinations. Reshetnikov said one priority is to redirect part of outbound tourism towards Russian destinations, while the sector also faces a labour shortage of 20-25% and is expected to require more than 300,000 additional workers by 2030.

25th September, Meduza
Political Scientist Alexander Kynev Arrested in Drug Case

A Moscow court arrested political scientist Alexander Kynev on charges related to the attempted large-scale distribution of narcotics, an offence carrying a possible sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison. Kynev denies the accusation, and his lawyer said the defence would appeal the arrest, while no further details of the case have been made public. Kynev is a prominent specialist on Russian regional politics and elections, had continued commenting on the State Duma election results shortly before his arrest, and was designated a “foreign agent” by the Russian authorities in February.

25th September, Verstka
RIA Novosti Deletes Column Threatening a “Short Special Military Operation” Against Lithuania and Use of Nuclear-Armed Missiles

State news agency RIA Novosti published and, around three hours later, deleted a column by Alexander Nosovich discussing a possible “short special military operation” against Lithuania and suggesting that Russia could use missiles carrying nuclear warheads rather than deploy ground troops. RIA Novosti stated that the article had been removed because it did not correspond to the editorial board’s views, the agency’s editorial policy, or the state policy of the Russian Federation. The column was prompted by Lithuania’s consideration of a constitutional amendment that would remove its prohibition on hosting weapons of mass destruction and foreign military bases, although the amendment had not yet been adopted.

25th September, TASS

46 Veterans of the Special Military Operation Elected to the State Duma

A total of 46 veterans of the special military operation have been elected to the new State Duma, accounting for more than 10% of all seats, according to Central Election Commission Chair Ella Pamfilova. Of these, 41 represent United Russia, three the Liberal Democratic Party, one A Just Russia, and one was elected as an independent candidate. Pamfilova described this as a significant difference from the previous election campaign and suggested that the elected veterans would help shape the atmosphere in the new Duma.

24th September, The Insider
Share of Treason Charges Among Russian Citizens Prosecuted After Returning to Russia Rises from 44% to 73%

Among 22 citizens of Russia/Russovians facing criminal charges after returning from abroad who were included in a new Memorial review, 16 are accused of treason, raising the share from around 44% in an earlier review to approximately 73%. Nearly half of the 24 people examined were detained while crossing the Russian border, while at least ten were subjected to repeated administrative arrests, in some cases for several months, before criminal proceedings followed. The cases cited involve alleged offences including transfers of money to Ukraine, donations to organisations designated extremist or terrorist by Russian authorities, online publications and contacts with Ukrainians, while average prison sentences among those already convicted have risen to 11 years and six months.

24th September, The Insider
Kazakhstan Begins Coordinating Mansur Movlayev’s Extradition with Russia and Launches Similar Process against Yulia Yemelyanova

A Kazakh cassation court upheld earlier decisions denying asylum to Yulia Yemelyanova, a former volunteer at Alexei Navalny’s St Petersburg headquarters, meaning that Kazakhstan can now begin proceedings to extradite her to Russia. Kazakh authorities are already coordinating with Russia over the place and time for the extradition of Chechen activist Mansur Movlayev, despite UN interim measures intended to prevent his transfer, while human rights defenders have also requested similar UN protection for Yemelyanova. Movlayev faces extortion and extremism charges in Russia and Yemelyanova is accused of theft, while both have appealed to Kazakhstan’s president to prevent their extradition and allow them to leave safely for third countries.

24th September, Novaya Gazeta Europe
United Russia’s Real Result, Added Votes for the “Opposition,” and High-Speed “Sultanates”

Statistical analysis estimates that United Russia would have received around 34% of the paper vote without apparent irregularities, while only about one-fifth of polling stations showed no clear signs of manipulation. The investigation identifies several anomalies, including ballot stuffing, rewritten protocols, unusually rapid vote counts, and approximately 94,000 additional votes allegedly assigned to A Just Russia to help it cross the 5% electoral threshold, alongside smaller unexplained increases for other parties. Assessing the integrity of Russian elections has become increasingly difficult because of expanded electronic voting, reduced independent observation, restricted access to polling-station video, and procedural changes that make verification of results more difficult.

23rd September, RBC
Yury Dud Added to the List of Terrorists and Extremists

Russia’s financial intelligence agency Rosfinmonitoring added journalist Yury Dud, who was previously designated a “foreign agent”, to its register of individuals considered involved in terrorist and extremist activity. Inclusion on the register entails restrictions on bank accounts, with only limited sums permitted for everyday living expenses and certain mandatory payments. Dud had previously been fined for violating Russia’s “foreign agent” requirements and, in November 2025, was sentenced in absentia to one year and ten months in a penal colony for evading those obligations.

23rd September, Current Time
Tyumen Resident Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Telegram “Stars”

A military court in Yekaterinburg sentenced Tyumen resident Mikhail Antonovich to eight years in prison for financing terrorism after he used paid Telegram “star” reactions to support several political channels. Antonovich spent a total of 292.99 Rubles on the reactions, while prosecutors argued that the channels promoted terrorism and supported organisations including the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps. He was also accused of providing information potentially harmful to Russian security after commenting that mobile internet was unavailable in Tyumen, and in January 2026 he was added to Russia’s list of extremists and terrorists, while Memorial recognises him as a political prisoner.

22nd September, RBC
Fan ID to Be Introduced at Russian Premier League Clubs’ Home Matches in the Russian Cup

From 1 October, spectators attending Russian Cup home matches involving Russian Premier League clubs will be required to use a Fan ID, following changes approved by the Russian government. The Sports Ministry said the measure is intended to establish uniform attendance rules at the same stadiums regardless of whether matches are played in the Premier League or the Russian Cup. Fan ID is already mandatory for Russian Premier League matches, the Russian Cup final and the Russian Super Cup, and its introduction since the second half of the 2022/23 season has prompted boycotts by several major supporters’ groups.

22nd September, Kommersant
Users Look West: YouTube Drove All Growth in Video Consumption in Russia

Video consumption on Russia’s largest platforms increased by 6% in the first half of 2026 to 87.7 minutes per user per day, but excluding YouTube it fell by 5%, meaning that YouTube accounted for essentially all of the market’s growth. YouTube itself recorded a 24% increase in viewing time to 99 minutes per user per day, while some Russian platforms showed weaker performance, although Rutube disputed the figures, indicating a decline in its consumption. Industry experts cited in the article argue that the growth of Russian platforms in 2024–2025 largely reflected users experimenting with alternatives after YouTube was slowed, while YouTube’s subsequent recovery has been supported by its larger supply of high-quality content and more effective recommendation algorithms.

21st September, Pobeda RF
Winners of the “Symbols of Unity” Competition Announced

The nationwide “Symbols of Unity” creative competition, dedicated to Russia’s Year of Unity of the Peoples, received 348 entries from all 89 federal subjects, with 119 universities and 43 branches participating. One winning work from each region was selected by experts representing government bodies, cultural associations, historical organisations and other institutions. Notably, the imagery accompanying the results depicts Orthodox churches with their crosses removed, despite Federal Law No. 319-FZ, in force since 31 July 2025, prohibiting the reproduction of religious buildings without their religious symbols except in specified circumstances.

17th September, Kommersant

Putin Places Russia’s Assets of Nestlé, Auchan, FM Logistic and Lemana Pro under Temporary Management

President Vladimir Putin placed the assets of Nestlé, FM Logistic, Auchan and Lemana Pro under temporary management. The decree covers 16 companies and appoints Moscow-based L.E.V. Management as their administrator. The article notes that temporary management does not formally amount to confiscation or a change of ownership, but legal and market experts say previous cases suggest that it often serves as an intermediate stage before a sale or transfer to new owners. The combined value of the businesses is estimated at approximately 600 billion roubles. Some analysts view the simultaneous transfer of several major foreign-owned businesses as a possible political signal that Russia’s authorities no longer expect relations with European countries to normalise in the foreseeable future.

17th September, Expert

Digital Development Minister Reports Talks with Apple on Enabling 5G on iPhones in Russia

Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development is negotiating with Apple to enable 5G connectivity for iPhone users in Russia, according to minister Maksut Shadaev. An IT expert cited in the article said Apple would need to test iPhones on Russia’s 5G networks before updating its carrier configuration, while Android users are expected to gain access sooner.

17th September, Current Time

Russian Anti-War Committee Reports Mansur Movlaev’s Second Suicide Attempt in a Kazakh Hospital

The Russian Anti-War Committee reported that Mansur Movlaev made a second suicide attempt while in hospital in Kazakhstan, where he had been taken after an earlier attempt on 15 September. In a note, he said he feared torture and death if returned to Chechnya. He asked for assistance for Russian activist Yulia Yemelyanova, who is being held in the same detention centre and also faces extradition to Russia. Kazakhstan has denied Movlaev asylum and approved Russia’s request for his extradition, although the Supreme Court suspended the process and the UN Human Rights Committee instructed Kazakhstan not to extradite him. Movlaev, who is wanted in Russia on extremism charges, has said he fears persecution if returned, while a Kazakh court recently upheld the refusal of asylum and his deportation to the Russian Federation.

16th September, Mediazona

Veliky Novgorod Woman Sentenced to Two Years in Penal Colony over Victory Day Poem on VKontakte

The Novgorod Regional Court sentenced resident Elena Oloer to two years in a settlement colony for “rehabilitation of Nazism” over a poem she posted publicly on VKontakte on 9 May 2025. Investigators said the poem distorted the meaning of Victory Day, contained insulting statements about Second World War veterans alongside 9 May, and criticised legally established forms of commemoration; the court concluded that Oloer had thereby “distorted historical truth”. Oloer had previously been fined for a pro-Ukrainian comment deemed to incite hatred against citizens of the Russian Federation and for “discrediting” Russia’s army. The new sentence also bans her from publishing any information online for three years.

16th September, Novaya Gazeta Europe

Moscow City Court Releases Four Truck Drivers Who Transported Drones for Operation Spiderweb

The Moscow City Court refused to extend the detention of four truck drivers accused of transporting drones used in Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb, releasing them under restrictions that include bans on communicating with each other or witnesses and on using the internet or mobile phones. Investigators accuse the men of illegally transporting explosives as part of an organised group and participating in a terrorist attack. The drivers maintain that they did not know drones were concealed in their cargo and say they contacted police and tried to stop the attack after the drones were launched. The Investigative Committee returned the case for further investigation because it lacked direct evidence linking the drivers to preparations for the attack, a decision it has appealed.

16th September, Expert

Number of Abortions in Russia Falls Fourfold Over 15 Years

The number of registered abortions in Russia fell from 1.01 million in 2010 to 235,700 in 2025, while the number of abortions per 100 births declined from 56 to 20. The article links the decrease to wider contraceptive use, family planning and government measures such as specialist consultations and a mandatory waiting period, while also noting that regional restrictions on abortion provision have expanded. At the same time, miscarriages rose to 15.8 per 100 births in 2025 and accounted for 44% of all pregnancy terminations, compared with 15% in 2010.

15th September, RBC

Supreme Court Approves Concept for Introducing AI into Russia’s Courts

Russia’s Supreme Court has approved a concept for introducing artificial intelligence throughout the judicial process, with a target for more than 95% of judges to use AI services regularly by 2030. AI is expected to assist with checking and classifying documents, preparing hearing transcripts, analysing evidence and case law, drafting judicial documents, and flagging departures from established practice, while final decisions are to remain with human judges. The concept also identifies risks including AI hallucinations, personal-data leaks, cyberattacks, biased training data, resistance from judges and reduced judicial independence. Safeguards include closed systems, domestic technologies and mandatory human verification.

15th September, Mediazona

Former Political Prisoner Ivan Lyubshin Finds Pages Torn from Passport After Detention While Trying to Leave Russia

Former political prisoner Ivan Lyubshin said that pages had been torn from his passport after he was detained while attempting to leave Russia, making the document invalid. Lyubshin believes Russia’s border guards and Kaluga Centre “E” officers damaged the passport to prevent him from fleeing again. He had travelled through Belarus while seeking to reach Yerevan to obtain an approved French humanitarian visa. He was released from prison in March 2025 after serving a sentence for “justifying terrorism”. Following his attempted departure, he was placed under administrative arrest twice, and prosecutors subsequently requested a further seven-month prison term.

15th September, Techora

5G in Russia: Launch in 16 Cities, Frequency Problems and Equipment Shortages

Russia launched pilot 5G zones in 16 cities on 11 September 2026 after regulators allocated frequencies in the n79 band and eased rules to allow operators to use existing LTE spectrum and previously installed foreign equipment. The article stresses that the rollout remains experimental and does not constitute a full commercial launch. Limited spectrum, device compatibility issues, Russia’s encryption requirements and a shortage of domestically produced 5G base stations continue to constrain development. It concludes that the first stage may bring only modest improvements for many users, with substantial benefits depending on wider deployment of dedicated n79 infrastructure and compatible equipment.

15th September, The Insider

Valdai Meeting, Usually Attended by Putin, Moved from Sochi to Moscow Region as Kremlin Deems Southern Russia Too Dangerous Due to Drones

The annual Valdai Discussion Club meeting involving Vladimir Putin will take place in the Moscow region in 2026 rather than at its traditional location in Sochi, reportedly because the presidential security service considers southern Russia more vulnerable to Ukrainian drone attacks. According to the article, 120 guests had initially been invited to Sochi but were informed in August that the venue had changed, while the official Valdai announcement does not specify the exact location. The article also notes that Putin has not publicly visited Krasnodar Krai since the previous Valdai meeting in October 2025 and has recently avoided large public events even in Moscow.

14th September, TASS

Alabuga Polytech: Involving Young People in Production Strengthens Technological Sovereignty

Alabuga Polytech head Elvira Fomina said that preparing specialists for priority sectors of the economy should combine theoretical education with early involvement in real production processes. From their first year, students at the educational centre work on practical production tasks under the guidance of experienced engineers, allowing them to graduate with professional skills and experience using modern equipment. Fomina argued that this approach shortens the transition from education to independent professional work and enables Russia to train the engineering personnel needed for technological development more quickly.

14th September, Novaya Gazeta Europe

FSB Bans 5G Rollout in Crimea and Russia’s-Occupied Territories

Russia’s Federal Security Service has prohibited telecom operators from installing 5G base stations in annexed Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as in the occupied parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. According to the article, the restriction is linked to concerns that Chinese manufacturers Huawei and ZTE could face secondary sanctions if their equipment were supplied to these territories. Operators are also required to coordinate base-station deployment with the security services. Currently, there is a plan to eventually switch 5G stations to the domestic Kuznechik encryption protocol, even though no smartphone currently supports it.

14th September, Izvestia

Federal Tax Service Sharply Increases Additional Tax Assessments for Large Businesses

In the first half of 2026, Russia’s Federal Tax Service conducted 60 field audits of the country’s largest taxpayers, twice as many as a year earlier. Additional tax assessments almost tripled, from 5.8 billion to 16.3 billion roubles. The article attributes the increase partly to expanded use of automated systems that analyse invoices, financial flows, supply chains and signs of artificial business fragmentation, allowing the authorities to identify potential violations more efficiently. It also notes that companies face growing risks from practices such as profit shifting, offshore transactions, unjustified tax benefits and artificial fragmentation, while serious violations can result in substantial fines and, in some cases, criminal prosecution.

11th September, The Insider

Court Rejects Prosecutors’ Bid to Nationalise Remaining 45% of St Petersburg Oil Terminal.

The Arbitration Court of St Petersburg and the Leningrad Region rejected the Prosecutor General’s Office’s attempt to nationalise the remaining 45% of the Petersburg Oil Terminal and recover more than 4 billion Rubles in dividends from Elena Vasilyeva, whose husband Sergei Vasilyev co-founded the terminal and is a longtime friend and business partner of Ilya Traber. The ruling came shortly after Traber was released from pre-trial detention and the murder case against him was dropped, with the court resolving the nationalisation dispute unusually quickly in a single hearing on 11 September. The state had already taken control of about 55% of the terminal in 2025 and transferred that stake in 2026 to Roskhim, chaired by Igor Rotenberg, while the terminal itself is one of Russia’s largest Baltic oil-product facilities, with an annual capacity of 12.5 million tonnes.

11th September, Mediazona

18-Month-Old Daughter of Woman Sentenced to 12 Years for Treason Dies After Court Refused Sentence Deferral

The 18-month-old daughter of Alexandra Strilets, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for treason, died early on 11 September, one day after being discharged from hospital for the first time since her birth. Strilets and her mother Viktoria were convicted after investigators alleged that Alexandra cooperated with representatives of Ukraine and that photographs of Russian military facilities taken by Viktoria were transferred to a channel controlled by Ukrainian military intelligence. Although Russian law allows a mother’s sentence to be postponed until her child turns 14, the court rejected Strilets’s request despite her daughter having been born at 27 weeks, weighing 530 grams and suffering from serious medical conditions that required several operations.

10th September, Gazeta.ru

Production Designer of Likvidatsiya TV series Arrested on Treason Charges

Moscow’s Meshchansky District Court ordered the detention of 52-year-old production designer Alexander Kondratov on treason charges, with investigators alleging that he committed treason through at least six internet publications whose content has not been disclosed. Kondratov, who had lived in Kyiv since 2012, returned to Russia in May 2026 to renew his foreign passport despite his family urging him not to travel, and was detained at Vnukovo Airport before being repeatedly jailed on administrative charges. Before the criminal case was opened on 5 August, he had spent more than 70 days in detention through successive administrative arrests, and he is currently being held at Moscow’s SIZO-7 detention centre.

10th September, Kommersant

Interior Ministry Says Around 9 million Foreigners Enter Russia Annually

Around 9 million foreign nationals come to Russia each year for various purposes, while approximately 6–6.5 million are present in the country at any given time, including around 3 million labour migrants and 1.7 million family members, according to First Deputy Interior Minister Andrei Kikot. Of those currently in Russia, around 800,000 have violated Russian law, including migration legislation, while the Interior Ministry says the proportion of legal labour migration has recently increased from 45% to 50%. Foreign nationals made 7.1 million trips to Russia in January-June 2026, down from 7.8 million in the same period of 2025, with Uzbekistan accounting for the largest number of entries.

10th September, Interfax

Around 100,000 Migrants Expelled from Russia over the Past Year and a Half

Around 100,000 migrants who committed various violations were expelled from Russia over the past year and a half, including 75,000 forcibly, while 197,000 foreign nationals were barred from entering the country. The Interior Ministry reported detecting ten times more forged documents containing deliberately false information and a 20% increase in identified fictitious marital and family relationships, resulting in the cancellation of 20,000 temporary residence permits and residence permits. In total, around 800,000 foreign nationals violated Russian migration legislation during this period and were entered into the register of controlled persons, with search measures being conducted against them.

9th September, BFM.ru

Share of Russia’s citizens with Monthly Incomes Above 100,000 Rubles Reaches 21.1%

The share of Russia’s citizens with monthly incomes above 100,000 Rubles reached 21.1% in the first half of 2026, up 3.6 percentage points from a year earlier. Of the population, 8.4% received between 100,000 and 130,000 Rubles per month and 12.7% earned more than 130,000 Rubles, up from 7.4% and 10% respectively a year earlier. At the same time, the share earning 60,000–100,000 Rubles rose from 22% to 23.3%, while the proportion with incomes below 45,000 Rubles fell from 45.7% to 40.8%. On the day the news was published, 100,000 Rubles was equal to 1187,66 USD.

8th September, Interfax

‘Orlyata-Doshkolyata’ and ‘Kind Games’ Projects Launched in Russian Kindergartens

Two educational projects, “Orlyata-Doshkolyata” and “Kind Games,” have been launched in Russian preschools to introduce children to traditional Russian spiritual and moral values through play, communication, creative activities and joint work. The “Kind Games” programme, which is voluntary in the 2026/27 academic year, is organised around themes including kindness and friendship, life and health, culture and beauty, family, labour and the Motherland, with children reviewing what they have learned with teachers each week. “Orlyata-Doshkolyata,” designed as a continuation of the “Orlyata Rossii” programme, is intended to link preschool and school educational systems while involving both teachers and parents in children’s upbringing.

8th September, Meduza

Yaroslavl Resident Who Photographed Military Graves Sentenced to 14 Years for Treason

The Yaroslavl Regional Court sentenced 48-year-old Nikolai Shcherbakov to 14 years in a strict-regime penal colony on treason charges related to photographing the graves of military personnel. According to the court, Shcherbakov had regularly visited a memorial cemetery since October 2024, secretly photographing and filming soldiers’ burial sites and allegedly sending the material to representatives of Ukrainian intelligence services. This is the first known treason conviction in Russia for photographing military graves, and it adds that detentions of people taking such photographs have become more frequent in several regions.

8th September, Vedomosti

Rossotrudnichestvo to Open 11 New Partner ‘Russian Houses’

Rossotrudnichestvo has signed agreements to open 11 new partner “Russian Houses” in ten countries, expanding its international network to 36 such venues. Eight of the new centres are planned for African countries, two will open in Armenia and one in Thailand. At the same time, the agency is introducing a new approach to its partner network based on evaluating project effectiveness and results, with the most successful partner organisations potentially allowed to operate several venues across different countries.

8th September, Kommersant

And the Shadow Lasts Longer Than a Century. A ban on shadow distribution may not be affordable for cinemas.

Russia’s cinemas may abandon the “shadow distribution” of foreign films not officially released in Russia within the next two to three months, according to Alexei Voronkov, head of the Association of Cinema Owners, although major Hollywood releases would not officially return before April 2027 even if negotiations with studios succeed. Unofficial screenings have become an important source of revenue for cinemas, with foreign blockbusters contributing substantially to August box-office receipts, while representatives of the industry argue that Russian films alone currently cannot provide enough attractive content to sustain cinemas throughout the year. Industry experts warn that a ban on shadow distribution could particularly threaten independent cinemas, which lack the financial reserves of large chains and could be forced either to close or be acquired by bigger operators.

7th September, Rossiyskaya Gazeta

Putin Creates Commission to Impose Restrictions on Offenders Who Have Left Russia

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree establishing an interdepartmental commission to coordinate restrictive measures against people convicted of crimes or administrative offences deemed contrary to Russia’s interests who are hiding abroad. Headed by Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko, the commission will include representatives of the Justice Ministry, Interior Ministry, Federal Tax Service, Federal Security Service, Rosfinmonitoring and the Prosecutor General’s Office. The measures, which took effect on 1 September under legislation signed by Putin in August, include freezing assets, seizing property and imposing other restrictions on the individuals concerned.

6th September, Meduza

Moscow Gets Its First Metro Station Referencing the “Special Military Operation” and Featuring Images of Drones

The newly opened Bulvar Generala Karbysheva station on Moscow’s Rublyovo-Arkhangelskaya metro line features panels and bas-reliefs explicitly referring to the “special military operation.” Its design includes the abbreviation “SMO,” the insignia of an “Honoured Specialist of the Engineering Troops,” and images of drones, military equipment and uniforms, while one exit bears inscriptions reading “Engineering Troops” and “Special Military Operation.” The station is part of the first section of Moscow’s new 17th metro line, opened on 5 September in a ceremony attended by Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and Vladimir Putin.

6th September, RBC

How the All-Moscow Religious Procession Took Place

An All-Moscow Russian Orthodox procession, led by Patriarch Kirill, ran from the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour to the Novodevichy Convent, with Russia’s Interior Ministry claiming 100,000 participants. RBC highlights a striking discrepancy in attendance figures from the previous year: Rosgvardia estimated more than 40,000 participants at the 2025 procession, while Patriarch Kirill later claimed that around 400,000 people had taken part. This year’s procession saw participants carrying religious banners alongside modern Russian flags and flags of Russian military units, with groups including Sorok Sorokov, the Russian Community and United Russia’s Young Guard also present.

6th September, Current Time

Lida Moniava Announces Her Departure as Director of the “House with a Lighthouse” Foundation

Lida Moniava, founder of the children’s hospice “House with a Lighthouse,” announced that she will step down as director and leave the organisation’s governing board, saying she wants to prepare the hospice to continue operating without her while the investigation against her proceeds. Moniava, who is charged with spreading alleged “military fakes” motivated by political hatred over a Telegram post about Ukrainian children killed during the war, said she expects a prison sentence of five to ten years but will not leave Russia despite advice to emigrate. “House with a Lighthouse,” founded by Moniava in 2018, supports seriously ill children and young adults, and after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she also launched a project assisting Ukrainian refugees in Russia.

4th September, Kommersant

Russia’s Printing Industry Faces Its Worst Year in a Decade

Russia’s book-printing industry is experiencing its most difficult year in a decade, with publishers increasingly moving print runs to China because of shortages of materials such as varnishes, inks and other supplies needed for book finishing. Printing companies have cut staff by around 30%, while orders from Prosveshchenie, Russia’s largest educational publisher, have fallen by roughly 25% and overall textbook-printing volumes by about 30%. The sector is also struggling with ageing equipment, limited investment and difficulties obtaining machinery and spare parts. Industry representatives say conditions could improve if textbook production returns to previous levels and printing in China becomes more expensive, but the current crisis reflects both weaker domestic demand and supply problems that intensified after the start of the war in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions.

3rd September, Kommersant

Nearly 60% of Petrol Supply Contracts on the Exchange Have Not Been Fulfilled Since May.

Russian oil companies fulfilled on average only 41% of petrol supply contracts concluded on the St Petersburg Exchange between May and September, with 20% ending in default or cancellation and another 39% still outstanding. Industry sources linked the disruption largely to damage at oil refineries and the prioritisation of fuel deliveries to defence and industrial enterprises, agriculture, municipal services and northern supply programmes, while buyers complained that they often could not obtain formal confirmation of force majeure. Market participants warned that large volumes of fuel trapped in unfulfilled contracts are reducing effective supply and pushing spot prices higher, although officials expect the situation to stabilise as damaged refinery capacity returns to operation.

3rd September, IStories

He Took SORM Out of the House

Programmer Ivan Kirsanov, who had previously participated in opposition protests, worked for Citadel, Russia’s largest developer of the SORM surveillance system used by the FSB, before leaving the company and eventually Russia with an archive of internal technical documents and source code. The materials examined show that SORM can associate internet activity with individual subscribers, collect connection metadata, identify the use of services such as Telegram and WhatsApp, recognise some VPN protocols and retain traffic data for months or years, although encryption prevents it from accessing much of the content of modern communications. Kirsanov said he initially believed that his work helped fight crime but later reconsidered his role, left Citadel after being denied career advancement, resumed political and human-rights activity, and departed Russia in April 2025 after being detained by plainclothes officers, later saying that he regarded himself to some extent as complicit in the system he had helped develop.

3rd September, Moskovsky Komsomolets

Russian Orthodox Church Representative Calls for Soviet-Style Measures Against Divorce

Fyodor Lukyanov, chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Patriarchal Commission on Family, Motherhood and Childhood, argued at the Eastern Economic Forum that abortions and divorces should become economically disadvantageous and socially marginalised through cooperation between the state and business. He specifically suggested drawing on a 1944 Soviet decree that complicated divorce procedures through mandatory court hearings, attempts at reconciliation, public notices and substantial state fees, while also introducing broader measures to encourage registered marriage and larger families. Even the journalist criticises this proposal as a return to highly restrictive Stalin-era practices and questions whether making divorce extremely difficult would actually increase marriage and birth rates.

3rd September, Meduza

“It’s Not About the SMO”: Putin Says the War Is Not the Main Cause of Russia’s Falling Birth Rate

Vladimir Putin said that Russia’s war against Ukraine affects the country’s birth rate but is not the principal cause of its demographic crisis, pointing to even lower fertility rates in Japan and South Korea, which are not at war. He argued that low birth rates are characteristic of post-industrial societies and said the Russian state should encourage families and young women to have children while also changing “public consciousness,” citing Russia’s demographic policies of the mid-2000s as a model to repeat. Meduza noted that Rosstat stopped publishing increasingly detailed demographic statistics in 2025 amid a historic decline in births, with the average number of children born per day in March 2025 falling to 3,012, which it described as the lowest level in nearly 200 years of regular record-keeping.

2nd September, Kommersant

Anything Published Before Foreign-Agent Status Doesn't Count

Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development is discussing with the Justice Ministry, Interior Ministry and presidential administration ways to legalise books published before their authors or associated organisations were designated as “foreign agents” or “undesirable,” with no final decision yet reached. Current rules can affect even books where a designated person or organisation played only an indirect role, such as translator, illustrator, funder or foreword author. The ministry estimates that literal enforcement could force municipal libraries to remove 50-70% of their collections from general access and scientific libraries 10-15%. Representatives of the book industry argue that the restrictions impede education, science and access to culturally important works, while independent bookseller Boris Kupriyanov described the proposed exemption as a useful but incomplete measure because publications issued after an organisation receives “undesirable” status would remain inaccessible.

31st August, Expert

Investigators Close Criminal Case Against Businessman Ilya Traber

Investigators have terminated the criminal prosecution of 75-year-old St Petersburg businessman Ilya Traber, and his lawyer said that all murder charges against him had been dropped. Traber had been accused in June 2026 of involvement in the 2020 contract killing of Vyborg municipal deputy Alexander Petrov, as well as illegal acquisition, possession and carrying of weapons, charges that could have resulted in life imprisonment. He was transferred to Moscow for investigative proceedings, arrested by the Basmanny District Court on 18 June, and released from pre-trial detention on 28 August before returning to St Petersburg.

31st August, Verstka

Ministry of Digital Development Begins Crackdown on VPN Services Using the Infrastructure of “Whitelisted” Websites

Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development has asked hosting providers, web-protection services and CDN providers to place IP addresses belonging to websites on the country’s “whitelist” into separate subnets, aiming to prevent VPN services and other unauthorised resources from exploiting them. The problem arises because multiple websites can share the same IP infrastructure, allowing services containing prohibited content or VPN advertising to remain accessible during mobile-internet restrictions alongside approved websites. State Duma Information Policy Committee chairman Sergei Boyarsky separately said that the authorities are trying to “wean,” particularly young Russians, off keeping VPNs permanently enabled because the government considers their use unsafe.

29th August, Meduza

Relatives of Citizens of the Russian Federation Convicted in Absentia on “Political” Charges to Receive a “Humanitarian Allowance”, but Only If They Have no Income of Their Own

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree establishing a monthly “humanitarian allowance” equal to the minimum wage for close relatives of people convicted in absentia under “political” articles, provided the relatives have no independent sources of income. Mishustin also signed measures requiring Russians abroad who evade serving their sentences to open a special rouble account at Sberbank, into which income earned in Russia will be transferred. The measures follow a law signed by Vladimir Putin on 4 August, introducing “temporary restrictive measures” against convicted Russians living abroad and providing for the creation of a public register of such individuals.

29th August, Novaya Gazeta Europe

Zakharova Calls Armenia’s Readiness to Accept Russians in the Event of a New Mobilisation a “Provocation”

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described Armenian Security Council Secretary Alen Simonyan’s statement that Armenia would accept Russians seeking to avoid being sent to the front in the event of a new mobilisation as “provocative,” saying it encouraged unlawful behaviour and harmed cooperation between Moscow and Yerevan. Simonyan had said Armenia would not impose additional border checks, would assist Russians if necessary, and would allow Russian citizens to enter without an international passport. The article notes that reports of a possible new mobilisation wave after the State Duma elections have circulated in the media and been cited by Western intelligence and Ukrainian authorities, while the Kremlin and other Russian officials deny that mobilisation is being prepared.

27th August, Vedomosti

Military Commanders Will Be Able to Certify Servicemembers’ Consent to Property Transactions

The Russian government has submitted a bill allowing military commanders in remote garrisons without notaries to certify servicemembers’ or their spouses’ consent to property transactions that require state registration or notarisation. Such certification would have the same legal force as a notarised document and would apply in military units, formations, institutions and military educational establishments located in hard-to-reach or remote areas. The bill follows an October 2025 Constitutional Court ruling requiring an accessible mechanism for military families living in such locations, while the Defence Ministry has also proposed expanding the range of services available to servicemen and their families through multifunctional public-service centres.

27th August, NSN

Industry Reports Record-Low Results for Russian Cinema in the First Half of the Year

Of the 130 Russian films released between January and June 2026, only eight recouped their costs, including three Yakut productions, while total losses reached 16 billion roubles, according to film critic David Shneiderov. He described this as an all-time anti-record for Russian cinema and identified Cheburashka 2, The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Prostokvashino, Domovyonok Kuzya 2 and My Heart Will Be Broken among the most profitable high-budget releases, while Levsha, Kolobok and Angels of Ladoga were among the biggest loss-makers. Cinema Owners Association council member Roman Isayev nevertheless said cinemas were satisfied with the summer period, noting that Kholop 3 earned 1.2 billion roubles and became the highest-grossing Russian film ever released during the summer despite failing to recover its budget.

26th August, Meduza

Russia to Publish a “Truthful Textbook” on the History of Ukraine, Prepared by the Russian Military Historical Society Headed by Medinsky

The Russian Military Historical Society is preparing a textbook on the history of Ukraine that will cover the period from ancient times and, according to its scientific director Mikhail Myagkov, present a “truthful” account of topics including the unity of the ancient Rus’ people and the emergence of the term “Ukrainism.” Myagkov also said a separate issue was how to convey what he called the “truth” to schoolchildren in Ukrainian territories that remain under Kyiv’s control, while he did not specify which school years the textbook would target, when it would be published, or who its authors would be. The article notes that Russia revised its history textbooks for Years 10 and 11 in 2023 with Russian Military Historical Society head Vladimir Medinsky participating as an editor, and that a textbook titled History of Donbas and Novorossiya for Years 5-7 was presented in summer 2026 as part of a unified history linked to the Russian curriculum.

26th August, Kommersant

“Fighters of the Invisible Collection”: What Is Kept in the Russian State Library’s Closed Repository

The Russian State Library has created a restricted collection of around 20,000 mostly Ukrainian-language books that its expert council considers to contain historical distortion, nationalism, Russophobia or Nazi ideology, with access generally limited to security-service personnel and specially approved researchers. The collection, assembled partly from libraries in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, includes works on Ukrainian nationalism and history, criticism of Vladimir Putin and Russia, accounts of the war in Donbas, politically themed children’s books, and some titles whose inclusion surprised the Kommersant correspondent, including books by Stephen Hawking, historian Serhii Plokhy and a biography of Winston Churchill. Library director Vadim Duda said the repository was created to preserve material for future research into what he called the “history of Russophobia,” while library staff explained that certain terminology, political organisations, translations or interpretations can serve as markers for classifying literature as “destructive.”

25th July, Vedomosti

Russian Universities to Switch to New Education System by 2030

All Russian universities are expected to complete the transition to a revised higher-education system by 2030, with 17 institutions currently participating in the pilot programme, according to Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Konstantin Mogilevsky. The new model comprises basic higher education lasting four to six years, specialised higher education, including master’s, residency and assistantship programmes lasting one to three years, and postgraduate study as a separate professional level; from 1 September 2026, the reform will apply only to new entrants, while existing students will finish under the old system. The pilot began in 2023 with six universities and was expanded by Vladimir Putin in January 2026 to include another 11 institutions, while Mogilevsky stressed that the transition should be gradual and careful to avoid harming educational quality.

25th August, RBC

Justice Ministry Launches Registry of Convicted Russians Living Abroad

Russia’s Justice Ministry has launched a test version of a registry of people subject to temporary restrictive measures, currently containing a fictitious entry, with plans to publish personal data including names, birth details, tax and social-security numbers, and details of special rouble accounts. The registry follows a law signed by Vladimir Putin in early August covering Russians who have left the country and evade enforcement of sentences, under which their funds and other property can be blocked, they can be prohibited from registering as individual entrepreneurs or self-employed, and their access to certain consular and notarial services, including marriage registration, can be restricted. State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the law would help hold Russians abroad, including people designated as foreign agents, extremists and terrorists, accountable for harming Russia, while lawyer Vadim Klyuvgant argued that the measures conflict with constitutional equality guarantees and that denying citizens consular services are unlawful.

25th August, Techora

Roskomnadzor Begins Blocking DoH and Requires Legal Entities to Switch to National Domains

Roskomnadzor has begun blocking DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH), forcing users’ browsers toward unencrypted DNS or providers’ DNS servers and thereby making DNS requests easier for authorities to monitor, redirect or block. The article also reports that, from 1 September 2026, Russian legal entities will be required to stop using international domain zones such as .com, .net and .org and move to Russian national domains including .ru, .su and .рф. The measures are to be implemented through Russia’s TSPU traffic-control system, with violations of the domain requirement reportedly punishable by fines of up to one million roubles and temporary blocking of company bank accounts until migration is completed.

24th August, RBC

Authorities Will Be Able to Take Control of Facilities Not Protected from Drones

Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing the Russian government, on presidential instruction, to impose temporary management on critical infrastructure facilities whose owners fail to take timely security measures or violate protection requirements. The measure can cover all or part of a company’s movable and immovable property, securities and property rights, while the temporary manager exercises ownership powers except for disposing of the property and is responsible for inventory and its preservation. The decree covers energy, industrial, communications, utilities, transport, logistics and other infrastructure considered especially important for national security, economic stability and the population’s essential needs.

24th August, Mediazona

Moscow Resident Fined Over Facebook Image Saying “Putin Has the National Guard for Smart People, and Television for Fools”

Moscow’s Zelenograd District Court fined resident Sergei Skvortsov for an image mentioning Vladimir Putin, finding him guilty of disseminating information showing clear disrespect for society and the state. The image, apparently posted on Facebook in June 2024, contained the phrase “Putin has the National Guard for smart people, and television for fools,” alongside images of a detained protester and Vladimir Solovyov’s television programme. Skvortsov was also found guilty in separate administrative cases concerning the alleged “discreditation” of the Russian army and display of prohibited symbols over Facebook posts that included “Glory to Ukraine!” and calls to stop the war.

24th August, Meduza

Russian Woman Who Lived in Ukraine Flew to Moscow to Arrange Documents. She Was Arrested and Accused of Treason

Russian citizen Svetlana Golovatenko, who had lived in Kyiv for more than ten years and held a Ukrainian residence permit, travelled to Moscow via Georgia to replace an expired internal passport and re-register property in Donetsk. She was detained upon arrival at Vnukovo Airport and subsequently subjected to a series of 15-day administrative arrests for alleged “petty hooliganism,” with the final such detention imposed on 4 August. According to Meduza, citing Mediazona, a criminal treason case appears to have been opened against Golovatenko after the expiration of her latest administrative arrest.

22nd August, Expert

Vladimir Putin: Kyiv “Opened Pandora’s Box” by Launching Strikes on Economic Targets

Vladimir Putin said Ukraine had “opened Pandora’s box” by striking Russian economic targets and that Russia had responded by intensifying attacks on Ukrainian military-industrial enterprises, including facilities in Kyiv. He argued that Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure disrupt deliveries of equipment and ammunition, troop rotations and the operation of defence enterprises developing weapons with Western support. Putin also said Ukrainian attacks on civilian, industrial and logistical targets in Russia cause economic damage and casualties and are intended to intimidate Russians and disrupt elections.

22nd August, Meduza

Russia Asks Countries to Ban Demonstrations Outside Its Embassies on State Duma Election Day

Russia has sent diplomatic notes to foreign ministries worldwide asking them to take measures to protect polling stations at Russian embassies during the State Duma elections, including banning demonstrations on election day. Deputy chairman of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s election commission Maksim Ryder did not explain how such protests would threaten voting security, but said Moscow expected other countries to fulfil their international obligations and would not remain passive itself. The request comes ahead of voting on 18-20 September and amid official concern about possible protests by Russians abroad.

22nd August, Novaya Gazeta Europe

The “Extremist” Diary of a Deputy

Communist politician and popular blogger Nikolai Bondarenko was fined 1,000 roubles for allegedly displaying “extremist symbols” through a 2024 post containing a photograph of Alexei Navalny. This ruling would prevent him from standing in elections for one year, although the Communist Party says the post appeared on a fake account unrelated to him. Bondarenko, known for his criticism of regional and federal authorities and for his YouTube channel with two million subscribers, described the case as political pressure tied to the upcoming State Duma elections. Even when the party is allowed to participate in elections, personas that stand out are not something the Kremlin tolerates anymore.

21st August, The Insider

Sberbank Launches Digital Platform for Mass Recruitment of Workers from India

Sberbank and recruitment service Rabota.ru have launched a digital platform for hiring foreign workers, with India becoming its first and so far, only target market as Russian employers seek to address a labour shortage estimated at 2.6 million people. The platform connects Russian employers, overseas recruitment agencies and Russian organisations responsible for documentation and relocation, allowing companies to select candidates, track applications and prepare the paperwork required for employment and migration. The article notes that India has become Russia’s largest source of visa-based labour, receiving 90,000 work-permit quotas for 2026, following a sharp increase in recruitment after a bilateral agreement on labour migration was signed in 2025.

21st August, Fontanka

A Look at the Textbook for Russia’s New Compulsory “DNA of Russia” Subject: See the Lesson Topics

A draft state textbook for fifth-graders on the new subject “Spiritual and Moral Culture of Russia,” prepared by Moscow Pedagogical State University, contains 15 lessons and is still being revised, according to presidential administration official Vladislav Kononov. Topics include the shared values of multinational Russia, the Russian language as the basis of national unity, symbols of the country, patriotism and service to the Fatherland, family and labour, while one lesson describes Orthodoxy as the “spiritual core of Russian civilisation.” The compulsory subject is due to begin for fifth-graders in the second half of the 2026/27 school year, with 17 hours of instruction intended to help form pupils’ worldview around traditional values.

21st August, The Insider

Well-Connected Insiders Instead of GRU Officers: How Russian Trade Missions Are Replacing Spies with the Children and Friends of Influential Officials

The Insider reports that roughly a third of employees at Russian trade missions abroad have traditionally been career military intelligence officers, and that a recent effort to reduce the GRU presence and replace them with trade professionals has instead resulted in some posts going to relatives and associates of senior officials. The investigation describes personnel changes in Austria, Algeria and Cuba, where alleged intelligence officers or other outgoing representatives were replaced by figures with connections to influential officials, including the presidential administration and people close to Vladimir Putin’s aides. Syria remains an exception to this trend, with career GRU officer Vladimir Noskov appointed as Russia’s new trade representative after previously serving in Lebanon, Egypt and Qatar.

21st August, Expert

Russia’s Triathletes Allowed to Compete Under National Flag and Anthem

World Triathlon has fully reinstated the Russian national triathlon team, allowing athletes to compete in national uniforms under the Russian flag and, in the event of victory, have the Russian anthem played. Russian Sports Minister and Russian Olympic Committee president Mikhail Degtyarev said the decision became possible after the restoration of the Russian Olympic Committee’s status, following World Triathlon’s earlier decision in April to admit Russian junior and para-athletes. The article notes that the International Olympic Committee temporarily lifted the Russian Olympic Committee’s suspension on 7th July and recommended removing restrictions on Russian athletes after sports organisations from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions were removed from its membership.

20th August, Point Media

Yulia Shoigu’s Textbook Warns Students About the Dangers of Apple and Google and Calls Cryptocurrency “Pseudo-Money”

A 2026 safety textbook for college students edited by Yulia Shoigu claims that Apple and Google obtain users’ personal and banking data and SMS messages, that smartphone microphones and cameras may operate passively, and that switched-off phones continue tracking their location. The article challenges these claims as false or exaggerated, explaining that access to sensitive data is restricted, camera and microphone use requires permissions, and some powered-off phones can only be located temporarily through specialised device-finding networks rather than normal geolocation. It also disputes the textbook’s description of cryptocurrency as “digital pseudo-money” whose value depends solely on rumours and manipulation, while noting that several of the textbook’s formulations closely resemble passages from Igor Ashmanov and Natalia Kaspersky’s Digital Hygiene.

20th August, Lenta.ru

Monetochka’s Song Removed from Russian Version of Spider-Man

A song by Russian singer Monetochka, whose real name is Elizaveta Gyrdymova and who is designated a “foreign agent” by Russia’s Justice Ministry, was removed from the Russian version of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Her track “Monopoly,” which originally plays during a scene in an apartment, was replaced in Russian cinemas by wordless background music, and Gyrdymova’s name was also removed from the film’s closing credits. The same song had previously disappeared from the Ukrainian version of the film, where the segment was cut entirely.

19th August, RBC

Film Studios Given Recommendations on How to Portray Family Values

New voluntary guidelines have been developed for Russian filmmakers on producing and distributing media content intended to preserve and strengthen the “strong family” as a traditional Russian spiritual and moral value. The recommendations call for convincing and socially significant portrayals of family life, including avoiding excessive sentimentality and caricatured depictions, and present the family as a source of stability amid external uncertainty. The document is being circulated among major media-industry representatives for feedback, while State Duma Information Policy Committee chairman Sergei Boyarsky said it was an industry self-regulation initiative rather than a set of mandatory rules.

19th August, Uchalinskaya Gazeta

Putin Has Not Rejected a Single Law Passed by the Eighth State Duma

President Vladimir Putin has not vetoed any laws adopted by the eighth convocation of the State Duma between 2021 and 2026, which presidential representative Garry Minkh attributed to greater consolidation within Russia’s political system and society. During the same period, the Federation Council rejected six initiatives passed by the Duma, but compromises were subsequently reached on five of them and the remaining proposal was deemed no longer relevant. Minkh contrasted this with the much higher rejection rates of the 1990s and argued that advance discussion of contentious issues and the search for compromises have made the current system of public authority more efficient.

17th August, Mediazona

Sova Expert Olga Sibireva Charged with Cooperating with an “Undesirable” Organisation After an Outside Project Used the Centre’s Materials

Russian authorities drew up an administrative case against Sova Research Centre expert Olga Sibireva for alleged cooperation with the International Religious Freedom Alliance, which Russia designated an “undesirable” organisation in 2024. The accusation is based on the alliance having cited Sibireva’s publicly available 2024 and 2025 annual reports on freedom of conscience in Russia, despite the case documents reportedly containing no evidence that Sibireva or Sova directly interacted with the organisation. Sova called the allegations unfounded and contrary to both the law and common sense, saying this may be the first case in which someone has been accused of cooperation solely because an “undesirable” organisation referenced their publicly available work.

17th August, Kommersant

Books to Receive an Official Stamp of Approval

Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development is preparing legislation that could give the Expert Centre of the Russian Book Union the authority to conduct official state examinations of books for compliance with Russian law, replacing its current advisory role with legally recognised status. Supporters argue that a single accredited centre could standardise legal assessments and reduce uncertainty for publishers, booksellers and libraries facing increasingly complex restrictions on content, including rules concerning LGBT-related material, drugs, “undesirable organisations” and foreign agents. Critics, however, warn that the system would not remove retailers’ legal liability and that paid examinations could be prohibitively expensive for bookstores carrying tens of thousands of titles. Experts replace the role of censors.

17th August, Euronews

Yabloko Deputy Chairman Lev Shlosberg Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison as Moscow Court Rejects Party’s Appeal

A court in Pskov sentenced Yabloko deputy chairman Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month in a general-regime penal colony over charges including spreading alleged “fake news” about the Russian military and repeatedly “discrediting” the armed forces, while also banning him from administering websites for six years. Shlosberg rejected the charges as politically motivated, and Amnesty International condemned the conviction as retaliation for his peaceful anti-war statements and called for his immediate release. On the same day, Russia’s Supreme Court rejected Yabloko’s appeal against its removal from the State Duma elections, leaving the anti-war party excluded from the ballot.

17th August, Kommersant

Neural Networks Built on Traditional Values

A Russian government working group is discussing a proposed national benchmark for testing whether AI systems conform to the country’s “spirit of the times and values,” although Yandex later clarified that it had not itself presented a national dataset or testing concept and had only participated in the discussion. Participants disagreed over transparency: the FSB reportedly favoured a closed benchmark to prevent developers from tailoring models to pass it, while business representatives argued for an open system, with a hybrid approach combining public testing and a closed final assessment suggested as a compromise. The content and governance of the benchmark remain unresolved, with the IT industry proposing a joint commission of government, business and expert organisations, while specialists quoted by Kommersant stressed that assessing value conformity is inherently more subjective than testing areas such as mathematics or programming.

17th August, Meduza

Binance Handed Russian Security Forces Data on an IT Specialist Who Lived in the EU. He Is Now on Trial in Russia for Donations to the Ukrainian Armed Forces

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance reportedly provided Russia’s Investigative Committee with detailed account information about IT specialist Yuri Belenky, who had lived in Bulgaria since 2015 and was later charged in Russia with financing terrorism over cryptocurrency donations allegedly intended for the Ukrainian military. According to the article, investigators initially knew of six transfers but, after receiving Binance’s account history, added nine more transactions to the charges, while the disclosed material allegedly included Belenky’s personal data, identity documents, balances, deposits, withdrawals and transfers. The human rights group Pervy Otdel argues that directly supplying such information to Russian authorities without an international mutual legal assistance basis may have breached EU data-protection rules, while Binance did not directly confirm the disclosure when approached about the case.

16th August, Novaya Gazeta Europe

VEB Fires Chief Economist After Forecast of Social Crisis and Russia Losing “War of Attrition” With the West

VEB.RF chief economist Andrei Klepach was reportedly dismissed after media attention focused on a May speech in which he warned of Russia’s technological and economic decline and predicted a future social crisis, although VEB had not commented on the reports. Klepach argued that Russia would not win a “war of attrition” with the West, saying that rising costs, declining investment, worsening healthcare, inequality and technological backwardness could produce a crisis comparable to periods preceding the February Revolution or the collapse of the Soviet Union. He also forecast that continued war, sanctions and tight fiscal and monetary policies would limit annual economic growth to 2-2.5%, with GDP growth potentially falling to 1–1.5% in 2027.

15th August, Verstka

Authorities to Strengthen Surveillance of Russians’ Travel Within the Country and Abroad on All Types of Transport

Russia’s Transport Ministry has proposed expanding centralised passenger databases so that carriers report both scheduled and actual information for regular and charter journeys, including transfers, baggage details and unique identifiers for trips across all forms of long-distance transport. The databases will continue to contain extensive personal information including phone numbers, email addresses, account logins, password hashes, IP addresses and partial bank cards or account details used to purchase tickets. Lawyers said the changes would make it easier for security agencies to track people under surveillance almost in real time, including criminal suspects and witnesses, although they did not expect the system to be primarily used for mobilisation.

14th August, RBC

Kurgan Resident Charged for Searching for “Extremist” Music

Police in Kurgan drew up an administrative offence report against a 19-year-old man after he searched online for and listened to a song officially designated as extremist in the Russian Federation, using software that provided access to blocked resources. He was charged under Article 13.53 of Russia’s Administrative Code, introduced after legislation signed in 2025 established fines of 3,000-5,000 Rubles for knowingly searching for extremist materials online, including through VPN services. Materials covered by the law include those on the Justice Ministry’s federal list of extremist materials, which currently contains around 5,500 entries.

14th August, Gazeta.Ru

Lavrov Explains Why the Ukraine Conflict Cannot Be Stopped Along the Front Line.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia cannot consider proposals to halt fighting in Ukraine along the current line of contact, arguing that doing so would undermine the legacy of previous generations who defeated Nazism. He said hostilities should end only when a long-term, reliable and sustainable settlement has been reached, framing the issue as part of Russia’s responsibility for its thousand-year history. Ukraine and the United States had reportedly discussed freezing the conflict along the front line, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had described such an arrangement as the fastest route to peace.

13th August, Vedomosti

Testing Laboratories to Assess the Spirituality and Morality of AI

Russian IT companies may be permitted to submit large AI models to independent, accredited laboratories to assess compliance with Russian law and the country’s officially defined “traditional spiritual and moral values” as part of the process for obtaining national or sovereign AI status. The laboratories would use benchmarks to test models’ responses, filtering mechanisms and resistance to prompt-injection attempts. The Ministry of Digital Development, the FSB and FSTEC are involved in developing the relevant criteria and security requirements. The proposed system would apply only to models seeking national or sovereign status and the associated access to state support, government data and preferential use. The final decision on compliance and status would remain with the Ministry of Digital Development.

13th August, Meduza

FSB to Eliminate Border Between Russia and Annexed Territories of Ukraine

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) is abolishing border zones between Russia and Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories in the Rostov and Voronezh regions and annexed Crimea, removing requirements for checks resembling those conducted at an international border. The FSB said the measure reflects the completion of the incorporation of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” and the Kherson region into Russia, although a border zone will remain around Russian-controlled islands in the Black Sea near Crimea. Russia annexed Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in 2022, despite not fully controlling them militarily, with only the Luhansk region almost entirely occupied.

13th August, Gazeta.Ru

Putin Visits the Kuril Islands for the First Time as Japan Lodges “Strong Protest”

Vladimir Putin made his first visit to the Kuril Islands, touring industrial and social facilities on Iturup, meeting residents and holding talks with Sakhalin Governor Valery Limarenko. The visit prompted a strong protest from Japan’s Foreign Ministry, which reiterated Tokyo’s claim to Iturup and three other southern Kuril Islands, while the trip also generated extensive attention and calls for a tougher response on Japanese social media. Putin maintained that Russia’s sovereignty over the islands is established by the international arrangements following the Second World War, while noting that Moscow had previously been prepared to seek a settlement with Japan aimed at concluding a peace treaty that keeps Iturup and Kunashir under Russia’s control.

12th August, Meduza

Co-Author of “Bigga than Ben” Pavel Tetersky Leaves Russia Due to Pressure from Security Forces

Writer and screenwriter Pavel Tetersky left Russia after serving a 12-day administrative arrest for alleged minor hooliganism, which his lawyer said was based on fabricated grounds. Before his arrest, security officers searched Tetersky’s apartment for several hours and allegedly attempted to accuse him of terrorism-related activities, although nothing illegal was found. Tetersky said the authorities appeared to have targeted the wrong person, suggesting that their interest in him may instead have resulted from things he had said online.

12th August, Mediazona

Businessman Who Came to Russia Accused of Treason for Paying Taxes to Ukraine’s Budget

Ukrainian businessman Oleg Varyukhin, 60, was arrested after arriving in Russia and charged with treason over taxes he had paid in Ukraine, where he had lived since 1999 and operated a perfume business. His lawyer argues that Varyukhin possessed neither Russian nor Ukrainian citizenship beyond his old Soviet passport and that paying legally required taxes as an individual entrepreneur cannot reasonably constitute treason. Before being remanded in custody on 22 July, Varyukhin had been repeatedly detained between May and July on minor hooliganism charges, receiving four consecutive 15-day administrative arrests.

12th August, Interfax

Nationwide Anti-Terrorism Exercise to Be Held in Schools and Kindergartens in August

Russian schools and kindergartens will take part in a nationwide anti-terrorism exercise on 18-19 August to test the preparedness of teachers, administrators and security staff, with preschool institutions participating for the first time. The exercise will cover scenarios involving hostage-taking, attacks using flammable liquids and drone strikes, while additional safety briefings for educational staff are planned for September. The Education Ministry said that 108,262 educational facilities are subject to anti-terrorism protection requirements, with the necessary measures fully implemented at 76,745 of them.

12th August, Kommersant

At Least They’re Not Extremists

Russia’s Supreme Court explained that Yabloko was removed from the State Duma elections over alleged foreign financing, campaign spending outside its official electoral fund, and copyright violations. Among the violations cited was the party’s use of an image created with ChatGPT, with the court treating OpenAI as the rights holder, while also finding problems with other images, quotations and materials published on Yabloko’s website. Yabloko rejected the accusations and said it would appeal, while legal experts warned that the ruling introduced precedents that could significantly affect other candidates and parties, particularly regarding AI-generated content, online campaigning and material published before the official campaign period.

11th August, Russkiy Mir

Russian House to Resume Operations in Syria

Rossotrudnichestvo is taking steps to reopen the Russian House in Damascus, discussing support for Russian-language teaching as well as educational, cultural and scientific projects with Syrian officials and Russian compatriots. More than 40,000 Syrian schoolchildren currently study Russian, while over 4,500 applications to Russian universities have been submitted in 2026, prompting discussion of increasing Russia’s quota for Syrian students and restoring Russian-language courses and university exchanges. Syrian authorities expressed interest in strengthening cultural and humanitarian cooperation with Moscow, and the Russian House is expected to resume operations before the end of 2026.

10th August, Vlasti.io

Elderly Man in Crimea Fined for Having Ukrainian and UPA Flags in His Room

A court in Feodosia fined a 49-year-old disabled pensioner 1,500 Rubles after Ukrainian flags, a red-and-black UPA flag and photographs of Stepan Bandera were found in his room. The items were discovered by a minor visiting the man’s daughter after she entered his unlocked room, and police subsequently became involved in the case. The court found him guilty of publicly displaying Nazi symbols, while treating his admission of guilt, remorse and the fact that it was his first offence as mitigating circumstances, and ordered the flags and photographs confiscated.

8th August, Expert

Aksakov: Russia to Expand Criteria for Blocking Transfers from 1 March

From 1 March, Russian banks will be able to block money transfers if malicious software is detected on a customer’s device. After stopping a transaction, banks will ask the customer to confirm it, while obtaining customer consent will be required for banks to detect malicious code on their devices. Existing customer agreements must be updated by 1 September 2027, and the Russian Federation has already introduced 12 indicators to identify transfers made without customers’ consent or under the influence of fraudsters. VPN is an example of such software.

6th August, TASS

Prosecutor General’s Office Declares Human Rights Foundation Undesirable

Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office declared the activities of the US-based Human Rights Foundation undesirable in Russia. The organisation was established in the United States in 2005. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the foundation is involved in developing recommendations for the US administration on imposing sanctions against citizens of the Russian Federation. Since 2024, the organisation has been chaired by Yulia Navalnaya, Alexei Navalny's widow.

5th August, Izvestia

State Duma Announces Penalties for Selling SIM Cards to Migrants Without IMEI Registration

A new law introducing criminal liability for telecom operators that issue SIM cards to migrants without recording the device’s IMEI number in the contract will enter into force on 6 August. State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said the measure forms part of legislation aimed at combating cyberfraud and requires the identifier of the mobile phone on which the SIM card will be used to be registered. Violations can result in a fine of up to RUB 500,000 or imprisonment for up to one year.

5th August, Meduza

Cossacks and “Russian Community” Attempted to Disrupt a Commemoration of Victims of Stalinist Repression at Sandarmokh

People in Cossack uniforms and members of the pro-government nationalist movement “Russian Community” attempted to disrupt the annual commemoration of victims of Stalinist repression at the Sandarmokh memorial cemetery in Karelia. They played wartime songs, surrounded relatives of those executed with Russian flags, followed German and Czech diplomats while shouting “Glory to Russia,” and challenged participants over other historical and contemporary conflicts. Sandarmokh is one of the largest execution and burial sites of victims of the Great Terror, and pro-government activists have also attempted to disrupt commemorative events there in previous years.

5th August, Kommersant

More Than 60% of Mobile Internet Sessions in the First Half of the Year Faced Restrictions

Only around 30.5% of mobile internet sessions in Russia’s Central Federal District were unrestricted in July, while in the border regions of Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod the figure fell to about 12%, with most users limited to websites on the Ministry of Digital Development’s “white list.” The restrictions are already affecting mobile operators, which are adjusting tariff structures and expanding fixed broadband services as customers increasingly feel they are paying for mobile data they cannot fully use. Analysts say the situation may encourage subscribers to switch operators more frequently and could become a long-term negative factor for telecom companies. However, renewed demand for voice calls is helping to cushion the immediate impact on revenues.

5th August, Novaya Gazeta

Well-Known Tomsk Radio Host Returned to Russia with His One-Year-Old Daughter and Was Jailed over Donations to the Anti-Corruption Foundation

Former Radio Siberia presenter Alexander Lunev, who had lived in Prague since 2022, returned to Tomsk with his wife and one-year-old daughter and was detained on 3 August before being placed in pre-trial detention for two months on charges of financing extremist activity. Investigators allege that between August 2021 and February 2022 he made seven donations of 1,000 Rubles each to Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, totalling 7,000 Rubles, which became the basis for the criminal case. Prosecutors argued that Lunev posed a flight risk, citing his Czech residence permit and two foreign passports seized during a search, while the court rejected the defence’s request for house arrest.

5th August, Techora.ru

State Duma to Return to Video Game Law on User Identification and Content Labelling

The State Duma is expected to return in September or October 2026 to consider a bill regulating video games. It would require users to identify themselves via a phone number, Gosuslugi or the Unified Biometric System, and oblige developers to label content involving violence, profanity, alcohol, drugs and intimate material. The bill would also require platforms to remove content prohibited in the Russian Federation. Its authors say it is intended to support the domestic gaming industry and does not envisage banning foreign platforms such as Steam. The legislation has not yet passed its first reading or received a government opinion, but failure by platforms and developers to comply with its eventual requirements could lead to lawsuits, fines and ultimately the blocking of access to their services in Russia.

4th August, Meduza

Boris Nadezhdin Faces Administrative Charge Over Interview with Meduza
Russian politician Boris Nadezhdin has been charged with participating in the activities of an “undesirable” organisation over an interview he gave to Meduza, which was published on its YouTube channel on 14 July. The administrative offence carries a fine of up to 15,000 Rubles and follows earlier pressure on Nadezhdin, including his designation as a “foreign agent,” detention, and a fine over a photograph of Alexei Navalny. These measures prevented him from participating in the State Duma elections, and on 3 August Nadezhdin announced that he had left Russia, publishing a video from Paris.

3rd August, Mediazona

Sber and Six Other Banks Switch to an Insecure Russian TLS Encryption Certificate

The websites of Sber, VTB, Rosselkhozbank, T-Bank, Uralsib, Promsvyazbank and Bank Saint Petersburg have switched from foreign TLS certificates to a Russian certificate issued by the Ministry of Digital Development. Mediazona notes that foreign certification authorities have increasingly revoked certificates for sanctioned Russian state companies, while the ministry has recommended domestic certificates to ensure uninterrupted access to Russian online resources through foreign browsers. The article warns that Russia’s authorities could decrypt traffic from any website if the ministry’s certificate is installed on a user’s device and recommends avoiding its system-wide installation.

3rd August, Frank Media

FSB Plans to Require Crypto Exchanges and Gaming Platforms to Install SORM

The FSB plans to extend requirements for installing the System for Operative Investigative Activities (SORM) to cryptocurrency exchanges and gaming platforms, giving security services remote access to user data and the ability to monitor internet traffic and store metadata and content. The initiative forms part of a broader effort to strengthen enforcement of SORM requirements, which remain only partially implemented even among major telecommunications and internet companies. In June 2026, the maximum fine for failing to comply with SORM installation requirements was increased to 10 million Rubles, while regulators have also tightened licensing rules for communications companies that lack an agreed installation plan.

3rd August, Interfax

First Serial Fully Import-Substituted MC-21 Makes Its First Flight

The first serial fully import-substituted MC-21-310 aircraft completed its maiden flight from the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, remaining airborne for one hour and 23 minutes and reaching altitudes of up to 6,000 metres. During the flight, test pilots assessed the aircraft’s stability and controllability in different configurations and checked the operation of its domestically produced systems. Around half of the certification flight-test programme has now been completed, while the conclusion of certification flights and the start of serial production are planned for 2027.

3rd August, Current Time

Politician Boris Nadezhdin Had Left Russia

Russian politician Boris Nadezhdin announced that he had left Russia, publishing a video from Paris in which he said he was alive and free but needed time to decide on his plans. Nadezhdin, who unsuccessfully sought to run for president in 2024 on an anti-war platform, had announced plans to contest the 2026 State Duma elections before being designated a “foreign agent,” briefly detained, and reportedly subjected to a travel ban. In July, he was also fined for displaying “extremist” symbols over an old video containing a photograph of Alexei Navalny, and two days later he ended his Duma election campaign.

2nd August, Rossiyskaya Gazeta

Defence Ministry and Rosgvardiya Granted Access to Civil Registry Data

A new law expands the Russian Defence Ministry’s and Rosgvardiya’s access to information held in the Unified State Civil Registry by amending the law on civil-status records. The Defence Ministry and its territorial bodies may use the data to provide social guarantees and compensation to military personnel, civilian staff, discharged servicemen, and their families, as well as for military registration purposes. Rosgvardiya and military-unit commanders receive similar powers, with the measure intended to streamline support for service members and their families by reducing paperwork.

31st July, RBC

Government Approves Applications Required for Preinstallation in 2027

The Russian government approved a list of software that must be preinstalled on electronic devices originating in Russia and other Eurasian Economic Union countries from 2027. For smartphones and tablets, the list includes Yandex Browser, Yandex with Alice, Yandex Maps, 2GIS, Gosuslugi and the Mir Pay payment service. The order specifies which domestic applications must be made available on devices covered by Russia’s mandatory software pre-installation rules.

31st July, Novaya Gazeta

On the Road to “Inactivity”

The Kremlin’s description of Russia’s situation as an “ideal crisis” presents wartime consolidation as a source of sovereignty, although public attitudes in 2026 increasingly reflect anxiety, fatigue, irritation and a fragile social consensus. It depicts technological isolation, elite declarations of loyalty and the exclusion of dissenters as elements of an increasingly autarkic and quasi-totalitarian political system. While many Russians may prefer a return to ordinary peaceful life after the war, raising the question of whether the authorities can preserve unity and legitimacy without maintaining a permanent crisis.

30th July, Meduza

Foreign Website Owners May Be Required to Authenticate Users in Russia Only by Phone Number

Russia’s Digital Development Ministry has drafted amendments that could require foreign websites and applications to authenticate users in Russia exclusively through their telephone numbers. The platforms would also have to retain information about account registrations, logins and deletions for three years and provide it to law-enforcement agencies upon request. The proposals form part of the government’s third package of anti-fraud measures, although the ministry said that the package remains under discussion and its final contents have not yet been determined.

29th July, Meduza

FSB Charges Pavel Durov with Facilitating Terrorism. He Responds by Using a Photograph of Himself as a Terrorist

Russia’s Federal Security Service accused Telegram founder Pavel Durov of facilitating terrorism and placed him on an international wanted list, alleging that the platform refuses to remove channels used by Ukrainian intelligence services to organise sabotage, cyberfraud and killings. The Investigative Committee separately claimed that Ukrainian intelligence had recruited teenagers through the Telegram dating bot “Daivinchik/Leo.” However, its statement did not mention Durov and the authorities reported conflicting numbers of detained suspects. Durov did not comment directly, but briefly changed his profile picture to an old image depicting him as an Islamic State militant, while Telegram’s official account posted a photograph of him making an obscene gesture.

27th July, Gazeta.Ru

Police to Raid St Petersburg Shopping Centres in Search of Young Radicals and Members of Informal Groups

Police and social-service representatives will conduct raids in St Petersburg shopping centres during August and September to identify young people associated with radical or “informal antisocial” groups, partly through distinctive clothing and accessories. The authorities intend to involve those identified in programmes of “deradicalisation and constructive socialisation,” citing a rise in juvenile crime and noting that 18 of the 3,577 minors registered with juvenile-affairs departments identify with informal youth groups. State Duma committee chair Nina Ostanina warned that unconventional appearance is not evidence of danger and argued that prevention should focus instead on behavioural changes, digital activity and individual support without stigmatising youth subcultures.

27th July, Izvestia

Electronics Exception: Half of Russian Companies Have Not Found Replacements for Foreign Machine Tools

An RSPP survey found that 45% of Russian companies have a high need to replace imported machinery and equipment, while another 7% describe this need as critical; components and assemblies are also in serious shortage. Although the share of organisations purchasing Russian-made alternatives has risen from around one-third in 2022 to 53%, full import substitution has not been achieved in areas including microelectronics, aviation, machine-tool production, energy equipment and specialised industrial software. Experts attribute the difficulties to dependence on foreign technology, insufficient investment, expensive credit and a shortage of engineers, arguing that progress requires long-term demand guarantees, support for component production and fewer administrative barriers.

27th July, Interfax

Russia Restricts Imports of Dairy Products from Armenia

Russia’s agricultural watchdog, Rosselkhoznadzor, restricted imports of dairy products from Armenia from 27 July and asked the Armenian authorities to suspend veterinary certification for shipments from all Armenian producers. The agency said inspections had identified multiple violations, including the use of milk from infected livestock, raw materials originating in third countries, and deficiencies in traceability, veterinary documentation, safety checks and production controls. Russia’s National Union of Milk Producers said the restrictions would not critically affect the domestic market because Russia produces more than 85% of its dairy needs, Belarus supplies around 90% of dairy imports and Armenia accounts for only a small proportion.

24th July, TASS

Migrants Will Be Expelled for Discrimination and Disobedience at the Border

The Federation Council approved a law allowing foreign nationals to be expelled for discrimination, violations of human rights and freedoms, and disobeying military personnel at the border. The number of administrative offences that can lead to expulsion will rise to 45, including discrimination based on characteristics such as sex, race, nationality, language, origin, social status, age, religion, beliefs, or membership of social groups. Expulsion will also apply when a migrant refuses to comply with a lawful demand from a servicemember while crossing the border.

24th July, Meduza

Krasnodar Resident Detained for Publishing Video of Wildberries Warehouse Fire Following Ukrainian Drone Attack

Police detained a 19-year-old Krasnodar resident who allegedly filmed a fire at a Wildberries warehouse following a Ukrainian drone strike on 22 July and posted a sarcastic comment about her mother losing her job. The authorities said she had violated a regional ban on recording and distributing material showing the consequences of drone attacks, air-defence operations, or the locations of military units. Police forced her to apologise on camera, and she faces a fine of between 30,000 and 50,000 Rubles.

22nd July, Mediazona

Moscow Teacher Fined Following a Pupil’s Mother’s Complaint for Comparing the Second World War and the “Special Military Operation”

A Moscow court fined a schoolteacher 40,000 Rubles for allegedly “discrediting” the Russian army after she was accused of saying during an eighth-grade lesson that Russia was responsible for starting the “special military operation.” The teacher denied making the statement, while her defence argued that the case materials lacked the findings of the school’s internal investigation and that the pupils’ accounts contained inaccuracies. The proceedings began after the mother of one pupil contacted the federal Civic Chamber and two minors provided statements about what they had heard during the lesson.

22nd July, RBC

The Duma adopted a law on restrictions for convicted relocators.

The State Duma unanimously passed a package of laws targeting people outside Russia who evade criminal or administrative penalties for offences including discrediting the armed forces, calling for sanctions, participating in an undesirable organisation, and violating foreign-agent requirements. The restrictions include bans on obtaining passports, marrying, changing one’s name, registering as an individual entrepreneur or self-employed person, using consular services, registering property and accessing online banking, as well as the suspension of driving licences and the freezing of money and other assets. The Ministry of Justice will decide when these measures apply and will maintain a publicly accessible register of the affected individuals.

21st July, Vedomosti

Education Ministry Selects Books About the “Special Military Operation” for Schoolchildren

Russia’s Ministry of Education has compiled lists of works for classroom and extracurricular reading that include contemporary patriotic books about the “special military operation” and has sent them to school libraries across the country. A separate section titled “Za Nashikh” contains books devoted to the operation and its participants, including Donbas Is the Heart of Russia, Beyond the Line, and the poetry collection Poetry of the Russian Winter. The lists cover works included in federal educational programmes, extracurricular literature and modern patriotic publications, following Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov’s support for incorporating such material into school curricula.

21st July, Meduza

Rosgvardia Will Prepare in Advance for Mobilisation and Martial Law

Rosgvardia has proposed amending its civil-defence regulations to explicitly include preparations for dangers arising during mobilisation, martial law and wartime. The amendments would also extend evacuation provisions to include the agency’s military personnel and employees, alongside civilian staff and family members. According to the explanatory note, the changes are intended to align the regulations with amendments made to Russia’s civil-defence law in 2025, although the proposal has emerged amid reports that the authorities are considering another wave of mobilisation.

21st July, Interfax

Duma Introduces Judicial Mechanism to Block the Return of Foreign Businesses to Russia

Russia’s State Duma passed a law in its third reading that would allow courts to deprive certain foreign investors who exited Russian businesses after February 2022 of their contractual rights to repurchase shares or ownership stakes. The mechanism would apply to transactions involving investors connected with states designated as “unfriendly” and could be initiated by the current asset owner or the relevant government ministry, with cases heard by the Arbitration Court of the Moscow Region. Foreign investors affected by such a ruling could seek compensation within one year, although a court could reduce or entirely deny payment depending on the investor’s conduct, the losses caused and the investments made by the Russian purchaser. Is this an attraction for foreign investors?

19th July, RTVI

Fourth Monument to Stalin Unveiled in the Vologda Region

Vologda Region Governor Georgy Filimonov unveiled a bronze monument to Joseph Stalin and Soviet metallurgist Ivan Bardin in Cherepovets during celebrations marking Metallurgist’s Day. Filimonov described the installation as the restoration of historical justice and said both figures were connected with the creation of the Cherepovets Metallurgical Plant and the city’s transformation into a major Soviet industrial centre. This is the fourth monument to Stalin erected in the region, following a statue installed in Vologda in 2024 and busts unveiled in Kaduy and Nikolsk in 2025.

19th July, ECHO

Nadezhdin Announces the End of His State Duma Election Campaign

Boris Nadezhdin announced that he would not submit the signatures collected to register his candidacy in the State Duma elections, saying that government pressure had forced him to end his campaign. He stated that he could no longer legally engage in opposition politics in Russia and did not want to endanger his family, campaign staff, signature collectors or supporters. Nadezhdin had recently been designated a “foreign agent,” detained and fined over a link to a video featuring a photograph of Alexei Navalny, and prohibited from leaving Russia.

18th July, Meduza

Ozon, Like Wildberries, Changes Its Seller Agreement and Will Not Compensate for Goods Lost in Drone Strikes

Ozon has changed its seller agreement to exclude compensation for goods lost or damaged because of military operations, states of emergency, shelling, civil unrest, drone incidents and similar circumstances. The amendments took effect on 12 June and transfer the associated commercial risks to sellers, releasing Ozon from related claims. Wildberries introduced a similar clause in early July, and although it said it was not legally required to compensate sellers after drone attacks on its warehouses, the company was considering financial support measures.

17th July, Meduza

Nonexistent International Golos Movement Added to Russia’s List of “Undesirable” Organisations

Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation added the international public movement “In Defence of Voters’ Rights ‘Golos’” to its register of “undesirable” organisations, although the register provides no details about the group. Former Golos co-chair Stanislav Andreychuk said that neither he nor his former colleagues knew of any such international movement, stressing that Golos had always been an association of Russian citizens. Golos ceased operating in July 2025 after co-chair Grigory Melkonyants was sentenced to five years in prison, although the Russian authorities had not formally designated either the original association or the later Golos movement as “undesirable.”

17th July, Meduza

Blogger Ilya Remeslo Detained in a Case over “False Information” about the Army

Pro-Kremlin blogger Ilya Remeslo was detained in a criminal case concerning alleged “false information” about the Russian army, reportedly initiated over posts published on his Telegram channel. His lawyer said that Remeslo, who lives in St Petersburg, was being taken to Moscow, where a court would determine the restrictions imposed on him during the investigation. Remeslo had built his reputation by campaigning against Alexei Navalny but later criticised Vladimir Putin, accusing him of starting the war, damaging Russia’s economy, imposing censorship and suppressing the opposition.

17th July, Meduza

Google Follows Apple in Removing All VK Applications, Including the Max Messenger

Google Play removed at least 18 applications belonging to VK companies, including Max, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki and Mail.ru, apparently following the European Union’s introduction of sanctions against VK and the company developing Max. The immediate consequences may be limited because previously installed applications continue to work on Android and VK can distribute its services through alternative stores or APK files. However, more extensive restrictions, such as cutting VK off from Firebase, Widevine or developer verification, could seriously disrupt its services and affect tens of millions of users.

16th July, Izvestia

Russia May Ban the Sale of SIM Cards with Money Already on the Account

Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation is considering requiring mobile operators to sell SIM cards only with a zero balance as part of the proposed “Antifraud 3.0” measures. Customers would be able to add money only after concluding a contract with an operator, creating a payment record that could help identify the SIM card’s actual user. The ministry said the measure, alongside a possible ban on pre-activated SIM cards, is intended to prevent criminals from anonymously using prepaid or fraudulently registered numbers and then discarding them.

16th June, Current Time

Yekaterinburg Telegram Channel Owner Charged over FBK and RVC Logos as Both Channels Fall under Security-Service Control

Two administrative protocols were filed against Bogdan Bukharin, administrator of the Telegram channels Oppositioner and Yashcheritsa, for allegedly displaying the symbols of extremist and prohibited organisations. The charges concerned posts about criminal cases involving cooperation with the Anti-Corruption Foundation and the Russian Volunteer Corps that included the organisations’ logos. Bukharin said security officers had seized control of both channels and warned readers to delete their comments, while maintaining his opposition to Vladimir Putin’s policies.

15th July, RBC

Migrants Might Be Required to Buy a Phone upon Arrival in Russia

Deputy Interior Minister Igor Zubov said migrants arriving in Russia, particularly labour migrants and those planning a long-term stay, will be required to purchase a mobile phone containing their electronic profile. Police will use the device to monitor each migrant’s location and prevent them from changing their place of residence or moving between settlements without official oversight. The phone will also allow authorities to notify migrants about expiring documents or instructions to report to a particular location.

14th July, Vedomosti

Russia–China Trade Turnover Grew by 25.6% in the First Half of 2026

Trade between Russia and China increased by 25.6% year on year to $134.175 billion between January and June 2026. Russian exports to China rose by 23.3% to $73.578 billion, while imports from China to Russia increased by 28.4% to $60.596 billion. China’s total foreign trade grew by 21.2% to $3.675 trillion, including increases in trade with ASEAN countries and the European Union.

13th July, TASS

ITTF Lifts Sanctions on Table Tennis Players from the Russian Federation

The International Table Tennis Federation will fully readmit Russian athletes to competitions under its authority from 28 July. The ITTF Executive Board reviewed the participation of athletes holding Russian passports and decided to remove the restrictions previously imposed on them. Russian players had competed internationally only under neutral status since August 2023, although Russian junior athletes had already been permitted to use their national flag and anthem from April 2026.

12th July, Meduza

Ksenia Sobchak Responds to Leaked Messages with Andriy Yermak and Kremlin Cultural Censor Sergei Novikov

Hackers published alleged private correspondence involving Ksenia Sobchak and several prominent figures, including former head of the Ukrainian presidential office Andriy Yermak and Sergei Novikov, a senior Kremlin official described by Meduza as Russia’s chief cultural censor. The messages purportedly show Sobchak asking Novikov for informal approval to hold a music festival in Onega, while other exchanges illustrate how her media organisation navigated state censorship and relations with officials. Sobchak denied that the screenshots were authentic and criticised Meduza for reporting on an anonymous, unverified leak, although comparisons with subsequent edits to her outlet’s publications provided indirect evidence supporting parts of the archive’s credibility.

12th July, The Insider

Security Forces and ‘Russian Community’Shut Down the “Sliyanie” Festival Near Vladimir, Citing Loud Music and Fuel Consumption

Police officers and activists from the far-right Russian Community group raided the electronic music festival “Sliyanie,” held in a forest near Pokrov in the Vladimir region, forcing organisers to suspend the stages and continue only with acoustic performances and quiet music. Witnesses reported drug searches and several possible detentions, while a local source said the authorities accused festivalgoers of making excessive noise and consuming too much petrol during a fuel shortage. The article places the intervention in the broader context of the Russian Community’s cooperation with law enforcement and its attempts to disrupt events it considers incompatible with “traditional values.”

10th July, Izvestia

Russian Federation has disabled access to inaccessible websites from foreign SIM cards.

Russia has begun filtering roaming traffic from foreign SIM cards under the same rules as domestic networks, preventing users from accessing websites blocked under Russian law. Services that independently restricted their operations in Russia, such as Netflix and some foreign AI platforms, may remain accessible. Around 500,000 people reportedly used foreign SIMs regularly for internet access, but the workaround was costly, inconvenient, and never widespread.

10th July, Meduza

Russia Opens First Treason Cases Over Telegram Stars Sent to Anti-Kremlin Armed Groups

Russian authorities have reportedly opened the country's first criminal cases for high treason against individuals who sent Telegram Stars, the platform's virtual currency, to channels associated with the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) and the Freedom of Russia Legion, according to the legal aid project Prison Lawyer. Similar cases had previously been prosecuted as facilitating terrorist activity, but investigators are now applying the more severe charge of treason, which carries a potential life sentence. The reported cases mark a further expansion of Russia's use of national security legislation to prosecute even small online financial interactions with organisations designated as terrorist by the Russian authorities. (brief comment about more fear)

9th July, Vedomosti

For the first time in 36 years, the Nizhny Novgorod region has exceeded the birth rate in Russia.

Nizhny Novgorod Region’s total fertility rate has exceeded the Russian national average for the first time since 1990, reaching 1.357 versus 1.352 nationwide. The rate has risen by almost 8% since June 2025, outperforming the Volga Federal District average of 1.295. Governor Gleb Nikitin attributed the improvement partly to the regional “Osnova” family-support programme and said the authorities would continue expanding measures that help families have children.

9th July, MK

Russians Are Drinking Less: Average Alcohol Consumption Falls by Half a Litre per Person

Alcohol consumption in Russia declined over the past year, with average per capita consumption falling by approximately half a litre of pure alcohol, according to official data cited by the Ministry of Health. Health officials attributed the decrease to stricter alcohol control policies, expanding public health initiatives, and growing public awareness of the health risks associated with excessive drinking. The article presents the trend as evidence of continued progress in the government's efforts to promote healthier lifestyles and reduce alcohol-related mortality and disease.

9th July, NSN

Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation has recognised four military media outlets as socially significant.

Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development has proposed designating four military publications as socially significant periodicals. The list includes Krasnaya Zvezda, Army Collection, Warrior of Russia, and the Military History Journal. This status gives the publications access to subsidised postal delivery, government funding, and tax benefits.

9th July, RBC

In the history textbook, the wording about serfs, Ivan the Terrible and Lithuania was changed.

Updated Russian history textbooks for Years 7-8 revise descriptions of Ivan the Terrible’s reign, social classes and the Time of Troubles, including replacing the claim that secular estates were “the sovereign’s slaves.” They also soften Russia’s expansion into the Volga region from an effort to “seize” it to an attempt to “establish influence,” while portraying the Pereyaslav Council as the voluntary reunification of “Little Russia” and the Zaporozhian Host with Russia. The new edition further emphasises that Russia has always been multinational or multiethnic, noting that Minin and Pozharsky’s militia included Tatars, Bashkirs, Mordvins and other Volga peoples.

8th July, Interfax

State Duma Passes Law on the Development of Artificial Intelligence Technologies

The State Duma adopted a framework law establishing Russia's first comprehensive legal framework for the development and regulation of artificial intelligence, including large foundation models with at least one billion parameters. The legislation introduces the concepts of "national" and "sovereign" AI models, requires their data processing to be localised in Russia with the participation of Russian legal entities, provides state support for domestic AI developers, and mandates the labelling of AI-generated audio and visual content. It also grants the government authority to require the exclusive use of sovereign or national AI models in sensitive sectors, such as state information systems, as part of Russia's broader strategy to strengthen technological sovereignty.

8th July, Meduza

Russian Athletes Can Compete for the 2028 Olympics, but Will They Regain Their Flag and Anthem?

Meduza explains the implications of the International Olympic Committee's decision to provisionally lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, allowing Russian athletes to compete in qualification events for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics without mandatory neutral status. The article notes that while the IOC has removed its restrictions, decisions on whether Russian athletes may compete under the national flag and anthem—and whether they may participate in specific sports—remain in the hands of individual international federations, many of which continue to maintain their own bans. It also highlights that the IOC's decision is conditional on the Russian Olympic Committee refraining from activities in occupied Ukrainian territories, meaning the easing of restrictions could still be reversed.

7th July, Interfax

Singer Monetochka was sentenced in absentia to one year in prison.

Russian singer Monetochka (Elizaveta Gyrdymova) was sentenced in absentia to one year in a general-regime penal colony for repeatedly breaching Russia’s “foreign agent” rules. Prosecutors said she continued posting social-media materials without the required “foreign agent” label after two administrative penalties. The court also banned her from administering websites or online platforms for three years; she is currently wanted by Russian authorities.

7th July, RBC

Foreign Ministry Sees Baltic States Preparing for Mass Deportation of Russian Speakers

Russia's Foreign Ministry claimed that the Baltic states are openly preparing for the mass deportation of Russian-speaking residents, alleging that the policy is intended to permanently resolve the "Russian question." The statement was made by Grigory Lukyantsev, Director of the Foreign Ministry's Department for Multilateral Cooperation on Human Rights, during the presentation of a report on the human rights situation in selected countries, where he also accused Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia of systematic discrimination against ethnic Russians. The article reports these allegations as official statements by the Russian Foreign Ministry without providing independent evidence to substantiate the claims.

6th July, Izvestia

An unhealthy situation: Russia is experiencing a significant shortage of doctors.

Russia is experiencing a severe shortage of healthcare workers, with the Ministry of Health estimating a deficit of around 100,000 medical professionals, including approximately 23,000 doctors and more than 60,000 nurses and other mid-level staff. The shortage is particularly acute in primary care, emergency medicine, and rural regions, where heavy workloads, relatively low salaries, and migration to the private sector have made recruitment and retention increasingly difficult. The government attempts to address the problem through mandatory work placements for medical graduates, expanded targeted admissions, and financial incentives, while experts warn that these measures are unlikely to eliminate the structural causes of the workforce shortage in the near term.

6th July, RIA Novosti

Strike on the Sevastopol Panorama Was Planned by British Intelligence Services, Says SVR

Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed that the June drone strike on the Museum of the Defence of Sevastopol was a provocation orchestrated by British intelligence, alleging that British military advisers secretly programmed the drones’ flight missions while Ukrainian personnel carried out the launch. According to the SVR, the attack targeted the historic panorama museum because of its symbolic connection to the Crimean War, arguing that the United Kingdom seeks historical revenge against Russia for its nineteenth-century defeat in Crimea. The agency provided no public evidence to support these claims.

6th July, T-invariant

The Passport as a Black Mark: How Dual-Use Restrictions Are Driving Russian Scientists to China

Tighter European export-control rules concerning dual-use technologies are making it increasingly difficult for Russian scientists, including those who oppose the war, to obtain academic and high-tech positions in Western countries. The article follows experimental physicist Nikita Asmedyanov, whose Russian citizenship reportedly prevented him from securing employment in Israel and France despite his strong publication record and expertise in plasma and high-energy-density physics. With Western institutions treating his passport as a security risk, he is now pursuing opportunities in China, while another Russian colleague has accepted an offer in the United Arab Emirates.

5th July, Meduza

Peskov stated that the "special military operation" had turned into a "real war" and that Western countries were to blame.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s “special military operation” had become a “real war,” blaming Western countries for supporting Ukraine with weapons, satellite targeting and military infrastructure. He claimed Russian forces were continuing to advance, citing the alleged capture of Kostyantynivka, although Ukraine and independent monitors disputed that claim. It should be noted that authorities have previously prosecuted people for publicly calling the invasion a war.

5th July, Meduza

Türkiye deported activist Ariadna Litvinova to Russia. In Russia, she is accused of "discrediting" the army for her anti-war graffiti.

Turkey deported Russian activist Ariadna Litvinova to Russia on July 4; she has not been heard from since and was reportedly detained on arrival in Moscow. Russian authorities accuse her of “discrediting” the army after she wrote anti-war slogans on banners at a pro-war exhibition in St Petersburg in February 2025. Litvinova had previously left Russia for Turkey after being released from pre-trial detention, and it remains unclear which Turkish laws she allegedly violated before being deported.

4th July, Gazeta.ru

The former Ukrainian Prime Minister will participate in the State Duma elections.

Former Ukrainian acting prime minister and ex-central bank governor Serhiy Arbuzov will run in Russia’s State Duma elections for the A Just Russia party. He is expected to stand on the party list covering Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, Crimea and Sevastopol. The elections are scheduled for 18-20 September 2026.

4th July, Kommersant

Deputy Foreign Minister: The Baltic states provided corridors for Ukrainian air strikes on Russia.

Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin claimed that Latvia and other Baltic states had provided air corridors for Ukrainian drones attacking civilian infrastructure in Russia, citing what he called “verified data.” Baltic foreign ministers have denied ever allowing Ukraine to use their airspace for strikes on Russian territory. Similar allegations were made by the intelligence of the Russian Federation in May 2026, but Latvia and Lithuania said they could not confirm them.

4th July, Interfax

The Frunze Naval School will be re-established by September 1, 2026.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has ordered the re-establishment of the M.V. Frunze Higher Naval School as a separate institution from the Kuznetsov Naval Academy. The reorganisation must be completed by 1 September 2026, with the school’s charter approved within two months. The school will provide higher, vocational and professional military education and conduct defence-related research. Mikhail Frunze was a Bolshevik revolutionary and Red Army commander who played a major role in the Russian Civil War and later became the Soviet Union’s top military leader.

3rd July, Verstka

The Ministry of Defence has decided to cancel mandatory medical examinations for contract soldiers and mobilised personnel (for active military personnel). It will be left only for the wounded and for serious illnesses.

Defence Ministry of the Russian Federation has proposed ending routine mandatory medical fitness examinations for serving contract soldiers and mobilised personnel during mobilisation, martial law or wartime. Full examinations would be required only for those with injuries or serious illnesses that could make them partially or completely unfit, with an initial medical check conducted under rules set by the ministry. Experts say the change may be intended to reduce medical-discharge requests and focus limited resources on severe cases.

3rd July, Meduza

A court has released a Moscow bar employee who was sentenced for a video featuring a hookah on a kulich (Easter bread).

A Moscow court released bar employee Ksenia Belousova, who had received a three-year prison sentence after posting a video of a hookah placed on an Easter cake. The court separated that punishment from her previous suspended drug conviction, leaving her with 200 hours of community service in the religious-offence case. In her final statement, Belousova said she was a practising believer and noted that her mother, father and brother were taking part in Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.

2nd July, Veter project

Re-rehabilitation. Authorities of the Russian Federation are massively reversing rehabilitation decisions made in the 1990s. Why? 

Since mid-2022, prosecutors of the Russian Federation have reviewed more than 14,000 Soviet-era cases and revoked the rehabilitation of over 4,000 people previously recognised as victims of political repression. The authorities present the campaign as correcting mistaken rehabilitations of Nazi collaborators and war criminals, but historians warn that its secrecy and political framing may also affect people convicted on fabricated or purely political charges. The article highlights the continued rehabilitation of Soviet intelligence officer Pavel Sudoplatov, despite evidence of his involvement in extrajudicial killings, as an example of the Russian Federation’s selective and politically driven approach to historical justice.

2nd July, Kommersant

The number of abortions continues to decline

Russia recorded 321,000 abortions in 2025, a 5% decrease from the previous year, according to Health Ministry data. Regional trends varied sharply: some areas nearly halved their numbers, while others saw little change or an increase. The government has tightened abortion regulations through mandatory counselling, stricter controls on medication, regional penalties for encouraging abortion, and new requirements for procedures to be performed in properly equipped hospital settings. Not that there is an increase in births, so the population keeps declining.

2nd July, Kommersant

Fuel burns profits. Wildberries (One of Russia’s largest marketplaces) is increasing its commissions for sellers due to rising fuel prices.

Wildberries will raise seller commissions from 7 July, citing higher fuel prices and logistics costs, with increases ranging from 5 to 20 percent depending on the fulfilment model. Experts warn that sellers, already spending up to 50-70% of revenue on marketplace fees and related costs, may pass the increases on to consumers, potentially raising prices for most goods and prompting some merchants to leave the platform. The move comes as Russia’s major online marketplaces face slowing sales growth despite continued expansion.

30th June, RBC

German Gref named the question that worries everyone (end of war)

Sberbank CEO German Gref said the main concern shared by Russians is the earliest possible end to the military hostilities. “What concerns us, I think we are all concerned about the same thing; I do not think there is a person in the country who has any other concerns besides the earliest possible end to the military hostilities, and that is obvious,” he said. Gref made the remarks at Sberbank’s annual shareholders’ meeting.

30th June, Mediazona

An employee of Popcorn Books, where "Summer in a Pioneer Tie" was published, "exposed his colleagues to criminal activity." Here's what he said.

Former Popcorn Books sales director Pavel Ivanov received a four-year suspended sentence after cooperating with investigators in a case alleging involvement in the banned “international LGBT movement.” Ivanov accused colleagues and executives at Individuum and Eksmo-AST of continuing to sell LGBT-themed books after restrictions were introduced, including through Kazakhstan, primarily to protect profits and meet sales targets. Mediazona notes that his claims are difficult to verify independently, while a former Individuum editor described much of his testimony as false or confused; other defendants are still awaiting verdicts.

30th June, Realnoe Vremya

The International Skating Union has cleared athletes from the Russian Federation to compete. (but without flags)

The International Skating Union (ISU) will allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in team events during the 2026/27 season under neutral status. They may participate as an AIN team in disciplines including synchronised skating, speed-skating team pursuit, short-track relays and the ISU World Team Trophy, provided they meet qualification and neutrality requirements and use no national symbols. Athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus had largely been excluded from ISU competitions since March 2022, apart from limited access to qualification for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

30th June, Meduza

The Institute for Conflict Studies and Analysis of Russia (based in Kyiv) claims that 81% of Russians support ending the war "tomorrow." This is the highest level in four years.

A survey by the Kyiv-based Institute for Conflict Studies and Analysis of Russia found that 81% of Russians support ending the war “as soon as tomorrow,” the highest level recorded in four years, while only 9% favour fighting until complete victory. The war has again become respondents’ top concern, ahead of low wages and high prices, and many associate peace with an improvement in their financial situation. Most respondents also expressed negative views of mobile-internet restrictions, approved-access lists, and potential Telegram blocking because these measures disrupt everyday life.

30th June, TKS.ru

Stolen and lost phones will be blocked through a single IMEI database.

Russian Federation plans a central IMEI database to block stolen, lost, counterfeit-identifier, and unlawfully imported mobile phones. Operators would register devices within an hour, block reported SIM cards within one working day, and disable prohibited devices within an hour, with the rules due to take effect on 1 March 2027. The government says users will not need to register their phones themselves, although experts warn that the treatment of “illegally imported” devices still require legal clarification.

29th June, Mediazona

Political scientist Alexei Chesnakov was fined for an article mentioning Meta without noting that the corporation has been designated as extremist in the Russian Federation.

A Moscow court fined political analyst Alexei Chesnakov 4,000 Rubles for an article that mentioned Meta without stating that the Russian Federation has designated the company an extremist organisation. Chesnakov was held responsible as editor-in-chief of Aktualnye Kommentarii, although the article was written by political analyst Gleb Kuznetsov. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, was banned as an extremist organisation in Russia in March 2022.

27th June, Meduza

The home of Alexander Lunin, the soldier who recorded the address to Putin, was searched. He was arrested for 11 days.

Police searched Russian serviceman Alexander Lunin’s home in the Voronezh region, seizing computers, storage devices and other items. Lunin, who had travelled to Moscow and briefly stopped communicating, was later sentenced to 11 days of administrative detention (for displaying extremist or Nazi symbols). The search followed his June 25 video demanding a live meeting with Vladimir Putin to discuss problems in Russia and the military, while warning that the army could turn its weapons against the Kremlin if Putin refused.

27th June, Novaya Gazeta

St. Petersburg International Legal Forum (SPILF) in troubled waters

Novaya Gazeta portrays the 24–26 June 2026 St Petersburg International Legal Forum as divided between practical discussions for corporate lawyers and ideological sessions promoting “traditional values,” a strong state and state interests over individual rights. Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko endorsed claims of a “Western trace” behind attempts to weaken state power. He repeated that Russia should reconsider the constitutional balance between protecting human rights and strengthening the state. Alexander Bastrykin, head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, called for lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 12 and restoring the death penalty. Speakers advocated weakening the priority of individual rights, tightening restrictions on “foreign agents,” revising Russia’s constitution, and even restoring the death penalty, while avoiding discussion of judicial abuses or political repression. This rhetoric influences lawmakers, courts and law-enforcement agencies, while judicial failings, police arbitrariness, the diminished role of defence lawyers and political repression were not discussed.  The forum functions as an “ideology factory,” encouraging lawyers, judges, and officials to place the interests of the state above personal rights.

26th June, TASS

A Putin District Court has been established in Grozny’s Putinsky District. The law was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

President Vladimir Putin signed a law establishing a district court for Grozny’s Putinsky District. The new court will have jurisdiction over the district, while the neighbouring Sheikh-Mansurovsky District Court’s jurisdiction has been redefined accordingly.

26th June, Interfax

Weightlifters from the Russian Federation have been allowed to compete in international tournaments under the official flag.

The International Weightlifting Federation has allowed athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus to participate in all IWF competitions. The decision applies to athletes of every age group, who may compete under their national flags and with their national anthems. This ends the previous requirement for them to participate under neutral status.

26th June, Gazeta.ru

Putin appointed Gladkov as ambassador to Abkhazia.

President Vladimir Putin appointed former Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov as Russia’s ambassador to Abkhazia. Gladkov replaces Mikhail Shurgalin, who was dismissed in a separate decree. Gladkov had led the Belgorod region since 2020 before resigning in May 2026.

26th June, RIA Tomsk

Decisions to erect two monuments to victims of repression in Tomsk have been overturned. (same one removed in April)

Tomsk’s city council unanimously revoked earlier decisions authorising monuments to Latvian and Lithuanian victims of Soviet political repression. The item was added to the agenda at the mayor’s request and approved without discussion or additional cost. The memorial square, established beside a former NKVD prison, was closed and its monuments removed in April due to safety concerns. Subsequent inspections found no landslide activity, and officials have not said when it will be restored.

26th June, Istories

A resident of the Amur region was stopped on the street, beaten, and forced to sign a contract.

Police reportedly stopped a man in a village in Russia’s Amur region on his way to a shop, forced him into a vehicle, beat him, and coerced him into signing a military contract. He had recently lost both parents, lived alone, and reportedly struggled with alcohol misuse. According to his relatives, the head of the village administration tipped off the authorities and allegedly receives 200,000 Rubles for each man detained and recruited as a contract soldier. After losing contact with him for several days, his relatives discovered that he had been forced to sign the contract and was registered with a military unit in another region. Rights activists described this as the first documented forced-recruitment raid of its kind outside the Penza region.

25th June, Meduza

The FSB hacked the phone of politician Andrei Pivovarov using spyware from the Israeli company Cellebrite.

Citizen Lab found that FSB used Cellebrite’s UFED technology to extract data from opposition politician Andrei Pivovarov’s iPhone while he was detained in June 2021. Pivovarov said investigators copied virtually everything, including political correspondence, and used the messages to support allegations that he continued working for the banned Open Russia organisation. The phone was reportedly hacked after Cellebrite had announced it would stop selling its products in the Russian Federation and Belarus.

25th June, Expert.ru

Russia to create special repository for "destructive" literature

Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation stated that the Russian State Library is creating a restricted archive for literature classified as “destructive,” particularly books supplied to libraries by foreign NGOs. The government is also directing libraries to buy approved patriotic, historical, fiction, and children’s books, with 875 million Rubles allocated for purchases in 2026. Books linked to designated “foreign agents” must be kept away from children, labelled 18+, and may face restrictions on display, advertising, and sale.

25th June, Current Time

Apple removed VKontakte, Zen, Odnoklassniki, and other VK products from the App Store.

Apple removed several VK-owned apps from its App Store without warning, including Odnoklassniki, Dzen, Mail.ru, VK Music, VK Messenger, VK Video and Skillbox, while the main VKontakte app reportedly remained available. VK said the decision was unjustified, stressed that the company is not under sanctions, and warned that affected users may lose push notifications, although previously installed apps will continue to work. Apple had not commented on the removals at the time of publication, while the apps remained available through Google Play and other stores.

24th June, Mediazona

Yabloko deputy chair Maxim Kruglov is sentenced to seven years for antiwar posts.
A Moscow court sentenced Maxim Kruglov, deputy chairman of Russia’s Yabloko party, to seven years in a general-regime prison colony and barred him from administering online platforms for three years. He was convicted of spreading “false information” about the Russian military in two social-media posts from April 2022 concerning civilian deaths in Ukraine and events in Bucha, charges he denied. In his final statement, Kruglov argued that the prosecution treated political disagreement as hatred, called for peace negotiations and investigations into war crimes, and said he remained hopeful for Russia’s democratic future.

24th June, RBC

The State Duma has assured that it does not plan to impose fines for cohabitation without marriage.

Russian Federation is not considering bans or fines for couples who live together without registering a marriage, State Duma official Tatyana Butskaya said. Her comments followed a deputy justice minister’s claim that unregistered cohabitation and high divorce rates threaten Russia’s national security and demographic health. Butskaya said marriage should instead be encouraged through family-support programmes and school education on family values.

23rd June, IStories

The body of a 20-year-old conscript from the Urals was returned to his mother with a gunshot wound to the head after he refused to sign a contract.

Twenty-year-old Russian conscript Maxim Mironov was transferred to the Kursk border region after refusing pressure to sign a military contract and died there from a gunshot wound to the head. Military paperwork described an “accidental discharge,” but his family suspects murder, citing the nature of the wound, missing personal belongings, an incomplete forensic examination, and contradictory official information. The family has appealed to investigative, military and prosecutorial authorities, while a military investigator reportedly suggested “improper handling of a weapon” as the likely explanation.

23rd June, Vedomosti

Putin: Russian Federation is ready for negotiations based in Istanbul and taking into account the realities on the ground

President Vladimir Putin said Russian Federation is ready for peace talks with Ukraine based on the Istanbul agreements, discussions held in Anchorage, current battlefield realities, and principles he outlined in 2024. He argued that Ukrainian attacks on civilian infrastructure would not change the situation at the front, claiming Russian forces were continuing to advance. Although Putin previously said Russia could accept compromises discussed with Donald Trump in Anchorage in August 2025, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov later said Moscow was focused on victory rather than implementing those agreements.

23rd June, Izvestia

Taking a downward turn: Tax debts of businesses and individuals reached a record 4 trillion

By April 2026, tax debts owed by Russian businesses and individuals had reached a record of nearly 4 trillion Rubles, about one-third higher than a year earlier. 1.7 trillion Rubles was unpaid tax itself, with the remainder consisting of penalties and interest. The largest arrears involved VAT, corporate profit tax and social-insurance contributions, while Moscow accounted for the biggest regional share. Experts link the rise to worsening business finances, higher tax burdens and stricter enforcement, warning that construction, retail, hospitality and logistics are particularly vulnerable and may need more flexible repayment arrangements to avoid bankruptcies.

22nd June, Meduza

A Museum of Memory of the Victims of the "Genocide of the Soviet People" has opened in Moscow, promising everyone a "vaccination against neo-Nazism."

Moscow has opened a new museum devoted to victims of the “genocide of the Soviet people,” presenting Nazi crimes through 18 thematic sections and immersive installations intended to give visitors a supposed “vaccination against neo-Nazism.” The museum occupies the former premises of the Gulag History Museum, which closed in 2024 after officially cited fire-safety violations and amid reported pressure to remove material about Soviet repression. Meduza frames the replacement as part of the Russian authorities’ growing promotion of the “Soviet genocide” concept while marginalising remembrance of Stalinist crimes.

22nd June, The Nation

How “the Blob” Gaslighted Itself Into Thinking That Russia Is on the Brink of Collapse

Washington’s foreign-policy establishment has repeatedly mistaken Russia’s genuine economic, demographic and political weaknesses for signs of imminent collapse, despite the country’s resilience under sanctions and war. It attributes this misjudgement to securitised Russia studies, shrinking academic expertise, ideological conformity, limited access to Russian society and overreliance on exiles or regional experts whose political aims may shape their analysis. The author warns that such wishful thinking produces wasteful programmes, suppresses nuanced debate and encourages dangerous policies built on the false assumption that Russia will soon disintegrate.

21st June, RIA

Zakharova recalled that the Poles who fell victim to the UPA were citizens of the USSR.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that most Polish victims of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army during the 1943-44 Volhynian massacres were legally Soviet citizens from November 1939. Her remarks followed Polish President Karol Nawrocki’s reported decision to strip Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle over what he described as the glorification of UPA figures. Interpretations of the massacres and attitudes toward Ukrainian nationalist leaders remain a major source of tension between Poland and Ukraine.

20th June, Meduza

"There's no explanation why this all surfaced in Penza. But I don't believe this region is unique." Security forces have rounded up dozens of Penza residents and taken them to the military registration and enlistment office. Some have already been forced to sign contracts. Is this a new tactic by the authorities? And who is at risk?

In Penza and nearby towns, security forces detained dozens of men. They took them to military recruitment offices, where some were pressured or deceived into signing Defence Ministry contracts and rapidly sent to military units. Those most at risk appear to be people vulnerable to police pressure, including men with unpaid child support, criminal records, legal problems, or intoxication. The anti-war group “Get Lost” helped secure the release of at least four detainees and believes the operation may represent a broader recruitment tactic that could appear in other regions of the Russian Federation.

19th June, RIA

The Bank of Russia cut the key rate to 14.25 percent but warned that fiscal loosening and price risks remain.

The Central Bank reduced the key rate by 25 basis points to 14.25%. Its statement said economic growth was continuing at a moderate pace after an early-year dip, but it also warned that budget policy over the next three years would be more stimulative than expected and that this could require a higher interest-rate path than previously assumed. 

18th June, Meduza

Moscow's former ombudsman boasted of the positive legacy of the "Navalny era."

Former Moscow human-rights ombudsman Tatyana Potyaeva said one positive legacy of the “Navalny era” was enabling detainees held in pre-trial detention outside their home regions to vote in regional elections. She said the issue became prominent during the mass anti-fraud protests of the 2010s, when arrested activists wanted to vote but lacked the legal right to do so. After she repeatedly raised the problem with election and human rights officials, the law was amended accordingly.

18th June, Agenstvo

A Chechen man has been detained on suspicion of murdering the artist Skrepetsky.

Polish police have detained a suspect in the killing of Semyon Skrepetsky, whose real name was Robert Kuzovkov. The man, reportedly a Chechen, was using what investigators believe may be a forged Georgian passport, while authorities are trying to identify who ordered the murder. Skrepetsky was shot dead in Biała Podlaska on 16 June and was known for satirical works targeting Vladimir Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov and Alexander Lukashenko.

17th June, Vedomosti

In 2025, more than 1,000 foreigners received the "traditional values ​​visa"

In 2025, Russia issued 1,112 “traditional values” visas, led by applicants from Germany, France, the United States, Italy and Estonia. Interest has reportedly increased: applications for temporary residence under the programme rose from 2,275 in October 2025 to about 3,400 by May 2026. Around 78% of applicants recorded between September 2024 and June 2025 came from Europe.

17th June, Insider

Memorial: The average prison term for political prisoners in Russia has risen to 11 years. In 2021, it was less than seven years.

Memorial reports that the average prison sentence in politically motivated Russian cases rose from 6 years and 7 months in 2021 to 11 years in 2026. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, authorities have introduced or expanded criminal laws, increasingly classified cases as treason, terrorism or sabotage, and charged defendants under multiple articles to secure harsher sentences. The report concludes that political defendants are now treated as a distinct group of “enemies,” facing exceptionally severe punishment, violence and diminished legal protections.

17th June, Current Time

A memorial to Gulag prisoners was dismantled in Vorkuta at the request of a participant in the war against Ukraine.

Authorities in Vorkuta removed a memorial to Gulag victims after a local councillor and participant in Russia’s war against Ukraine claimed it honoured “Nazi collaborators.” The monument, installed in 2010 at the Yur-Shor cemetery, listed 33 mostly western Ukrainian prisoners, while officials said some had links to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists.

17th June, Meduza

Ilya Traber, a businessman close to Putin since the 1990s, has been arrested. Traber is suspected of murdering St. Petersburg deputy Alexander Petrov.

Businessman Ilya Traber, reportedly close to Vladimir Putin since their St Petersburg years, was arrested and placed in pretrial detention over the alleged contract killing of businessman and municipal deputy Alexander Petrov in 2020. Investigators reportedly revived the stalled case after receiving new information, while searches were conducted at properties and companies linked to Traber and his longtime business partner Vladimir Danilenko. Traber’s rise from the antiques trade to major port and oil-terminal interests, his alleged links to organised crime, claims not proven in a 2018 Spanish trial, and his longstanding connections within Putin’s circle. Connection or not, the murder of a friend and a business partner is considered illegal under criminal bylaws.

16th June, Gazeta.ru

"Recognition of New Borders," Russia Explains the Significance of the Victory over Ukraine in The Hague Court

A Hague arbitration tribunal rejected most of Ukraine’s claims concerning maritime rights around Crimea, including demands related to the Kerch Strait, natural resources, compensation, and dismantling the Crimean Bridge. Russian officials portrayed the ruling as a major legal victory and argued that it strengthened Russia’s claims over the surrounding waters, noting that Western governments are unlikely to change their position on Crimea. The tribunal reportedly criticised aspects of the environmental-impact assessment process for infrastructure projects but found no proven environmental damage. Trying to invent a victory that is not there.

15th June, RIA

FIFA will allow the Russian Federation team to participate in the new U-15 tournament.

FIFA will allow Russia’s team to participate in a new under-15 tournament, reportedly scheduled for September in the United States. The competition will be open to all 211 FIFA member associations, with no country subject to existing sanctions for this event. Matches will use experimental seven-, eight-, and nine-a-side formats, with shorter playing times and smaller pitches.

13th June, Ixbt

Sanctions may leave Max without a foreign TLS certificate

Messenger Max’s official website may lose access to a foreign TLS certificate because its associated company is on a US sanctions list, and Let’s Encrypt must comply with US law. Let’s Encrypt has not announced a revocation, but the current certificate expires on 4 September 2026. Max may need another certificate authority or a Russian certificate; otherwise, visitors could see browser security warnings.

11th June, RBC

Rosselkhoznadzor will ban the import of all quarantine products from Armenia.

From 12 June 2026, Russia’s agricultural watchdog will ban all plant products subject to quarantine controls from Armenia, including their transit through Russia to other Eurasian Economic Union countries. The agency cited repeated phytosanitary violations, including three June detections of khapra beetles in Armenian nuts, dried peaches and dried tomatoes. The restrictions will remain until Armenia establishes an acceptable system for ensuring the safety and traceability of its exports. It coincides with the drop in relations between the two states, as it happened with other countries before.

11th June, Meduza

Russia imposes its first fine for criticising the Taliban

A court in Rostov-on-Don fined a 19-year-old resident 10,000 Rubles for comments on VKontakte criticising the Taliban and migrants. The court said his remarks incited hatred between Russians and Afghans, and the man reportedly admitted guilt and expressed remorse. This appears to be Russia’s first fine for criticism of the Taliban since Russia removed the group from its list of terrorist organisations in April 2025.

10th June, Meduza

Roblox is no longer blocked in the Russian Federation.

Russia’s Digital Development Ministry said Roblox is no longer blocked in Russia. The ministry said Roblox had “fully complied” with Russia’s legal requirements on user safety, after the platform was blocked in December 2025 over alleged extremist material and “LGBT propaganda.” Officials of the Russian Federation had said Roblox was cooperating, and on 9 June 2026, the ministry asked law enforcement agencies to lift the restrictions.

9th June, Interfax

The State Duma has passed a law on fines for violations when authorising websites and applications.

Russia’s State Duma has passed a law imposing fines on website and app owners who fail to use legally approved methods to authorise users in Russia. Permitted methods include mobile-phone verification, Russia’s ESIA/EBS identity systems, or a Russian authorisation service. Fines can reach 700,000 Rubles for companies. The law also introduces penalties for violations involving recommendation technologies, including failing to inform users about their use or ignoring Roskomnadzor orders to stop using them.

9th June, RBC

Beeline (mobile operator) launched a "white VPN"

Beeline has launched a “white VPN” option that gives subscribers direct access to foreign services such as Spotify, Netflix, Ticketmaster and Brawl Stars without using a separate VPN.
The feature is available from 9 June 2026 through the bee subscription and works automatically, without extra payment or manual setup. The company says it applies only to services that are not banned in Russia but stopped operating there themselves, presenting it as a legal and more convenient way to restore access.

9th June, Novaya Gazeta

The State Duma approved new restrictions for "foreign agents"

Russia’s State Duma approved new restrictions on people and organisations labelled “foreign agents,” including bans on social advertising and tougher reporting rules. Banks will have to give the Justice Ministry information about “foreign agents’” transactions, accounts and deposits within three days, while rejected applications to leave the register generally cannot be resubmitted for a year. Russia’s “foreign agent” system began in 2012 and has expanded since 2022 to include people or groups deemed under “foreign influence,” with more than 1,200 individuals and entities currently listed.

8th June, Verstka

A St. Petersburg resident was fined for words in a private WhatsApp call after the denunciation of the interlocutor. The court considered this conversation public.

A St Petersburg court fined resident Denis Timofeyev 30,000 Rubles for allegedly “discrediting” the Russian army during a private WhatsApp video call on New Year’s Eve, after the other participant recorded him and reported him to emergency services. The court rejected his lawyer’s argument that the call was private, saying the remarks could have been heard by third parties and therefore counted as public. A lawyer called the ruling legally mistaken, arguing that a two-person WhatsApp call is not public by itself.

5th June, BigAsia

The prospects for Russia's cultural code were discussed at the SPIEF.

At a SPIEF session on Russia’s “cultural code,” Gazprom-Media head Alexander Zharov said the key question is how Russian identity should be expressed in an era of digital technologies, social media, and short videos. He presented research from 36 Russian cities identifying the core traits of the “Russian person” as justice, even when it may conflict with the letter of the law; resilience, meaning both defending one’s position and finding a way out of impossible situations; and breadth of soul, linked to hospitality, generosity, and patience. Other speakers mostly discussed how Russia’s cultural code should be promoted abroad, but Zharov’s statement is the clearest attempt in the article to define its internal moral content.

4th June, 66.ru

A court sentenced a Ural resident for a post featuring a bloodied Stalin.

A court in Sverdlovsk Region fined 19-year-old Stanislav Kaygorodov 45,000 Rubles after he was charged with “rehabilitating Nazism” over a Telegram post. The post allegedly showed Joseph Stalin in bloodstained clothes and said that in 1945 “a system of repression and dictators won.” Prosecutors had asked for forced labour, while Kaygorodov partially admitted guilt. A reminder that ‘rehabilitation of nazism’ article is more about stopping the critique of the Soviet period.

4th June, Meduza

Russia's Ministry of Justice: 96% of new "foreign agents" do not have foreign funding

Russia’s Justice Ministry said that in 2025, only 4% of the people and organisations newly designated as “foreign agents” had foreign funding. Since 2022, Russian law has allowed the label to be applied not only for foreign funding, but also for vaguely defined “foreign influence” in other forms. Meduza notes that more than 1,200 people and organisations were on Russia’s “foreign agents” register by 2026, with journalists and critics of the war in Ukraine often added to the list.

3rd June, Agents.media

The son of the head of the presidential administration explained how businesses fear the arrival of security forces.

Alexander Vaino, son of Kremlin chief of staff Anton Vaino, criticised Russia’s state-subsidy system at the St Petersburg Economic Forum, saying businesses avoid subsidies because they fear inspections or visits from law-enforcement agencies. He argued that state support often creates extra risks, and regional authorities may even advise firms not to take subsidies because mistakes could trigger trouble for both businesses and officials. Even insiders recognise the repressive nature of Russia’s political and economic system.

3rd June, Censor.net

Vitaly Gruzinov, sentenced to 21 years in Russia, said in his final statement.

Vitalii Gruzinov, a Ukrainian serviceman sentenced by a Russian court to 21 years, rejects the charges as fabricated and says he has never cared about Russia’s Constitution because his Constitution is Ukraine’s. He responds to accusations of hating Russians by saying that he is Russian by ethnicity, but not a citizen of the Russian Federation; he is a citizen of a multiethnic Ukraine and sees himself as equal to all peoples, not a “younger brother.” He frames this identity as part of his loyalty to Ukraine, denounces Russia’s claims and alleged torture in captivity, and says the prisoners’ public statements may be their last chance to speak the truth. It is possible to be an ethical Russian but not a Rossiyanin/Russovian.

3rd June, Kommersant

A monument to Dzerzhinsky was unveiled at a children's camp in Nizhny Tagil.

A monument to Felix Dzerzhinsky was unveiled in Nizhny Tagil (Sverdlovsk Region) at the end of May, city council member Dmitry Kostennikov announced on his VKontakte page. The bust was unveiled at the "First" sports and patriotic camp, named after the revolutionary. The Dzerzhinets movement was also launched in Nizhny Tagil. "A particularly significant moment was the presentation of the first badge to a Dzerzhinets movement participant. The badge was personally presented by Felix Edmundovich's great-nephew, Vladimir Mikhailovich Dzerzhinsky," said Mr Kostennikov.

2nd June, I-stories

What's on the minds of urban youth? People want a "normal life." And they associate it with the West.

The article summarises CASE focus groups with young urban Russians aged 18–30, finding that their main concerns are ordinary personal goals: careers, income, housing, travel, consumption, and a “normal life,” which they often associate with the West. It argues that emigration is widely seen not as betrayal but as a personal search for better opportunities, while the post-2022 “turn to the East” has not made China or other non-Western models culturally attractive to them. The authors conclude that state propaganda and patriotic education have had limited impact: this generation is politically apathetic and self-interested rather than strongly pro-Putin or oppositional, but its attachment to everyday comfort may still offer hope for a more “normal” Russia.

2nd June, Vedomosti

The Decree of the President of the Russian Federation on holding the International Week "Peoples of Russia" annually was signed.

A presidential decree has established the annual International Week “Peoples of Russia,” starting in 2026, to strengthen national unity and foster international humanitarian cooperation. The event will be coordinated by the Russian Security Council staff and will focus on preserving the cultural and historical heritage of Russia’s peoples and the CIS countries. Its programme will include business and concert events, educational activities, photo exhibitions, and a film forum featuring Russian and foreign productions.

2nd June, Verstka

Citizens of Russia are being lured to war with the help of vacancies "in the rear of the Special Military Operation" in China and Belarus.

Recruiters have posted around 50 online job ads offering military contracts for supposed “rear-area” military service in Belarus and China, including roles such as warehouse guards, drone-factory workers, technicians and drivers. The ads target broad groups, including pensioners, people over 45, people with health issues, and those without military experience, promising high pay, debt write-offs, benefits and “safe” conditions. Similar “rear” recruitment schemes have previously been used to lure people into signing regular Russian Defence Ministry contracts, where there is no guarantee that they will avoid deployment to combat zones.

2nd June, RBC

Putin introduced a new condition for applicants for citizenship of the Russian Federation.

On 2 June, Vladimir Putin changed the citizenship procedure rules so that applicants for Russian citizenship must submit a document confirming the absence of a criminal record, or listing convictions, issued no earlier than three months before the application. At the same time, a separate decree exempted Ukrainian citizens and stateless persons who had permanently resided in Ukraine and moved to Russia from presenting that document until 1 January 2028. 

2nd June, Business Online

The International Fencing Federation has lifted all restrictions on athletes from the Russian Federation.

The International Fencing Federation has lifted restrictions on Russian fencers, allowing them to compete again with national symbols, including the flag and anthem.
The decision applies to individual and team FIE events and is expected to take effect from the 2026 World Championships in Hong Kong. This follows earlier stages of reintegration, after Russian and Belarusian fencers had previously been limited to neutral status. First gymnasts, now fencers.

2nd June, Current Time

A court in Pskov sentenced a Belgian-Russian citizen to 16 years in prison for treason for transferring money to his ex-girlfriend in Ukraine.

A court in Pskov sentenced Belgian-Russian citizen Mikhail Loshchinin to 16 years in prison on treason charges after he transferred money to his former girlfriend in Ukraine. He was detained by Russia’s FSB after crossing the border in July 2025, reportedly because his phone contained contacts and messages with the woman, as well as money transfers. His family says he was tortured and mistreated in detention, and Belgian diplomats were not allowed to visit him.

1st June, Insider

Three Russian citizens were stripped of their citizenship for "promoting anti-civic Russian (Russovian) sentiment." This specific wording had not previously been officially stated publicly.

Three residents of Russia’s Tyumen region were stripped of Russia’s citizenship for alleged “propaganda of anti-civic Russian sentiments,” a wording that had not previously appeared publicly in official reports. The FSB claimed the unnamed Central Asian-born individuals tried to radicalise members of a Transcaucasian diaspora, but did not disclose what specifically prompted the case. This wording is not a standard legal basis for revoking citizenship, though Russia has already used politically motivated grounds to cancel acquired citizenship in other cases.

1st June, Expert

Vladimir Medinsky recalled the artistic benefits of Soviet censorship

Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky told Expert that Russia’s film industry needs stronger state quality control because it receives too much public money while lacking real market discipline. He argued that Soviet censorship, despite its ideological problems, had “artistic benefit” because it prevented poor-quality films from reaching cinemas and forced weak work to be remade. Medinsky said the same principle should apply today: films made with state funding should not be accepted if they are low-quality, and producers should have to revise them.

30th May, Current Time

Scholar Andrei Lankov announced the cessation of communication with journalists due to two protocols on cooperation with "undesirable" organisations

Korea expert Andrei Lankov said he will stop giving interviews and comments to journalists after learning that a second administrative protocol had been drawn up against him in Russia for alleged cooperation with “undesirable” organisations. He said a third administrative case could lead to “very serious problems,” so he will instead share his views mainly through posts on his blog. The first protocol against him was filed in spring 2025, possibly linked to his participation in Carnegie projects, while the reason for the second remains unclear.

28th May, Current Time

How the children of Putin and Kabaeva were surrounded by governesses from Western countries

An investigation by Sistema found that Vladimir Putin and Alina Kabaeva’s alleged children have been educated by about 20 foreign nannies and tutors from Western countries since 2017, despite Putin’s public anti-Western rhetoric. It says Kabaeva’s cousins helped manage the hiring, while the children were immersed in English and German and shielded from topics such as LGBT issues. The report also describes strict working conditions for staff, heavy secrecy and health controls, and estimated spending of hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on foreign caregivers.

28th May, Mediazona

A 26-year-old resident of the Chelyabinsk region was sentenced to three and a half years in prison because of the message "donate to the Armed Forces of Ukraine to everyone urgently" in a chat for six people

A court in Ozyorsk, Chelyabinsk region, sentenced 26-year-old Leonid Kuzminykh to three and a half years in a general-regime penal colony over a Telegram message saying, “everyone urgently donate to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.” He was convicted of public calls against state security, with prosecutors arguing the message in a six-person friends’ chat amounted to a politically motivated call to finance a foreign organisation against Russia’s security. Kuzminykh said he had not donated money or posted similar messages elsewhere, but the court ruled he could not be “corrected” without isolation from society.

27th May, Vedomosti

Russia and Afghanistan signed an agreement on military-technical cooperation

Russia and Afghanistan signed an agreement on military-technical cooperation at an international security forum in Russia, though the terms were not disclosed. The deal is connected to Russian security concerns: FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov warned on 26 May 2026 about drug labs and trafficking routes from Afghanistan into Russia, while also saying cooperation with the Taliban could help address those threats. Previously, Kabul had discussed sending Afghan labour migrants to Russia, with language described as the main obstacle, and that Russia’s Supreme Court had earlier suspended the ban on the Taliban’s activities in Russia.

26th May, Vedomosti

The former vice-governor of Kuban went missing on the frontline

Former Krasnodar Krai vice-governor Sergey Vlasov, who had been convicted in a major bribery case, has gone missing in the zone of Russia’s “special military operation.” Reports say it is too early to declare him dead because his body has not been found. Vlasov was detained in May 2024 and sentenced in December 2025 to 11 years in a strict-regime colony, a 90 million Ruble fine, and a 12-year ban from government and municipal posts.

26th May, Meduza

Associate Professor of the Faculty of Mathematics of the Higher School of Economics Andrei Dymov was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. He donated three and a half thousand Rubles to the Anti-Corruption Foundation

HSE mathematics associate professor Andrei Dymov was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on charges of “financing extremism” over donations to Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation. Meduza reports that he donated a total of 3,500 Rubles, pleaded guilty, and was taken into custody immediately after sentencing. The case is part of a broader Russian crackdown on people who donated to the FBK after it was designated “extremist” in June 2021.

26th May, RBC

The Duma adopted a law on the seizure of property of relocators in case of offences

The State Duma passed a bill allowing authorities to arrest the property and bank funds of Russians living abroad who commit certain administrative offences “against Russia’s interests.” The listed offences include illegal access to restricted information, spreading extremist materials, abuse of media freedom, violating “foreign agent” rules, discrediting the armed forces, and calls for sanctions. The law also allows cases to be considered without the accused being present, while the seizure can be challenged in court.

25th May, Vedomosti

What will be the political and consumer consequences of the ban on Armenian goods?

Russia temporarily restricted imports of Armenian flowers, products from several cognac producers, and Jermuk mineral water shortly before Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary elections, amid worsening Moscow–Yerevan ties and Armenia’s closer cooperation with the EU. Experts see a political signal behind the restrictions, although Russian regulators cite phytosanitary and quality-control problems. For Russian consumers, the impact is expected to be limited: the banned cognac brands have a small market share, no shortage is expected, and importers could switch to suppliers from Georgia, Azerbaijan or Uzbekistan. A repeat of the economic pressure previously applied to Ukraine and Georgia.

25th May, Meduza

Andrei Zvyagintsev in Cannes called on Putin to "end this massacre already." The Kremlin said that the director "has no right to vote"

Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev used his Cannes acceptance speech for Minotaur to urge Vladimir Putin to “end this bloodshed,” saying the whole world was waiting for it. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he would not pass the message on and argued that Zvyagintsev had “no right to speak” because, according to him, the director had not condemned events in Donbas since 2014. The Kremlin said it had not seen Minotaur, while Russian TV channels did not report Zvyagintsev’s Cannes Grand Prix win.

25th May, Izvestia

Three other equals: the Russian Federation will appeal to the International Court of Justice to protect Russians in the Baltic States

Izvestia reports that Russia plans to take Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia to the International Court of Justice, claiming they discriminate against Russians and Russian speakers and have ignored Russian attempts at negotiation. The article alleges restrictions on the Russian language, education, media, historical memory, and political activity, highlighting the imprisonment of Latvian Russian activist Aleksandr Gaponenko as an example. It says experts expect any ICJ case to take years and perhaps have limited legal prospects, but Moscow sees it as a way to internationalise the issue and support the repatriation of Russians from the Baltic states.

22nd May, Novaya Gazeta

Security forces raided the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences over a translation of Aristotle, for which 52 million Rubles had been allocated. The project's director went on indefinite leave on the day of the searches.

On 19 May 2026, Russian security officers searched the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences and several employees’ homes in a large-scale fraud case linked to a state-funded project to prepare a complete edition of Aristotle’s works. The project received about 52 million Rubles, but investigators allegedly believe many reported outputs were fictitious, irrelevant to Aristotle, unpublished, or possibly double-counted. The project’s head, Andrey Smirnov, took indefinite unpaid leave on the day of the searches, and people at the institute believe he may have left Russia. The case may also be part of a longer power struggle around the institute, in which Malofeev-linked conservative circles had previously tried to pressure or take control of it.

21st May, Kommersant

The fate of the debtor. Which generations in Russia are most likely to go bankrupt?

In Q1 2026, Russian courts declared 137,500 citizens bankrupt, up 13.7% year on year, with millennials making up the largest share at 47%. Women accounted for 56% of personal bankruptcies, while Generation X made up 26%, Zoomers 20%, and baby boomers only 7%. Bankruptcy is becoming less certain as a route to debt relief: courts refused to discharge debts in more than 2,200 cases, 2.6 times more often than a year earlier.

20th May, ECHO

Old men go to jail, young men go out. How did the hypersonic case end?

T-invariant reports that Russia’s “hypersonic scientists” case ended in May 2026 with prison sentences for Valery Zvegintsev and Vladislav Galkin, capping an 11-year crackdown in which 11 physicists were prosecuted for treason, and three died during investigations. Elderly scientists were especially targeted, receiving terms that amount to de facto life or death sentences, while younger researchers are leaving hypersonic research or science altogether. It also says some imprisoned scientists are trying to prove their usefulness to the state through defence-related work or proposals resembling Soviet “sharashka” prison research labs.

20th May, Daily Storm

He burned Rus' with Batu, but his commander is better than Alexander the Great. The State Duma debated Tuva's decision to award the Order of Subutai to NVO soldiers.

Tuva’s decision to create an Order of Subedei for soldiers fighting in Russia’s “special military operation” sparked disagreement in the State Duma. Critics argued that the award glorifies a Mongol commander who helped devastate medieval Rus’. At the same time, supporters said he can be considered a regional hero for Tuvans and that Tuva, as a part of the multinational Russian Federation, has the right to name its own awards. A historian described Subedei as one of history’s most effective commanders, greater than Napoleon and Alexander the Great, while noting that using his name in today’s Russia raises questions because he fought against and destroyed Russian cities.

19th May, Current Time

Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) stated that Kyiv is preparing strikes against Russia from Latvian territory and threatened "retaliation."

Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service claimed that Ukraine is preparing drone strikes on Russia from Latvian territory and threatened “retaliation.” Latvia’s foreign minister and president rejected the claim as Russian disinformation, saying Latvia does not provide its airspace for attacks on Russia. Is the Russian Federation creating a cause for war in Latvia?

18th May, Insider

Russia received another Airbus in defiance of sanctions.

On 15 May 2026, an Airbus A320 with Russian registration RA-73899 arrived at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, reportedly for the airline Severo-Zapad. The aircraft had previously been operated by Etihad Airways and Air Albania, owned by GA Telesis, stored in Istanbul, then flown via Oman before reaching Russia. This case shows that Russia is still using “grey” routes to obtain Western aircraft despite aviation sanctions.

15th May, Meduza

The "Russian community" is financed by pro-Kremlin political scientist Sergei Mikheev and billionaire Igor Khudokorm, associated with the son of Nikolai Patrushev.

Meduza summarises a BBC investigation alleging that Russia’s largest loyalist nationalist group, Russkaya Obshchina/Russian Community, is funded by foundations linked to pro-Kremlin commentator Sergei Mikheyev and billionaire Igor Khudokormov. The group presents itself as member-funded, but financial documents suggest outside backing, while Meduza notes its close cooperation with Russian security forces, police, and the Orthodox Church, often participating in joint actions with law enforcement.

15th May, Interfax

The court satisfied the claim of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation against Euroclear for 200 billion euros in full.

A Moscow arbitration court fully upheld the Bank of Russia’s €200 billion claim against Belgian depository Euroclear. Euroclear’s lawyers said the company’s right to a fair trial had been violated, citing the closed nature of the proceedings. The claim concerns alleged damage from the freezing of Russian central-bank assets, which followed Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s actions in Ukraine. The Russian Federation is preparing for a lengthy battle that will further delay the outcome of frozen assets.

15th May, The Bell

The growth of Putin's rating coincided with a change in the methodology of VTsIOM.

Vladimir Putin’s approval rating rose after VTsIOM changed its polling methodology. From May, VTsIOM began combining phone surveys with in-person apartment interviews in a 50/50 split, citing problems with mobile access, spam filters, and distrust of cold calls.  In-person polling can produce more socially desirable answers, and Putin’s approval rose to 66.8% after the change, while other government ratings continued to fall. A reminder not to take officially sanctioned ratings at face value.

14th May, Mediazona

The authorities of Novosibirsk refused to restore the stolen plaque in memory of the victims of repression, as it was installed by Memorial.
Novosibirsk authorities refused to restore a stolen plaque commemorating victims of Soviet repression because it had been installed by Memorial, which Russia’s Supreme Court designated an “extremist organisation” on 9 April 2026. The plaque was torn off on 23 April from a stone in Narymsky Square connected to the Iskitim branch of Siblag; it said a full monument to victims of state terror was planned there. City official Yevgenia Perova said the removal was unauthorised but claimed the text lacked objectivity, neutrality and historical accuracy, and the city has removed the stone from its register of decorative-monumental elements.

14th May, Vedomosti

Over the past 15 years, the share of Orthodox Russians has decreased by 1.2 times.

A 2026 survey by St Tikhon’s Orthodox University found that found that 65% of Russians identify as Orthodox, down from 78% in 2011, while 9% identify as Muslim, 16% with no religion, 6% as atheists, 3% with other faiths, and 1% were unsure. Among self-identified Orthodox respondents, regular participation in services has also declined: 17% attend services several times a year or more, compared with 28% in 2011. Experts quoted say the trend may reflect generational change, the treatment of Orthodoxy as cultural or ethnic identity rather than active faith, and a broader European decline in mass religious affiliation.

13th May, Expert.ru

Governors of the Belgorod and Bryansk regions resigned

Vyacheslav Gladkov resigned as governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, and President Vladimir Putin appointed Alexander Shuvayev as acting head of the region. The article says Gladkov had recently extended a medical leave, while sources cited by Vedomosti suggested he may move to another government or diplomatic role. Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz also resigned voluntarily, with Yegor Kovalchuk appointed acting governor and a new regional election scheduled for 20 September. Given that the previous Belgorod governor was recently awarded, arrests shouldn’t follow.

13th May, RTVI

Moscow imposes restrictions on the publication of data on terrorist attacks and drone attacks.

Moscow authorities are introducing restrictions on publishing texts, photos, and videos about the aftermath of terrorist attacks and drone strikes before official confirmation. The rule will apply to government bodies, media, emergency services, organisations, and ordinary citizens, with exceptions for non-public reports to law enforcement or emergency services. Violations may lead to fines of 3,000–5,000 Rubles for individuals, 30,000–50,000 for officials, and 50,000–200,000 for legal entities.

13th May, Meduza

Two Estonians who crossed the border and ended up in the Pskov pre-trial detention centre, then visited a psychiatric hospital.

Two Estonian citizens crossed into Russia in winter to seek asylum but were arrested for illegal border crossing and placed in a pretrial detention centre in Pskov. According to one of them, 25-year-old Danil, both men were later taken for psychiatric examinations, and he says he was declared insane or mentally ill, a conclusion he disputes. Despite poor detention conditions and the criminal case, Danil still hopes Russia will grant him political asylum and eventually citizenship.

12th May, Vedomosti

Gorelkin (Deputy Chairman of the IT Committee) called on Russian developers to transfer projects from GitHub.

Anton Gorelkin, deputy head of the Russian State Duma’s IT committee, said GitHub is effectively leaving Russia and discriminating against Russian users, citing access problems and a failed-connection rate above 16%. Roskomnadzor says it is not restricting GitHub in Russia, while Gorelkin argued the problems stem from the platform’s own administration and noted GitHub’s ownership by Microsoft. He urged Russian developers to move projects to alternative Git repositories, including domestic platforms, and predicted further fragmentation of the internet into national digital ecosystems.

12th May, People of Baikal

"I will survive and get out". A 63-year-old doctor from Irkutsk was imprisoned for five years for one comment on YouTube.

Svetlana Burim, a 63-year-old retired anaesthesiologist from Irkutsk, was sentenced to five years in a penal colony for a single YouTube comment praising a fighter from the Russian Volunteer Corps, which Russian authorities classify as a terrorist organisation.
The FSB traced and questioned her, how her own anti-war statements became key evidence, and how the case was decided in one military court hearing. Her son, who left Russia after being targeted for anti-war views, says she had long wanted to emigrate; from detention, Burim wrote that she would survive, be released, and “live some more.”

9th May, Various sources

Unique cases of Victory Parades outside of Moscow

In Chita, a column of wives and mothers of participants in the war with Ukraine was brought to the Victory Parade. A column of the "Russian Community" marched in the parade in Surgut.

9th May, Insider

Z-blogger Guzenko, who accused Putin of lying, was sent into the assault with a broken leg and a rusty machine gun, according to his fellow soldiers.

Russian pro-war blogger Yegor Guzenko, known as “Thirteenth,” disappeared after criticising Vladimir Putin over internet shutdowns. According to Guzenko’s colleagues, he was sent on an assault mission despite a badly broken leg, had his phone taken away, and was given a rusty, jammed rifle. Guzenko had earlier accused Putin of lying about the shutdowns being needed for security and had previously claimed he was beaten and tortured after a conflict involving the Akhmat unit.

8th May, Gazeta.ru

The Moscow City Court overturned the decision to ban the Yaplakal website.

The Moscow City Court overturned a lower court ruling that had banned the Russian humour site “YaPlakal,” rejecting the prosecutor’s claims. The earlier ban reportedly targeted “YaPlakal” and two joke websites over materials alleged to insult human dignity and people on national or racial grounds. The site’s management said it was confused by the decision, noting that it had received no official complaints and had complied with Roskomnadzor orders.

7th May 2026, RTVI

"Is it not customary to apologise to the Russians?": KVN joke turned into a lawsuit against Channel One

A Russian opera singer, Sergei Moskalkov, sued Channel One after a KVN comedy segment joked that one downside of Moscow was that there were “too many Russians.”
He argues the remark insulted Russians as a national and cultural community, harmed his dignity as a Russian and Moscow resident, and is seeking 300,000 Rubles in moral damages.
The joke triggered outrage among military-patriotic bloggers, activists, and a State Duma deputy, while the university represented by the KVN team called the joke “extremely unsuccessful” and promised an internal follow-up.

6th May, Meduza

Signal or scoop?

A European intelligence report claims Vladimir Putin fears assassination by drone from within Russia’s own elite and has tightened security dramatically, but Meduza’s analyst Andrey Pertsev doubts the strongest claims, especially that Putin is effectively hiding in bunkers. iStories’ Roman Anin says parts of the report are independently corroborated and argues that the arrest of Sergey Shoigu's ally Ruslan Tsalikov may have destabilised elite “guarantees,” while Pertsev says Shoigu’s remaining power base looks too weak for a serious coup threat. Both read the leak as likely intended to send Putin a warning before Victory Day, but Meduza concludes the key things to watch are further arrests around Shoigu, Putin’s public visibility, and whether elite loyalty rules continue to hold.

6th May, Verstka

Sofia Chepik, one of the organisers of the Scarlet Swan movement, has left Russia.

Sofiya Chepik, a 20-year-old organiser of the “Scarlet Swan” movement, has left Russia and told Vyorstka she now feels safe and calm. She said she had been considering leaving since early April, before being jailed for 15 days and later saying she was forced under threats to appear in an FSB video about an alleged terrorist plot. The article also says “Scarlet Swan” became known through TikTok calls for pro–free internet rallies, after which several young organisers and moderators were detained, fined, or left Russia.

5th May, RBC

The Security Council revealed how much the number of foreigners in Russia has decreased.

Russia’s Security Council said the number of foreign citizens in Russia fell by about 700,000 over a year, from 6.8 million to 6.1 million as of April 1, 2026; Q1 arrivals also dropped to 2.5 million, with 72% being from the CIS/Post-Soviet countries. The report says temporary-residence permits and residence permits declined, while residence-permit cancellations and biometric/pre-entry checks increased. At the same time, authorities reported more legal work permits, higher patent-tax revenues, and a 38.9% fall in crimes recorded among foreign citizens, presenting this as evidence of tighter migration control and labour-market formalisation.

5th May, Mediazona

A monument to a fallen participant in the war in Ukraine will be erected at the site of the demolished memorial to repressed Poles in Yakutsk.

A monument to Dmitry Yegorov, a Russian participant in the war in Ukraine who died in 2023, will be installed in Yakutsk at the site of a demolished memorial to repressed Poles. The previous memorial, dedicated to Polish victims of exile and mass repression, was dismantled in 2023 after its plaques and stones disappeared. Yegorov was posthumously named a Hero of Russia by Vladimir Putin, and officials say the new monument is being completed and prepared for installation.

5th May, Kommersant

Bachelor's and master's will be linked by one chain. Admission to a Master's program without reference to previous education may be limited.

Lawmakers in the Russian Federation have drafted a bill that would let the Ministry of Education restrict entry to some master’s programmes to applicants whose bachelor’s degree, or relevant work experience, matches the chosen field. The aim is to prevent students from switching into specialist areas without enough foundational training, though experts say such limits should apply only to high-risk fields such as engineering, natural sciences, medicine and mathematics. Profile-switching is common and valued by students, so experts argue for differentiated requirements rather than a blanket ban.

5th May, Meduza

The Government of the Russian Federation has approved a set of measures "to prevent destructive behaviours of young people." Among other things, they "start" the work of cyberpatrols

The government approved a 2026–2030 package to prevent what it calls negative social phenomena or destructive behaviour among children and young people. The document, published at the official legal portal, includes cyber squads and media patrols in secondary and higher education. The package goes further than internet monitoring. It includes identifying minors allegedly preparing actions that could destabilise the situation and sharing that information with the Interior Ministry; establishing rapid inter-agency mechanisms to restrict the dissemination of content related to school attacks and youth violence; and expanding patriotic “hero” projects across the education, defence, police, National Guard, and Investigative Committee systems.

4th May, Kommersant

Parallel imports will narrow the range. Computers and memories of well-known manufacturers will disappear from the list.

The Industry and Trade Ministry of the Russian Federation is narrowing parallel imports by excluding computers, memory modules, and hard drives from major brands such as Acer, Asus, IBM, Intel, Kingston, Samsung, SanDisk, and Transcend. The change, expected to take effect by the end of May, is presented as support for domestic electronics producers and reflects the government’s view that the market has enough supply or Russian alternatives. Industry representatives warn that local producers may struggle to replace the affected products quickly, potentially causing a 12-month transition period with reduced choice and higher prices.

4th May, Meduza

The court arrested all the property of the founder of Rusagro, Vadim Moshkovich.

A Moscow court froze all property belonging to Vadim Moshkovich, founder of Rusagro and former senator, including his shares in the agribusiness group. Prosecutors also sought freezes on assets belonging to former Rusagro CEO Maxim Basov and other connected people, estimating the seized Rusagro shares at more than 1.174 billion Rubles. The case is part of a state claim to transfer the assets to the government, with prosecutors accusing Moshkovich of illegally running a business while serving as senator and moving company profits abroad; Moshkovich and Basov deny wrongdoing.

3rd May, Insider

The Supreme Court reported an increase in sentences in cases of treason by 460% in two years. "Statistics are underestimated by half" – human rights activist.

Russia’s Supreme Court says Russian courts handed down 219 treason convictions last year, with most defendants receiving 10 to 15 years in prison. The Insider calculates that treason convictions have risen by more than 460% in two years, while human-rights lawyer Ivan Pavlov argues the official figures may be understated by about half. Rights group First Department says 2025 set a record for convictions under “espionage” articles, with 468 people sentenced so far, including students, IT workers, teachers, entrepreneurs, teenagers, and residents of occupied Ukrainian territories.

2nd May, Gazeta.ru

"This is how it will be all in May." Residents of the Moscow region complained about home Internet on white lists

Residents of Moscow Region reported that some home internet providers temporarily allowed access only to “whitelisted” sites, disrupting work and everyday online services. Providers reportedly blamed higher-level instructions, while some experts and officials said there were no state plans to extend such restrictions to wired home internet and suggested the issue may relate to provider infrastructure. The article links the complaints to wider security-related internet restrictions around the May holidays and Victory Day events, especially measures aimed at reducing drone-related risks.

1st May, Verstka

Roskomnadzor began to massively draw up protocols on foreign developers of computer games.

Since December 2025, Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor has filed at least eight administrative cases against major foreign video-game developers over alleged violations of Russia’s personal-data rules. Take-Two and Electronic Arts have already been fined 2 million Rubles each, while Battlestate Games, NetEase, Epic Games, Digital Extremes, and Embracer Group are also mentioned in related proceedings. Such cases against gaming companies used to be rare, but the crackdown comes amid wider Russian political pressure on foreign games and calls for stricter regulation.

30th April, Meduza

Former Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Denis Butsaev left Russia immediately after his resignation.

Denis Butsaev, Russia’s former deputy minister of natural resources and ecology, reportedly left Russia immediately after resigning on April 22, 2026, travelling first through Minsk. Later, he went to Tbilisi and is now believed to be in the United States. The reports link his departure to criminal cases involving senior managers at the Russian Environmental Operator, where Butsaev previously worked, though his exact status in those cases is unclear.

29th April, RIA

Kiriyenko: 94% of citizens of Russia (Russovians) consider multinationality to be the strength of the country

Sergei Kiriyenko, First Deputy Head of Russia’s Presidential Administration, said that 94% of Russian citizens see Russia’s multiethnic character as a strength. Speaking at the “Znanie.Pervye” marathon, he said Russia is home to people of 194 nationalities and ethnic groups, and that 84% of Russians feel positively about living near people of other nationalities. He added that these are the highest figures in recent years, while only 12% said such proximity could cause anxiety.

29th April, Gazeta.ru

The State Duma proposed to oblige enterprises to independently protect themselves from UAVs.

Sergey Mironov, leader of A Just Russia and a State Duma deputy, proposed requiring energy and strategically important companies to create their own armed units to defend facilities from drone attacks. He said a law that took effect in late March allows private security organisations to receive firearms for protecting critical infrastructure, but argued that protection should be an obligation, not just a right. Mironov urged the government to issue direct instructions and adopt the necessary regulations quickly, linking the measure to election security and reducing economic and environmental damage.

29th April, Proekt

The House That SWIFT Didn't Build

Proekt’s investigation alleges that, after Russia’s disconnection from SWIFT and wider financial sanctions, a shadow cross-border payments system emerged in which “payment agents” take Rubles in Russia and route funds abroad through intermediaries, crypto exchanges, and companies in countries such as Kyrgyzstan, the UAE, Thailand, India, and Hong Kong.
The article focuses on A7, formally owned by Ilan Shor and state-linked PSB, describing it as the largest player in this market and alleging possible hidden links to Roman Abramovich, while noting that Abramovich’s representative denies any connection.  According to Proekt, A7 and similar networks are used not only by ordinary importers but also by sanctioned or military-linked companies, including suppliers connected to Russian drones, as well as major consumer, energy, travel, and state-linked businesses.

29th April, Obyasnyaem

Dmitry Chernyshenko named the main civic Russian values.

Dmitry Chernyshenko said that Russia’s core values include collectivism, unity, respect for roots, mutual support, historical memory, continuity between generations, creative work, and service to the Fatherland. He connected these values to examples such as the Sochi Olympics, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, volunteer efforts during emergencies, and support for the current war.

28th April, Vedomosti

The series "Method-3" was removed from "Kinopoisk" and "Ivi" at the request of the Ministry of Culture.

The Method-3 series was removed from the online streaming services Kinopoisk and Ivi following a Roskomnadzor request based on a Ministry of Culture finding. Producer Vladimir Maslov said the platforms were not given clear explanations of which laws or “traditional values” the show allegedly violated, and argued that the series is an 18+ work of fiction rather than an attempt to glorify crime. Kinopoisk said the finding accused the series of containing material that discredits or promotes rejection of “traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.” At the same time, Ivi confirmed the removal but declined further comment.

28th April, Gazeta.ru

The court acquitted the ex-"people's governor” of the DPR in the case of discrediting the army.

A Moscow court acquitted Pavel Gubarev, the former “people’s governor” of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, in a case accusing him of discrediting the Russian army. The court dropped the case because linguistic analysis found no signs that his Telegram posts about the Akhmat special forces unit discredited Rosgvardiya troops. Gubarev did not attend the hearing, and the article says the complaint against him was allegedly filed by “ill-wishers.” Kadyrovites no longer above criticism?

28th April, Vedomosti

The Government Commission approved the transfer of part of the migration powers from the Ministry of Labour to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The government commission has approved a bill transferring some migration-policy powers from the Ministry of Labour to the Interior Ministry, including decisions on which foreign skilled specialists can get residence permits without temporary residence permits and which professions are exempt from work-permit quotas. The Interior Ministry would also decide when foreign workers may work outside the region where their permit was issued, while coordinating these changes with the Labour Ministry. Experts say the move updates outdated rules but may shift migration regulation toward security and control, potentially narrowing the list of eligible professions.

28th April, Delovoy Peterburg

Foreign(internet) traffic in Russia will become paid

The Digital Ministry of the Russian Federation is considering extra charges for internet traffic identified as foreign, especially on mobile networks. Market participants warn that VPN traffic is hard to distinguish from ordinary foreign traffic, so users may end up paying for access to many overseas services. The proposal follows claims that VPN use has pushed foreign traffic in Russia to around 30%, while officials have also discussed charging users who exceed 15 GB of international traffic per month.

28th April, Kommersant

Solovyov apologised to Bonya for the insults after her appeal to Putin

TV host Vladimir Solovyov invited blogger Victoria Bonya onto his programme and apologised on air for insulting her after she appealed to President Vladimir Putin. Bonya had criticised social media blocks and warned of growing public discontent in Russia, while also raising issues such as floods in Dagestan, permits for hunting protected animals, and livestock seizures in Siberia. The Kremlin said it had reviewed her appeal and that authorities were working carefully on the problems she raised. Hard to remember when Solovyov apologised before.

27th April, Izvestia

Business shortage: the talent pool in Russia has almost halved in five years

Russia’s labour reserve has almost halved over five years, falling from about 7 million to roughly 4.4 million people, with 415,000 fewer potential workers in 2025 alone. The shortage is driven by demographic decline, strong labour demand, defence-sector hiring, and the fact that many previously inactive groups have already entered the workforce. Regional gaps vary sharply, but overall, the shortage is pushing wages and business costs higher, making automation, retraining, and targeted support for young workers and labour mobility increasingly important.

27th April, MoskvichMag

Lenin Rooms and Sovintern: They're Trying to Bring the USSR Back to Moscow

The new socialist international forum “Sovintern” started in Moscow’s House of Unions, described as an international socialist network initiated by the Just Russia party and framed around the legacy of “Soviet civilisation.” Delegates from several countries attended, and the opening included a greeting letter from Vladimir Putin, while discussions covered socialism, AI, Donbas, “digital partisans,” anti-imperialism, and a “Third World War” framing. In addition, a proposal by Senator Ayrat Gibatdinov to revive Soviet-style “Lenin rooms” in schools and workplaces for patriotic education.

26th April, Current Time

Russian political prisoner Oleg Tyryshkin has died. He served a two-year sentence under the article on "justification of terrorism" for comments in the VK

Russian political prisoner Oleg Tyryshkin has died while serving a two-year sentence for “justifying terrorism” over comments he posted on VKontakte. The 64-year-old Kuzbass miner and trade union activist reportedly died of heart-related causes during a prison transfer, though his exact location was unclear. His trial was closed, he had serious health problems, and his death was the third known death of a Russian political prisoner in April 2026.

25th April, Novaya Gazeta

The Tomsk mayor's office promised to restore the Memorial Square for the Repressed after a "survey of the territory" (Demolished monuments may be relocated)

Tomsk city hall said it would restore the Square of Memory for victims of Soviet repression after inspecting the site, saying the demolition was linked to cracks in nearby paving and a building. The Kalmyk Culture Ministry, responding to an appeal from a Tomsk activist, said the demolished memorial stones could be moved from central Tomsk, with any new location to be agreed with public activists. The square, opened in 1992 on the site of a former NKVD prison, contained memorials to several repressed ethnic groups, and its demolition drew protests from Yabloko and from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

23rd April, Lenta

Putin named a way to improve the demography

Putin said Russia can improve its demographic situation by uniting the efforts of business, nonprofits, the state, the media, and religious organisations. He also called for addressing issues in the economy, culture, education, and healthcare, while promoting values of large, multigenerational, close-knit families. Putin previously attributed Russia’s falling birth rate to demographic “echoes” from the 20th century, external challenges, and global demographic trends.

22nd April, Verstka

"In recognition of the merits of its personnel”. Vladimir Putin restored the Felix Dzerzhinsky name to the FSB Academy.

On 22 April 2026, Vladimir Putin restored the honorary name “F. E. Dzerzhinsky” to the FSB Academy, Russia’s main security service university, with the decree citing the academy staff’s merits and Dzerzhinsky’s contribution to state security. The academy had carried Dzerzhinsky’s name from 1962 to 1993, when it was the Higher School of the KGB of the USSR. Dzerzhinsky founded and led the Cheka, the Soviet security police associated with the Red Terror, making the renaming a highly symbolic revival of Soviet security-service heritage.

21st April, Gazeta

Marketplace sellers are losing customers due to VPN blocking.

Marketplace sellers in Russia say VPN blocks are reducing sales because shoppers with VPNs enabled cannot open product links. An analyst estimated losses at 2–3% of ad-driven clicks, while sellers report fewer purchases from external advertising integrations. The problem began around 15 April 2026, when many Russian services started malfunctioning or blocking access through VPN connections.

21st April, Kommersant

Harmful advice to the Investigative Committee

Russian Federation’s Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin ordered a review of children’s author Grigory Oster’s books after a report by State Duma deputy Maria Butina claimed they undermine children’s moral foundations. Kommersant says the review will focus on works including School of Horrors and The Book of Tasty and Healthy Food for Cannibals, and could involve psychological-linguistic expert analysis. Publisher AST said it had received no official requests and defended Oster’s humorous “Harmful Advice” poems as ironic lessons that discourage foolish or harmful behaviour.

21st April, Novaya Gazeta

Searches and detentions of Eksmo's top managers

From 21 April onward, senior managers of Eksmo, the country’s largest publisher, were detained and questioned in a case linked to Popcorn Books and alleged “extremism” tied to LGBT-themed literature. By late 23 April, the managers had been released under an obligation to appear, without formal charges and with their procedural status still unclear. Independent reporting treated the affair as part of a wider campaign to discipline publishers under the state’s “traditional values” agenda.

20th April, Interfax

The list of coordinators for the registration of Russian domains has been approved by the government.

The Russian government has approved an official list of nonprofit organisations that will coordinate domain-name registration for the .ru, .рф, and .su zones. The Coordination Centre for TLD RU will oversee .ru and .рф, while the Russian Research Institute for Public Networks will oversee .su. From 1 September 2026, only these coordinators will handle second-level domain registrations for government bodies, state and municipal institutions, and state-owned companies.

20th April, Kommersant

Tourists were left without access

Tourists from the Russian Federation in countries such as Turkey, Egypt and Thailand are reporting blocked or unstable access to Russian banking services, marketplaces, travel-booking sites and the Gosuslugi government portal when using local Wi-Fi or mobile networks. The problem appears linked to Russian resources restricting VPN traffic from 15 April, because services often cannot reliably distinguish VPN connections from ordinary foreign traffic. Tour-industry representatives advise travellers to keep a Russian SIM card with enough roaming data, while the Russian government is reportedly developing a service to preserve access for citizens abroad.

20th April, Vedomosti 

An official from the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation linked the government's decisions to genuine concern for citizens' interests.

 Alexander Kharichev, a senior Kremlin official responsible for monitoring and analysing social processes, argues that public trust in the state is the core bond holding Russia together and that this trust rests on four things: honesty, tangible results, genuine concern for citizen interests, and less distance between the authorities and society. He presents Russia as facing not only demographic, technological, and social pressures, but also a “hybrid war” of military, economic, and informational pressure aimed at weakening unity, rewriting the past, and undermining trust in the state. He also describes Russian identity as layered: ethnic identity as on at the base, an all-Russian civic identity above it, with a civilizational-value identity tied to traditional values and a shared national code at the top.

20th April, Vedomosti

Magomedsalam Magomedov identified three foundations for the unity of the peoples of Russia.

Russia’s interethnic unity rests on three equal pillars: a shared value system, the preservation of languages, and a common historical experience, especially overcoming hardships together. An official from the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation argues that Russia should be understood not only through the idea of “unity in diversity” but also as a “civilisation-state,” and that measuring civic identity alone is not enough because identity is multilayered. He also warns that the main current threats come from online incitement of ethnic hatred, distorted history, and religious or cultural disrespect, and calls for stronger real-time monitoring, fast factual official responses, and a bigger regional role in preventing conflicts.

19th April, RIA Novosti

The Russian Federation remembers the victims of the genocide of the Soviet people

Media and official structures of the Russian Federation marked 19 April 2026 as the first countrywide observance of the new memorial date dedicated to victims of the genocide of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War. Reporting that day highlighted exhibitions including “No Statute of Limitations,” archival work, and the declassification of historical case materials by the security services, while diplomatic and parliamentary voices linked the date to contemporary battles over historical interpretation.

19th April, Meduza

In Tomsk, the memorial to the victims of Bolshevik terror was dismantled

In Tomsk, the Square of Memory for Victims of Political Repression was closed off on April 19, and the “Stone of Sorrow” memorial plus other national memorial stones were dismantled, with eyewitnesses saying the whole square was being torn down. Police guarded the site, said the closure was connected to anti-landslide measures, and reportedly told people not to photograph it, while Tomsk city authorities first said the fencing was due to the risk of a garage collapse and that the removed monuments had been placed in storage. It is the first demolition of this kind.

18th April, Mediazona

For the first time, Rosreestr (The Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography) blocked the registration of rights to real estate at the request of the military registration and enlistment office

Russia’s state property registry, Rosreestr, has for the first time suspended a real-estate registration because of a military enlistment office order tied to failure to appear after an electronic summons. The case involved a reservist who received a notice through Gosuslugi in November 2025 for military training, did not appear, and then discovered in April 2026 that Rosreestr had blocked his property registration based on a restriction order dated November 27, 2025, issued by the enlistment office. This fits within a broader legal system in which people who ignore electronic summonses can face travel, driving, property registration, and financial restrictions, and activists warn that enforcement may spread further to tax authorities and banks.

17th April, Current Time

FSB officers will now be able to check phones and laptops when crossing the Russian border; refusal can lead to an arrest for up to 15 days

Amendments to Russia’s border law have come into force, giving FSB border officers the authority to inspect phones, tablets, laptops, and other devices when people cross the Russian border. It adds that officers may visually examine device contents and demand access if they suspect border-regime violations or the transport of prohibited items, and that refusing to unlock or hand over a device can be treated as disobeying a lawful order. The refusal can lead to a fine of 5,000–7,000 Rubles or administrative arrest for up to 15 days, while a lawyer quoted says such practices already existed informally and advises people not to cross the border with devices containing potentially compromising data.

17th April, Mediazona

A Ural lawyer was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the case of cooperation with the Freedom of Russia Legion

A military court in southern Russia sentenced Yekaterinburg lawyer Denis Tamantsev to 25 years in prison for alleged cooperation with the Freedom of Russia Legion, with the first three years to be served in prison and the rest in a high-security penal colony. According to the prosecution, he posted social media messages in August 2023 calling for violent actions against Russian officials and justifying the activities of the banned legion, then later corresponded with one of its members and filled out an application to join. Investigators also alleged that he planned an attack on court bailiffs in Yekaterinburg, travelled to Astrakhan to retrieve weapons and explosives from a stash, and was detained in December 2023.

16th April, RBC

Operators have frozen the expansion of communication channels to Europe

RBC reports that about 20 telecom companies handling Russia’s links to Europe agreed, at meetings with Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev, to stop expanding those international channels. The idea is to curb VPN use, because VPN traffic appears to operators as foreign traffic; if capacity stays capped while demand grows, operators may end up filtering that traffic or making access to foreign services more expensive. The authorities hope this will pressure foreign online services to place servers inside Russia, while operators may face extra approval requirements and monthly cross-border traffic reporting.

16th April, Kommersant

VPN services got waved off by their hosts

Draft amendments to Russia’s “Antifraud 2.0” legislation would bar hosting providers from supplying computing capacity to website and IT-system operators that enable access to information blocked in Russia, effectively tightening pressure on VPN-related infrastructure. The final text is still being coordinated by the Digital Development Ministry and other agencies, but the proposal could force Web hosts to move from being passive intermediaries to actively screening clients against Roskomnadzor requirements and refusing service to violators. Industry representatives say many providers are not yet technically ready for that role and warn that compliance costs, on top of existing regulatory and hardware pressures, would likely raise prices for other customers.

16th April, The Bell

"Now they decide everything." The Russian Internet has a new curator: the FSB agency responsible for Navalny's poisoning.

Russia’s recent crackdown on the internet - WhatsApp/Telegram calls, tougher anti-VPN measures, and the broader campaign against foreign platforms is being driven by the FSB’s Second Service, a political-security unit better known for targeting opposition figures than for telecom regulation. This marks a major institutional shift: control of the RuNet (Russian Internet) has moved away from more technical FSB structures and toward a branch associated with “defending the constitutional order,” ideological policing, and the persecution of dissidents, with Alexei Sedov’s team allegedly gaining broad authority after a 2025 meeting with Putin. This harder line has deepened tensions between security officials and civilian technocrats, while provoking public backlash, rising VPN demand, and concern inside the Kremlin over the political costs of internet restrictions.

16th April, Meduza

Russian users with VPNs enabled have had their access to the Gosuslugi website restricted.

The Gosuslugi (government digital platform) service has restricted access for users in Russia with VPNs enabled. Users of both the app and the website see the message: "For the app to function properly, please disable your VPN. Access is restricted for security reasons. "The Gosuslugi website can still be accessed from outside Russia with a VPN enabled. A similar situation has occurred previously, whereby users from abroad with a VPN could access websites that restrict access to Russian users who have enabled bypass tools.

16th April, Kommersant

Ten years with the right to appeal. The Government of the Russian Federation has approved the statute of limitations for privatisation disputes.

Russian business and legal reporting on 17 April said the government had approved and sent to the lower house a bill setting a 10-year limit for many legal claims over past privatisation deals. Russian reporting emphasised that the clock would run from the moment state ownership ended, while external reporting noted that the bill was meant to reassure business after a wave of state seizures and that important exclusions remained, including anti-corruption, extremism, and strategic-enterprise grounds. Selective stabilisation: enough reassurance to keep investment channels open, but not enough to suggest a more liberal settlement between state and capital.

16th April, Novaya Gazeta

The Prosecutor General's Office has determined that the Katyn massacre was carried out by the NKVD. An exhibition featuring historical falsifications is now open at the execution site.

A new exhibition at Katyn by the Russian Military Historical Society revives the old Soviet falsehood that the 1940 massacre of Polish prisoners was carried out by the Germans, even though Soviet authorities admitted in 1990 that the NKVD was responsible. The claim contradicts both late Soviet and current official records, citing the 1990 TASS statement, a 2005 letter from the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, and a 2010 State Duma declaration acknowledging that the killings were carried out by the NKVD on Stalin’s orders. The new exhibition is a politically motivated distortion of established historical facts at the very site of the massacre.

15th April, RIA Novosti

Russian Federation's GDP has been declining for two months in a row, Putin said.

At an economic meeting in Moscow, Vladimir Putin said Russian GDP had fallen by 1.8% in January-February 2026 and noted that manufacturing, industrial output overall, and construction were in negative territory. He instructed the cabinet to prepare concrete proposals to restore growth, while Russian reporting emphasised that calendar and weather factors were part of the explanation but not the whole story. External reporting at the same time noted that the IMF had just raised its 2026 growth forecast for Russia to 1.1%, chiefly because higher oil prices were cushioning the slowdown.

15th April, Delovoy Peterburg

Gutsan announced the nationalisation of Russian enterprises acting in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Alexander Gutsan said Russia had nationalised 32 strategic enterprises whose owners were allegedly acting against Russia’s interests and in support of Ukraine and the Ukrainian armed forces. The seized assets total about 2.5 trillion Rubles, with Gutsan saying that prosecutors intervened because the owners were accused of moving dividends abroad, evading taxes, increasing debt, and financing anti-Russian activity.

15th April, Agenstvo

Schools have begun holding lessons about the “genocide of the Soviet people.” High school students are being told about “new Nazis” in Ukraine.

Russian schools are holding remembrance lessons for students in grades 9–11 ahead of the new April 19 Memorial Day for victims of the “genocide of the Soviet people,” using a teaching script tied to the “Navigators of Childhood” program. It reports that the lesson links World War II atrocities to the present war in Ukraine, describing Donbas as a special territory for Russians and referring to Ukrainian forces as “newly minted Nazis,” while also showing students a state-backed video about children in the occupied Donetsk region. Schools have also held these lessons for younger children than the guidelines specify, and the campaign comes alongside new official measures, including the first observance of the Memorial Day in 2026 and a law punishing denial of the claimed “genocide of the Soviet people.”

13th April, Meduza

In Moscow, a first-year student threw a moccasin at Lenin's sarcophagus due to his disagreement with his policies. The student was arrested for 10 days.

A Moscow court sentenced 18-year-old first-year college student Konstantin Bodunov to 10 days of administrative arrest for petty hooliganism after he went into Lenin’s Mausoleum, struck Lenin’s glass sarcophagus several times, and threw his moccasin at it on April 8. According to the court decision, Bodunov said he acted because he disagreed with Lenin’s “economic and religious policy,” although he did not admit guilt in court.

12th April, SOTA

The Moscow State University church was banned from holding a religious procession on the street under the pretext of COVID-19.

The Church of St. Tatiana at Moscow State University was barred from holding its usual Easter procession on the street and was told it could go no farther than the journalism faculty courtyard. According to MSU lecturer Natalya Loseva, officials cited “COVID restrictions” as the reason, even though the procession had reportedly taken place for about three decades. The article adds that COVID remains the formal justification for banning public rallies in Moscow, and notes that Loseva’s senior role at the Russian Federation propaganda effort cannot appeal the restriction.

11th April, Insider

References to Memorial have been removed from the Yeltsin Centre's exhibition.

Two plaques mentioning “Memorial” (a human rights group focused on the study of Soviet repressions) were removed from the Yeltsin Centre museum exhibition after Russian authorities said the organisation can no longer be referenced without special labelling. The Yeltsin Centre said it is discussing the issue with lawyers and expects changes to the exhibition, although it has not yet decided what those changes will be. It is connected to the recent decision by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to declare the so-called “International Public Movement Memorial” extremist and ban its activities, despite “Memorial” saying no such formally named organisation exists.

10th April 2026, Novaya Gazeta

Dmitry Medvedev became the editor-in-chief of new textbooks on social studies for grades 9-11

Dmitry Medvedev has been appointed chief editor of new Russian social studies textbooks for grades 9–11, a move announced by Deputy Education Minister Olga Koludarova. Officials say Medvedev made extensive page-by-page edits and comments, and that his work influenced not only the final textbooks but also the new federal standards and teaching programs; the author team also includes lawyers, economists, sociologists, and historians. According to Medvedev and the outlets citing him, the new books are meant to broaden students’ horizons and teach them to defend their views with arguments, while fitting into a broader reform that keeps social studies for grades 9–11 and reduces its place in lower grades.

10th April, Verstka

Novaya Gazeta journalist Oleg Roldugin arrested in a case of illegal use of personal data

A Moscow court ordered Novaya Gazeta journalist and Sobesednik co-founder Oleg Roldugin held in pretrial detention until May 10 in a criminal case over the alleged unlawful use of personal data. Investigators accuse him of illegally accessing, collecting, storing, or transferring computer information containing personal data, allegedly obtained through improper access and used in articles described by the authorities as having “negative” content. Oleg was detained after lengthy searches of Novaya Gazeta’s newsroom and his home on April 9, during which equipment and documents were seized, and lawyers noted the case may be the first criminal prosecution of a journalist in Russia for allegedly using bots to obtain data from databases.

10th April, Novaya Gazeta

Stanford University, the alma mater of Brin (and Kirill Dmitriev), was recognised as an "undesirable" organisation, and the grandson of the writer Alexei Tolstoy was recognised as a "foreign agent"

Russia’s Justice Ministry added Stanford University to its list of “undesirable organisations,” based on a Prosecutor General’s Office decision dated March 26, and also included two other groups: Stanford’s Centre for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies and the German NGO Crisis Modelling for Peace. In addition, the ministry expanded its “foreign agents” register to include literary scholar Ivan Tolstoy, grandson of writer Alexei Tolstoy, along with several activists, an electoral expert, and the project “Tatar Shurasy,” accusing them of criticising the Russian authorities and opposing the war in Ukraine.

6th April, Verstka

Ex-governor of the Kursk region sentenced to 14 years in prison in the case of bribery during the construction of fortifications

A court sentenced former Kursk region governor Alexey Smirnov to 14 years in prison for taking large bribes, fined him 400 million Rubles, barred him from holding public office for 10 years, and ordered the confiscation of 20.9 million Rubles. Smirnov admitted guilt and struck a deal with investigators, while prosecutors said he and another official took nearly 13 million Rubles for protection in school-repair contracts and about 8 million more from a regional deputy whose company-built border fortifications with Ukraine. Investigators linked the fortification case to up to 1 billion Rubles in embezzlement, and Smirnov testified that former governor Roman Starovoit (who was found dead in July 2025) had suggested collecting percentages from contractors.

6th April, Meduza

The services of Sberbank, Alfa-Bank and telecom operators temporarily stopped working. Rostelecom's home Internet has been disconnected

On the evening of April 6, multiple services in Russia—including banking apps and websites, telecom providers, satellite TV companies, and the state services portal—experienced outages, according to the monitoring project Sboy.rf. The reported disruptions affected Rostelecom, Alfa-Bank, NTV Plus, Tricolor, Gosuslugi, T2, and Mosenergosbyt, while Detector404 also received reports about problems with Sber, Gazprombank, Okko, and World of Tanks. The exact cause was unclear at the time, although Rostelecom said it had recorded and quickly neutralised a major DDoS attack on its network, and even on Sboy.rf itself reportedly went down amid the incident.

5th April, BFM

Cloudwards: Russia took the penultimate place in terms of Internet freedom

According to Cloudwards’ 2026 internet freedom report, Russia ranked second from last with 4 points, ahead only of North Korea, which scored 0. The report evaluates how freely people can use the internet in different countries by looking at access to torrent sites, adult content, political and civic online expression, and VPN services, and it specifically singled out Russia as a country where VPNs are blocked or heavily restricted.

4th April, Meduza

Meduza asked historian Alexei Uvarov to carefully reread the entirety of two new history textbooks for high school students that have sparked a storm of criticism.

Meduza asked historian Aleksei Uvarov to re-read Russia’s new high-school history textbooks, and he argues that they contain numerous factual errors, distortions, and politically motivated framing, including exaggerated claims about Russia’s uniqueness and selective use of quotations from Vladimir Putin. History books also downplay or omit some of the Soviet state’s most brutal actions and human costs, such as mass repression, the suffering and deaths of Gulag prisoners, famine, and the treatment of Soviet POWs, while often presenting these events in sanitised or morally evasive language. The textbooks teach a stark “Russia versus the West” worldview and promote an anti-humanist message in which the state’s goals outweigh individual lives, rights, and moral judgment. The fact that textbooks systematically minimise or omit state-inflicted suffering, especially Soviet ones, is a reminder of a historical legacy that primarily originates from the Soviet background, not the prior history.

4th April, Vedomosti

Kasperskaya apologised to Roskomnadzor for linking the failure of banks with the blocking of VPN.

Natalya Kasperskaya (co-founder of Kaspersky Lab) apologised to Roskomnadzor after previously linking a mass outage at Russian banks and the Faster Payments System to efforts to block VPNs. After speaking with Roskomnadzor’s leadership, she said the disruption was apparently not caused by the regulator and may instead have stemmed from a problem at Sberbank, whose infrastructure is closely connected to other banks. Previously, she had warned that blocking VPNs could disrupt critical online services because VPN protocols overlap with infrastructure used by banks, while the outage itself affected major banking apps.

3rd April, Meduza

The head of the Investigative Committee instructed to check Yuri Dud because of an interview with the commander of the RVC, Denis Kapustin.

Investigative Committee chief, Alexander Bastrykin, ordered a legal review of journalist Yury Dud after Dud published a 4-hour-42-minute interview with Denis Kapustin, commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps, on April 2, 2026. The committee said Kapustin had already been sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment in Russia and claimed the interview contained positive assessments of banned extremist ideologies and signs of promoting violence against people on ethnic grounds. Because of those claims, Bastrykin instructed the Main Investigative Directorate to examine the published material.

2nd April, Gazeta

Medvedev called for countering the creation of ethnic enclaves in Russia.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, called preventing the formation of ethnic enclaves by migrants in Russia an urgent issue that deserves close attention. He argued that when foreign nationals live in compact clusters in separate areas, this can hinder their adaptation and weaken compliance with Russian laws and “law-abiding behaviour.” He also spoke of a planned package of legislative measures to speed up decisions on declaring certain foreign nationals’ stay undesirable, including immediate deportation if a migrant is found to have a dangerous disease.

2nd April, ECHO

The Basmanny Court convicted German sculptor Jacques Tilly in absentia in the case of "fakes" about the army and insulting the feelings of believers.

Moscow’s Basmanny Court has sentenced German sculptor Jacques Tilly in absentia over charges of spreading “fake” information about the Russian army and offending believers’ feelings. The case was based on a Düsseldorf carnival work depicting Patriarch Kirill and Vladimir Putin, as well as an interview Tilly gave to Deutsche Welle, and the court sentenced him to 8.5 years in prison, fined him 200,000 Rubles, and banned him from administering websites for four years. The article adds that Tilly is known for papier-mâché political caricatures, including anti-war depictions of Putin used in German protests and carnivals, and that Deutsche Welle previously reported he donated related proceeds to help Ukrainians.

31st March, Business-Online

"Every second user does not turn it off at all": Russian Federation declares war on VPN.

The Russian Federation has intensified its campaign against VPNs with a set of measures that includes charging for mobile international traffic exceeding 15 GB a month, urging major platforms to restrict users with active VPNs, and stopping Apple ID top-ups through mobile operators. This is a government response to how widespread VPN use has become in Russia, with an expert noting that the country now leads the world in VPN usage and that about every second user keeps a VPN always activated. The authorities aim to make VPN use less convenient and more costly without openly relying on straightforward administrative punishment, which Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadaev has called a “difficult compromise.”

30th March, Kommersant

Sites that do not block VPN traffic can be excluded from the "whitelists"

The Digital Development Ministry of the Russian Federation has warned major online platforms that they could be removed from official “whitelists” of sites still accessible during mobile internet shutdowns if users can reach them while a VPN is enabled. The ministry has urged marketplaces, banks, and big tech companies to block access from VPN users, a move that could affect services such as Wildberries, Ozon, Yandex, and VK. Officials are trying to curb VPN use without imposing a full ban, even as VPN traffic in Russia keeps rising and regulators continue expanding blocks on VPN services. Will it treat all foreign visits as an attempt at evasion, reducing the spread of the pro-Russia message abroad?

30th March, Moscow Times

Russian Exiles in Europe Face a Catch-22

Anti-war Russian exiles in Europe are trapped by contradictory expectations: they are urged to be more visibly pro-Ukraine yet also pressured to stay out of sight because their presence is seen as inherently offensive. Many of these exiles have already sacrificed careers, homes and safety, but still face bureaucracy, xenophobia and suspicion in Europe, leaving them blamed both when they speak out and when they remain quiet. Instead of trying to prove themselves as “good Russians” or a model minority, exiles should focus on practical mutual aid and solidarity with other migrant communities, grounded in universal human rights.

29th March, Insider

Russia has banned all protests against internet blocking: at least six protest organisers have been arrested.

All planned protests against internet blocking in Russia on 29 March have been banned, and at least six organisers have been arrested, with two detained and four others facing pressure from authorities. Even a previously permitted rally in Penza was cancelled, despite being scheduled in a zone that normally does not require approval, as the Interior Ministry warned of possible administrative and criminal liability for participants. Non-religious demonstrations not aligned with the state are not permitted, with each region citing different reasons for this.

27th March, RBC

Peskov explained the business's idea of ​​making contributions to the state as a sense of duty.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said one participant at Vladimir Putin’s closed-door meeting with business leaders offered to give the state a “very large sum of money,” and that this was the businessman’s own family decision rather than a request from Putin. Peskov said the idea reflected a sense of duty, arguing that many of the businesspeople present started their companies in the 1990s and that their early success was connected in some way to the state. Peskov did not identify the businessman and specifically denied that the initiative had come from Rosneft chief Igor Sechin. A reminder that there are no oligarchs in the Russian Federation, just rich businessmen who owe their success to the state’s loyalty.

27th March, Interfax

The Ministry of Justice has designated Oscar-winning actor Pavel Talankin a foreign agent.

Among the newly designated “foreign agents” by the Justice Ministry is teacher and documentary co-author Pavel Talankin. He is accused of spreading what the authorities call false information about Russian state policy and opposing the war, with additional allegations of cooperation with foreign agents or “undesirable” organisations. Talankin recently co-created the Oscar-winning documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin, which a Chelyabinsk court had banned from distribution in the Russian Federation one day earlier, on March 26, 2026.

26th March, BFM

Putin ordered the introduction of quotas on the distribution of foreign films in the Russian Federation.

Vladimir Putin ordered officials to introduce quotas for foreign films in Russia as quickly as possible, saying at a meeting of the Council for Culture that Russia should more tightly regulate imported cinema, as France and China do. Putin argued that the issue is both ideological and financial: he criticised Russia for allowing what he called “stupid” and “unnecessary” material through while failing to support domestic producers. The discussion was closely tied to Nikita Mikhalkov’s lobbying on behalf of Russian cinema, noting that he had previously proposed a 5 million Ruble fee for foreign films and again raised the question of quotas at this meeting. Another idea supported by the president at a meeting of the Culture Council is to use artistic works without the consent of their heirs, if they refuse permission. Putin stated that a law should be passed that would permit the use of works without the consent of copyright holders who are not the authors and who set patently impossible conditions. In addition, Putin supported the idea of creating an award to rival The Nobel Prize in Literature.

26th March, Vedomosti

The Human Rights Council reported the disappearance of Nikita Zhuravel.

22-year-old Nikita Zhuravel, who was convicted of treason and for burning the translated Quran, has reportedly gone missing while being transferred to a penal colony, according to human rights advocate Eva Merkacheva of Russia’s Presidential Human Rights Council. Relatives often receive no timely information during prisoner transfers, even though Russian law requires a colony to notify a chosen family member within 10 days after the prisoner arrives, and the detention centre is supposed to notify them when the transfer begins. In February 2024, a court in Grozny sentenced him to 3.5 years on charges of insulting the feelings of believers and hooliganism, and in 2025, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison for treason. (He was lated found in the Ulyanovsk colony)

23rd March, RIA

The State Duma will consider a project to strengthen the protection of historical memory.

State Duma leadership stated that a second-reading debate was set for 24 March on amendments to the Criminal Code aimed at “protecting historical memory.” The package would expand criminal liability for desecration of memorials and burials associated with victims of the “genocide of the Soviet people,” including sites outside Russia, adding liability under the “rehabilitation of Nazism” article for publicly denying or approving that genocide. Reported maximum penalties included up to five years’ imprisonment for damage to protected burial/memorial sites, and up to three years for public denial and/or “insulting the memory” of victims. The initiative was explicitly framed as countering “falsification of history” and defending the multiethnic Soviet wartime “sacrifice.” 

23rd March, Vedomosti

"Where they can, they save": How Indians are settling in Russia.

Indian migrant workers are increasingly being recruited to Russia, especially for labour-demanding sectors such as garment production. It also shows the trade-offs of that move: many workers send most of their earnings home, live close to their workplaces, and some struggle with food, weather, or pay. More broadly, this migration is a part of Russia’s labour shortage, noting a 2025 Russia–India agreement on temporary employment, rising work-related entries by Indian citizens, and recruitment costs of about 170,000 Rubles per worker for employers. Will it develop into a stable community?

22nd March, Insider

An activist who tried to organise a rally against internet blocking in Rostov-on-Don was searched and beaten.

Security officers searched the home of Yevgeny Makovoz, a Rostov-on-Don activist who had applied to hold a protest against internet shutdowns and allegedly beat him during the raid. According to people close to him, nine unidentified men came to his home on March 21, seized all his equipment, and left him with a concussion. Proposed anti-shutdown protests were submitted in 28 cities across 17 Russian regions, with authorities reportedly rejecting 20 applications and approving four rallies when the article was posted.

21st March, Vedomosti

The Ministry of Digital Development has denied the introduction of "whitelists" for home internet providers.

Russia’s Digital Development Ministry denied reports that Moscow's home internet providers were introducing “whitelists,” calling those claims fake and saying there is no need for such a system. The ministry said that when there are security threats from drones, authorities may selectively shut down mobile internet in some regions because it can affect drone guidance, but these measures do not apply to fixed home internet.

20th March, Gazeta

Medvedev concluded that most UN countries are self-proclaimed

Dmitry Medvedev and Viktor Medvedchuk argued in a joint article that, by formal criteria, most UN member states could be considered “self-proclaimed.” They pointed to countries that declared independence from Spain, as well as the Netherlands and Belgium, and argued that these states emerged through the exercise of a claimed right to self-determination. They described the breakup of the Soviet Union and the emergence of new states in its place as an irreversible process, echoing a position that the article says Vladimir Putin has also expressed.

19th March, RBC

The State Duma will consider a bill to protect citizens of Russia arrested abroad.

The State Duma will consider a government-backed bill that would allow Russia to use its armed forces to protect citizens of Russia who are arrested, detained, or prosecuted abroad under decisions by foreign or certain international courts. The proposal would amend the laws on citizenship and defence and give the president of the Russian Federation the authority to deploy the military for that purpose. In essence, the measure is presented to shield citizens from legal actions by courts whose jurisdiction Moscow says it does not recognise.

19th March, Fontanka

Spring, a lesson, or a beautiful way out? The mysterious story of citizen Remeslo

Pro-government blogger and lawyer Ilya Remeslo suddenly spent about a day publishing unusually harsh attacks on the Russian authorities and President Vladimir Putin, insisting his Telegram channel had not been hacked, gave interviews, and then went silent. On March 19, 2026, he was hospitalised in St. Petersburg’s Skvortsov-Stepanov psychiatric clinic. His relatives called the ambulance, and there was no visible involvement by state bodies. For now, it remains an unresolved mystery.

19th March, Vedomosti

Svintsov, a deputy expelled from the Liberal Democratic Party, was unable to join A Just Russia.

State Duma deputy Andrei Svintsov, recently expelled from the LDPR, considered joining A Just Russia but failed. A source close to A Just Russia mentioned that Svintsov had become “toxic,” while New People’s vice speaker Vladislav Davankov also said the party would not take him in because he was too far from their values. Svintsov told Vedomosti that his expulsion was unexpected and that he had not yet decided whether he would run for the Duma again or for which party, while political analysts stated that his public image and past positions, including on Telegram restrictions, made him an unsuitable fit for A Just Russia.

18th March, Current Time

Political prisoner Vladimir Osipov, convicted in the case of "fakes" about the army, died in pretrial detention.

56-year-old Vladimir Osipov died in a hospital in Ukhta on March 18 after being sentenced to 6.5 years in prison for anti-war posts on Odnoklassniki, charges he denied. His relatives and friends say he was beaten during his arrest, suffered from severe hypertension and other health problems, and was repeatedly denied proper medical care in pretrial detention and prison before being hospitalised in a coma. This is the fourth death of a political prisoner that has become known since the beginning of 2026. And since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, from 2022 to 2026, at least 44 people imprisoned under political and anti-war articles have died in custody.

17th March, Afisha

A bill was submitted to the State Duma to ban the media from writing accusatory information before the court's decision.

A bill has been submitted to the State Duma that would bar the media from publishing accusatory information about a person before a court decision has entered into legal force. It would punish wording such as “according to sources,” “allegedly,” or “possibly” in reporting on a person’s possible involvement in a crime, allowing only neutral language until the court rules. The proposal, introduced by the State Council of Tatarstan, would also restrict journalistic investigations and impose fines of 100,000-300,000 Rubles for individuals, 300,000-700,000 for officials, and 1-2 million for organisations. (It was withdrawn on 31st March)

17th March, Gazeta

In 2025, 88% of films with state support did not pay off

Only 5 of 41 of Russia’s films made with state support recouped their costs in 2025, meaning 88% were commercially unsuccessful. The article says this was worse than in 2024, when about 78% of such films failed to break even, despite bigger budgets and several releases approaching or exceeding 1 billion Rubles in box office receipts.

16th March, Gazeta

The government supports the idea of expanding the grounds for the deportation of foreigners.

Russia’s government has backed a bill that would expand the grounds for deporting foreign nationals to cover about 20 additional administrative offences, including “discrediting” the army, distributing extremist materials, and displaying Nazi or extremist symbols. The proposal would also allow deportation for offences such as calls for terrorism, justification of terrorism, calls for sanctions against Russia, petty hooliganism, disobeying police, and violating rules for protests or public gatherings. The bill would also remove the requirement for a detailed personal-circumstances review before deportation in some cases, including certain drug-related administrative offences.

15th March, Meduza

Security forces descended on the "Funeral of Winter" metal festival in Yaroslavl. People were forced to the floor and stripped naked while searching for "forbidden" tattoos.

Security officers raided the “Funeral of Winter” metal festival in Yaroslavl on March 14, forcing attendees to lie face down on the floor and searching some of them for allegedly “banned” tattoos.  Witnesses said some people were made to undress, had their hair cut, and were marked with insults such as “queer” and “fascist.” At the same time, a military commissariat official reportedly urged male attendees to join the war. Men were reportedly held for around five hours with their hands behind their heads, women were released earlier, and it remains unclear whether anyone was formally detained.

13th March, Kommersant

(Internet) "Whitelists" have been introduced in Moscow.

Mobile internet access in Moscow has begun operating through “whitelists,” meaning service is available only for approved users or devices in at least some parts of the city.  According to the telecom-market sources, the system is now working, although coverage remains uneven because some base stations are still switched off in certain districts. Experts estimate that the total damage to Moscow’s businesses over five days was between 3 billion and 5 billion Rubles, with courier services, taxis, car-sharing companies, and retail businesses among those most affected by the outages.

13th March, RBC

Khrushchev's great-granddaughter was recognised as a foreign agent

The Justice Ministry of the Russian Federation added political scientist and writer Nina Khrushcheva, the great-granddaughter of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, to its “foreign agents” register on March 13, 2026.  The ministry said she had spread what it called false information about government decisions, spoken out against the war in Ukraine, taken part in creating materials by designated “foreign agents,” and appeared on a platform provided by a foreign source while living outside the Russian Federation. The same update also added journalist Sergei Reznik, activist Alexei Nesterenko, economist Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, and publicist Vadim Shtepa to the list.

11th March, IStories

Star Factory (X-Factor) by Sergei Kiriyenko

The Kremlin is turning the “New Media Workshop,” launched under Sergei Kiriyenko and reportedly funded with about 1 billion Rubles in 2023–2024, into a pipeline for training loyal media managers and propagandists, after initially using it to staff propaganda work in occupied Ukrainian territories. The outlet says the program borrows the format of Western journalism fellowships but repurposes it to promote state messaging, with figures such as Vladimir Solovyov, Maria Zakharova, and other officials involved as mentors. Graduating from the program can open the door to careers, state grants, and influence across Russia’s media system, and many alumni have gone on to work in pro-Kremlin media projects in occupied parts of Ukraine.

11th March, Novaya Gazeta

Nuclear reaction to the occupation. The story of Zaporizhzhya NPP engineer Ruslan Lavrik: he refused to work for Rosatom and received 16 years in prison for treason.

Ruslan Lavrik, an engineer at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant who refused to sign a contract with Rosatom, was later accused of passing coordinates of Russian troops and making small donations to support Ukraine and was sentenced to 16 years in a strict-regime colony for treason. Lavrik was abducted in June 2024, held for months through an “administrative carousel” of repeated short arrests, and subjected to beatings, electric shocks, and threats against his wife before being forced to sign confessions. Ruslan’s case fits a broader pattern of repression at the occupied plant, where workers who refused to cooperate with Rosatom were allegedly pressured, tortured, or imprisoned.

11th March, Meduza

Comedian Alexey Shcherbakov's concerts were cancelled following Nurlan Saburov's performances for an unknown reason.

All of comedian Alexey Shcherbakov’s scheduled concerts in Russia for 2026 were abruptly cancelled in March without explanation, tickets disappeared from sale, refunds were offered, and neither he nor his manager publicly commented. The cancellation could be linked to a broader crackdown around the “What Happened Next?” comedy circle, noting that his fellow host, Nurlan Saburov, had already been banned from entering Russia for 50 years and that pro-war channels later attacked Shcherbakov for avoiding overt support for the war. Shcherbakov is a performer known for deliberately crude, abrasive humour who largely avoided public anti-war statements.

11th March, OVD-Info

A Ural priest who called the founder of the Russian Volunteer Corps "a great guy" was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison.

 A military court in Yekaterinburg sentenced 55-year-old Hieromonk Yevgeny Pinchuk (Nikandr), a priest, to five and a half years in a general-regime penal colony for “justifying terrorism.” According to the report, the case was linked to a July 2023 comment in which he allegedly called the founder of the Russian Volunteer Corps a “great guy” and expressed respect for him; prosecutors had sought a six-and-a-half-year sentence. Pinchuk has been in pretrial detention since October 2025 and faces separate charges of rehabilitating Nazism and inciting extremism. Previously, he had faced administrative charges for making anti-war statements.

10th March, RBC

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has revealed details of its advertising ban on Telegram.

The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service said advertising on platforms subject to access restrictions, including Telegram, YouTube, VPN services, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, is considered a violation of advertising law, and that both advertisers and ad distributors can be held liable. The regulator said this interpretation is based on a provision of the advertising law that bans ads on resources whose access is restricted in Russia, as well as on platforms run by organisations deemed undesirable or outlawed for extremism or terrorism. Fines can reportedly reach 500,000 Rubles for legal entities.

10th March, Forbes

14 new Russovian (citizens of the Russian Federation) billionaires in the Forbes world ranking

Forbes’ 2026 global billionaires list added 14 new billionaires from the Russian Federation, bringing the total number on the list to a record 155, continuing a four-year rebound after the sharp drop that followed the 2022 market collapse. According to Forbes Russia, seven of the 14 newcomers are linked to agriculture and food, ten built their businesses from scratch, and four inherited fortunes rooted in the privatisations of the 1990s. The richest new entrant is Ruslan Rakhimkulov, whose wealth is estimated at $1.9 billion, while the richest Russian overall in the ranking is Severstal co-owner Alexey Mordashov with $37 billion.

10th March, NG

Jurors are not allowed to observe the actual competition between the parties.

The Supreme Court (SC) of the Russian Federation forbade defence lawyers from discrediting the examinations of the prosecution in front of the jury. Such a measure should strengthen the authority of expert opinions, but the legal community is outraged that they thereby actually turn into indisputable evidence, which is unacceptable under the law. And the defence cannot really and publicly challenge the completeness, correctness and reliability of such scientific research in the presence of "people's assessors", who are thereby deprived of the opportunity to see the real adversarial nature of the parties. The article focuses on a Moscow region case in which the Supreme Court overturned a jury acquittal after the defence questioned a DNA report before jurors, while some legal experts said the ruling reflects an effort to keep courtroom debate from becoming a contest of competing pseudo-experts.

6th March, Interfax

The monument to Solzhenitsyn is planned to be moved from the centre of Vladivostok

Authorities in Vladivostok plan to relocate the monument to Alexander Solzhenitsyn from the city centre to Vera and Nadezhda Square on Ovchinnikova Street, near a memorial dedicated to victims of political repression. The city has awarded a contract worth 201,000 Rubles to dismantle, transport, and reinstall the 2.5-metre statue, with the work expected to be completed by 2 July 2026, the city’s anniversary day. The monument was erected in 2015 to commemorate Solzhenitsyn’s 1994 visit to Vladivostok, but it has remained controversial, has been vandalised several times, and has faced unsuccessful attempts at removal.

5th March, Insider

In St. Petersburg, a case was opened on "justification of terrorism" because of positive statements about Navalny

The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on public justification and propaganda of terrorism against a resident of St. Petersburg, Nadzillo Idibekov. According to the investigation, on February 24, in the lobby of the Prospekt Bolshevikov metro station, he shouted statements that "positively assess the activities of a person included in the list of those involved in extremist activities or terrorism." This is the first known criminal case under the article on public justification and propaganda of terrorism, in which the reason was positive statements in support of Alexei Navalny, who, after the decisions of the Russian courts, was included by Rosfinmonitoring in the list of "terrorists and extremists”.

5th March, Fontanka

Arsen Markaryan was imprisonedfor 4.5 years for rehabilitating Nazism

The Moscow City Court sentenced blogger Arsen Markaryan to 4.5 years in a general regime colony for the rehabilitation of Nazism. He is also prohibited from administering websites for 4 years. The case was initiated following a video published in early 2025. According to the investigation, it contained a contemptuous and negative attitude to the feat of Alexander Matrosov, a Red Army soldier who closed the embrasure of the bunker in 1943.

4th March, TASS

The taxi industry expects Haval and Tenet to be accepted soon

The taxi industry expects the Ministry of Industry and Trade to soon include the Haval and Tenet brands in the list of cars that meet the criteria of the law on localisation. The federal law establishing requirements for the localisation of cars used as taxis came into force on 1 March 2026. Currently, a vehicle can be added to the regional register of taxis if one of two conditions is met. It appears that industries are struggling to keep up with the laws.

4th Match, RG.ru

Sobyanin announced that the number of civil servants in the capital will be reduced by 15%

Moscow will cut the number of civil servants by 15% and reduce the city’s 2026 investment program by 10% as part of a broader budget optimisation drive. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the move was prompted by weaker-than-expected revenue growth: in January–February 2026, budget revenues rose by 2% instead of the 6.5% projected when the budget was drafted.  At the same time, he said the cuts are intended to preserve Moscow’s social obligations, maintain city services, continue key development projects, and keep funding for the Defence Ministry and servicemen’s families.

4th March, KP.ru

Prison minimum in Russia: the number of prisonersfell to a record 308 thousand

Russia has updated the historical minimum in terms of the number of prisoners: 308 thousand people are now held in colonies, and pre-trial detention centres (209 per 100 thousand population), and another 89 thousand people under investigation are awaiting sentencing in detention centres. Whereas in the early 2000s, more than 1 million people were behind bars. According to Supreme Court official Vladimir Davydov, this drop reflects a long-term “humanisation” of criminal justice: the prison population fell to about 700,000 by 2013, and the share of sentences involving actual imprisonment declined from 40% over the past quarter-century to 26% in 2025.

3rd March, The Insider

University employees fined for mentioning "undesirable" organisations in dissertations published on university websites

Four university administrative staff in Russia’s Yaroslavl region were fined 20,000 Rubles each after FSB inspections found mentions of organisations labelled “undesirable” in Russia inside dissertations published on university websites. A repeat case within a year could trigger criminal prosecution with a penalty of up to five years in prison, and warns that this will likely make it risky to publish academic works containing such references in open access.

2nd March, Current Time

Russia’s Supreme Court has declared the Anti-War Committee of Russia a "terrorist" organisation.

Russia’s Supreme Court, at a hearing held behind closed doors, granted a request from the Prosecutor General’s Office to designate the Anti-War Committee of Russia a “terrorist” organisation and ban its activities in the country. Judge Oleg Nefedov delivered the ruling. He had previously declared the non-existent "international LGBT movement" and "international Satanism movement" to be "extremist" and designated Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation a "terrorist" organisation. The committee was founded in February 2022 to oppose Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and its members include prominent exiled Kremlin critics such as Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Garry Kasparov, Dmitry Gudkov, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Yekaterina Shulman, and Viktor Shenderovich. The FSB had already opened a criminal case against all committee members last year, alleging involvement in a “terrorist community” and a seizure of power, citing their support for Ukraine, the 2023 Berlin Declaration condemning the war, and their work with a Russian democratic platform in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Previously, the group was also labelled “undesirable.”

1st March, Vedomosti

Putin expressed condolences over the death of Ali Khamenei.

Vladimir Putin sent his condolences to Iranian leader Masoud Pezeshkian following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his family. In his message, the head of state emphasised that the incident constitutes a gross violation of universal human principles and international law.

25th to 27th February, various sources

City halls across the Russian Federation have been denying permits for demonstrations against the Telegram block.

In Moscow, COVID restrictions were the reason, while in Novosibirsk, the application was rejected due to the application not being an organisation but by a citizen.

26th February, Vedomosti

Siluanov: The government is revising the budget rule for oil

The Russian government is dealing with the issue of tightening the budget rule in terms of the base oil cut-off price, said Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. "I think that we will consider and make such decisions quickly enough," he told reporters. The minister said that Russia is less focused on oil and gas revenues (NGD), and in 2026 their share will be less than 20%. At the same time, according to him, new ambitious goals have been set for the current year. From this year, the cut-off price for oil according to the budget rule will begin to systematically decrease by $1 per year and by 2030 will reach $55 per barrel.

26th February, Meduza

Denying the "genocide of the Soviet people" will soon carry a prison sentence of up to five years. What does that term even mean?

The new bill would criminalise publicly denying or insulting the memory of the so-called “genocide of the Soviet people,” but the deeper purpose of the concept is political rather than purely historical.  Citing historian Konstantin Pakhalyuk, the article argues that the idea is meant to answer recurring accusations that the USSR helped start World War II by recasting the Soviet people as not only Nazism’s main conqueror but also its main victim, and therefore not responsible for unleashing the war. Furthermore, this reading is backed by documents from the first case to address the issue, where prosecutors said that “distorting” World War II history and comparing Nazism with other regimes serves to shift blame onto modern Russia, something they portrayed as a threat to Russian national security, European cooperation, and international stability.

26th February, Current Time

Telegram will be completely blocked in Russia starting in April

Several media in Russia, citing sources close to the Kremlin and the telecom sector, reported that Russia plans to fully block Telegram in early April, with April 1 mentioned as the likely start date.  According to the report, the reasons discussed include alleged recruitment for illegal acts through Telegram, claims that foreign intelligence can access Telegram correspondence, and accusations that the platform supports bots used to obtain Russians’ personal data. At the same time, Roskomnadzor did not clearly confirm the report, and the move has been controversial because Telegram is widely used by Russian forces in Ukraine, prompting officials to say it may remain available for military use at the front.

26th February, RTVI

Russia will not extradite migrants fighting in military formations to other countries.

Russia’s State Duma has passed a law banning the extradition of foreign nationals and stateless people who have served or are serving under contract in the Russian armed forces or other military formations, if another country wants to prosecute them or enforce a sentence against them. The measure is part of a broader legislative package that also seeks to block deportation, administrative expulsion, and other forced-removal decisions against such people, with officials saying the goal is to protect them from what Russia calls unjustified criminal prosecution abroad for participating in the war. Lawmakers pointed to cases in which foreign citizens who fought on Russia’s side were later punished in their home countries, including examples from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

25th February, Novaya Gazeta

Scientist non grata. Andrei Lankov was expelled from Latvia and blacklisted.

North Korea expert Andrei Lankov was detained in Riga on February 24 shortly before a scheduled lecture, then expelled from Latvia after being placed on the country’s blacklist and banned from entry four days earlier.  Latvia’s Foreign Ministry later confirmed that Lankov had been declared persona non grata based on information from the country’s security services and under an immigration-law provision used against people seen as threats or as supporting violations of international law, including Russia’s war in Ukraine.  Lankov said he did not know the precise reason for the decision, suggested officials disliked his refusal to turn complex realities into a politically useful caricature, and said he did not plan to challenge the expulsion.

25th February, Meduza

Western analysts say Russia is on track to losing 50,000 soldiers a month. A Meduza investigation suggests those estimates are based on manipulated data.

Meduza argues that widely cited Western estimates of roughly 50,000 Russian losses per month are overstated because they rely on distorted open-source data rather than a real battlefield turning point. According to the investigation, Russia has been retroactively declaring large numbers of previously missing soldiers dead through court procedures, which makes many older deaths show up in databases as if they were new 2025 casualties. After adjusting for those reclassifications and for improved obituary-database coverage, Meduza estimates current Russian battlefield deaths at under 600 per day and total irreversible losses at about 27,000 per month, far below the headline figure.

23rd February, ECHO

Dispersal of "Bakshevskaya Maslyanitsya": Orthodox activists deny their involvement, z-bloggers are indignant

A police breakup of the long-running “Bakshevskaya Maslenitsa” festival near Moscow sparked backlash, after which the Orthodox activist group “Sorok Sorokov” said it did not ask authorities to cancel the event and only came after learning of the ban. However, prior posts from the group suggest its activists were present with police, and at least one person was detained after allegedly swearing during an exchange with a “Sorok Sorokov” representative. Pro-war bloggers condemned the situation as absurd and shameful, while “Sorok Sorokov” justified its attention by claiming the celebration may have included “pagan rites,” especially burning an effigy.

21st February, Novaya Gazeta

The court nationalised the KIMP bearing holding

The Gagarinsky Court of Moscow, at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office, seized a holding company for the production of KIMP bearings in favour of the state. "In the context of the armed conflict with Ukraine and the collective West, they devoted themselves to profit, betraying the vital interests of society and their state," the Prosecutor General's Office said earlier. Sounds a bit like the Soviet “revolutionary legality”.

20th February, ABNews

Roskomnadzor began to block the VLESS protocol in VPNs

Residents of several regions of Russia were cut off from the usual communication channels at once. Users from Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Volgograd and Primorye complained about failures in the functioning of VPN services. According to local media, technical problems were provoked by the actions of Roskomnadzor, which targeted the Xray/VLESS protocol. Network specialists quoted in the piece argue the protocol can’t be fully eliminated yet, so users should expect intermittent outages and slower speeds while they may need to switch tools and servers more often to keep access.

20th February, RG

The Museum of the History of the Gulag will become the Museum of Memory of the Victims of the Genocide of the People of the USSR

Moscow’s Gulag History Museum, which stopped operating in November 2024 after a fire-safety inspection, is set to be rebranded as the “Museum of Memory” focused on victims of what officials call the “genocide of the Soviet people” and Nazi war crimes during World War II, with reopening planned for 2026.  Reports say the new concept will draw on archival materials from the “Without Statute of Limitations” project and will include sections on manifestations of Nazism, trials of Nazi criminals, and evidence related to biological weapons testing, including digital features for preserving personal family histories.  Natalya Kalashnikova (previously head of the “Smolensk Fortress” museum) has been appointed director, while questions and controversy remain over what happens to the former repression-focused exhibition and the museum’s thousands of artefacts.

20th February, ECHO

Kyrgyzstan denied asylum to an activist from Donetsk. Russia demands his extradition

The Kyrgyz authorities have denied political asylum to an activist from Donetsk, Artyom Borodin, who has been in a pre-trial detention centre in Bishkek for six months under extradition arrest. His extradition is demanded by the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia - a case has been opened against Borodin for calls for extremism. Kyrgyzstan has not recognised Russia's annexation of the Donetsk region, but Borodin's arrest warrant relies on Russian regulations declaring the occupied territories part of the Russian Federation and the 2015 "law" of the separatist "DPR".

19th February, Current Time

The Russian general boasted to his wife of the ears cut off by the Ukrainians. These were not the only tortures that he was proud of

A joint investigation by RFE/RL’s “Schemes” and “Systema” says an archive of messages from 2022–2024 shows Major General of the Russian Federation Roman Demurchiev bragging to relatives and fellow officers about abusing and killing Ukrainian captives and desecrating bodies, including sending his wife a photo of severed ears. The material indicates senior commanders were aware of—and did not stop—such conduct, and they situate Demurchiev as a decorated, high-ranking officer who held major command roles during the invasion.

18th February, Insider

The International Memorial Association was recognised as an "undesirable organization"

On 17 February 2026, Russia’s Ministry of Justice added the International Memorial Association (“Memorial”) and several other foreign NGOs and media projects (including Zukunft Memorial e.V., the Henry Jackson Society, JICA, “Arctida,” and Georgia’s Civic IDEA) to the country’s list of “undesirable organisations.” According to Russian law, participation in the activities of an organisation recognised as "undesirable" first entails administrative liability, and in the event of repeated prosecution, criminal liability. At the same time, financing such an organisation or collecting funds for it, as well as organising its activities, constitutes a criminal offence immediately, without prior administrative punishment.

18th February, Agenstvo

The State Duma unanimously voted to introduce “prevention” of “an incorrect understanding of the history of Russia.” It will be handled by the security services.

On 18 February 2026, Russia’s State Duma unanimously approved in first reading amendments to the 2016 “prevention of offences” law, adding “prevention/suppression of evasion of the duty to defend the Fatherland” and “countering distortion of historical truth” to the list of areas covered by preventive measures. Sponsors say this would empower security and law-enforcement bodies to act earlier via warnings, “preventive conversations,” legal education, and possible preventive supervision of people previously convicted under relevant articles (including “rehabilitation of Nazism,” insulting veterans, or evading military service), arguing that a “hybrid war” fosters “incorrect” views of Russia’s history.  During the debate, some deputies questioned how police can objectively judge contested historical issues, while critics warn the measure could broaden enforcement around “memory” laws and be used for political pressure.

16th February, SOTA

The 14th Free Russia Forum opened in Vilnius today

The forum coordinates the efforts of the Russian opposition and plans further actions to counter the Russian Federation’s regime. It has brought together various political forces to discuss key issues related to political activity in exile. For the first time, RVC is present.

14th February, Meduza

The Russian Federation authorities continue to break Telegram and WhatsApp

In the past few days, starting on February 9, the Russian authorities have resumed active attempts to break popular foreign Internet services and make them completely unavailable in the country. Telegram worked intermittently, and YouTube and WhatsApp were under the threat of complete blocking. Around the same time, outlets reported that YouTube, WhatsApp and other domains were removed from Russia’s National Domain Name System records, a move framed as a step toward tougher blocks. At the same time, the restriction of foreign messengers threatens not only communication between users. For example, Telegram is a whole ecosystem with information and entertainment channels, mini applications, its own cryptocurrency and much more.

13th February, Mediazona

The head of the Magnitogorsk Centre "E" (Centre for Combating Extremism) was detained in the case of selling personal data from the database of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to an acquaintance

In the Chelyabinsk region, FSB officers detained police lieutenant colonel Ilya Afonasenko, who heads the interdistrict branch of the Centre "E"(Centre for Combating Extremism) located in Magnitogorsk. Afonasenko is suspected of abuse of office (Part 3 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code). According to the investigation, in March and April 2025, the head of the Magnitogorsk Centre "E", on a "systematic basis”, was selling personal data from a state database about a specific person to an acquaintance for money.

11th February, Novaya Gazeta

The Kazakh authorities have agreed to extradite Yulia Emelyanova, a former activist of Navalny's headquarters, to Russia. Formally, she is accused of stealing a phone

Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor General approved Russia’s request to extradite St Petersburg activist and former Navalny volunteer Yuliya Emelyanova, who has been held in a detention centre.
Russia formally accuses her of stealing a taxi driver’s mobile phone worth about 12,000 Rubles.  Emelyanova and human-rights advocates say the case is fabricated and tied to her political activity. Her lawyer and support groups say the extradition order was issued without proper notification and before Kazakhstan finished considering her asylum request, which they call a procedural violation.

10th February, Kommersant

Films without distribution certificates will be checked on complaints to the Ministry of Culture

From 1 March 2026, Russia’s Ministry of Culture will start checking online films and series that lack distribution certificates for possible “discrediting” of traditional spiritual values. Reviews will be triggered by any citizen’s complaint and assessed via an expert mechanism. If violations are found, the ministry will send its conclusion to Roskomnadzor, which can require platforms to restrict access within 24 hours, preferably by deletion. Separately, a Duma committee backed amendments introducing administrative fines for distributing this kind of content up to 3 million Rubles after 1 March 2026, with the possibility of avoiding penalties by promptly deleting content after Roskomnadzor’s demand.

9th February, OVD-Info

A resident of the Murmansk region was fined under the article on discrediting the army because of likes on YouTube

A court in the Murmansk region fined 72-year-old Vasiliy Yovdiy 30,000 Rubles under the administrative article on “discrediting” the Russian army, for liking videos on YouTube, the first known case of this kind. According to the reports, FSB border officials gained access to his phone and found “liked” videos; the court treated his likes as a public “approval reaction,” including under videos linked to people labelled “foreign agents” and one about the killing of General Igor Kirillov. Lawyers and commentators note the contradiction that YouTube likes are generally not visible to other users and criticise the ruling as poorly reasoned and procedurally dubious.

6th February, Meduza

St. Petersburg scientist Alexey Dudarev was accused of treason for publishing scientific journals that "may have been read by Norwegian intelligence."

In St. Petersburg, scientist Alexei Dudarev, a Doctor of Medical Sciences and chief researcher at the Northwestern Scientific Centre for Hygiene and Public Health of Rospotrebnadzor, has been arrested on treason charges. The basis for the scientist's criminal prosecution was Dudarev's publications in open international scientific journals of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP). The programme operates within the framework of the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum of which Russia is a member. Investigators claim that information from the scientific publications could have been accessed and used by Norwegian intelligence.

6th February, Meduza

Comedian Nurlan Saburov was banned from entering Russia because of his unwillingness to cooperate with the FSB.

The ban on Nurlan Saburov's entry into Russia was initiated by the Service for the Protection of the Constitutional Order and the Fight against Terrorism of the FSB (Second Service) and its head, Alexei Zhalo, Important Stories reports. According to an acquaintance of the comedian, Saburov was summoned several times to the FSB building on Lubyanka, forced to cooperate, but he neither consented nor refused and "tried to freeze." As a result, the comedian, who holds Kazakh citizenship, was denied a residence permit in Russia three times, the journalist's interlocutor said. The source added that the last time Saburov was summoned to the FSB was in 2025, when he was given a choice: either sign a contract with the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and go to the front for a year or leave Russia. On February 6, Nurlan Saburov was banned from entering Russia for 50 years.

3rd February, TASS

36 thousand citizens of Tajikistan were deported from Russia in 2025

About 36 thousand citizens of Tajikistan were deported from Russia in 2025. The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection reported that more than 124,000 Tajik citizens were added to Russia's registry of controlled persons (people who have overstayed their legal status), 68,000 of whom were removed from the list, and over 38,000 Tajiks legalised their status in Russia. The registry of controlled persons was created on February 5, 2025, and is maintained on the official website of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and on the Unified Portal of State and Municipal Services.

2nd February, Vedomosti

Scientists have been asked to "carefully evaluate" missions to unfriendly countries.

After the December arrest of archaeologist Alexander Butyagin in Poland, at the request of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia recommended that universities and research institutes, when invited to events in "unfriendly" countries, evaluate them for possible politicisation of the agenda, and, if necessary, contact the department. The government list of "unfriendly" countries includes 49 countries, mainly the states of the European Union (EU), the G7 and three East Asian countries (Singapore, the Republic of Korea, and Japan). According to Vedomosti's interlocutor in the academic environment, several scientists at one of the federal universities were frozen on planned foreign business trips for the spring of 2026 even before the letter from the Ministry of Education and Science was sent out. Other interviewees say this further complicates already-reduced scientific exchange and is nudging travel toward “friendly” destinations such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia, with trips to Iran also rising.

2nd February, MoskvichMag

Soon, the "young people" of Afghanistan will be clearing snow from our (Moscow) yards.

Recently, the import of workers from India has been actively discussed. Migrants from Afghanistan could be another option. According to the ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in Moscow, Gul Hassan, negotiations are at an advanced stage. The negotiations have taken place, and "there is reason to expect positive results." Hassan says that Afghanistan has a young population, and the authorities are interested in sending them to places with a shortage of workers. So far, neither specific figures nor deadlines have been named. However, the direction of work is clearly indicated. At the end of 2024, the authorities estimated the shortage of highly qualified specialists in our country at 1.5 million people, primarily in construction, transport and housing and communal services. By 2030, according to the Ministry of Labour's forecasts, this figure may rise to 3.1 million. The current situation in Afghanistan makes the issue of selection extremely problematic: Afghan passports are now issued to "a variety of people", not always ethnic Afghans, and control over this process is in the hands of the Taliban. As a result, "anyone" can theoretically come to Russia under the guise of workers, from random people to militants with experience in conflicts in Syria. The Russian Federation currently lacks the tools to screen these migrants fully.

30th January, Meduza

For the first time, the platform of the Russian opposition at PACE gathered in Strasbourg

On January 29, 2026, Strasbourg hosted the first meeting of a new platform of Russian democratic forces under PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe), with 15 approved members, including Garry Kasparov, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Lyubov Sobol, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, among others. Participants have agreed on basic procedures and said their priorities include supporting political prisoners and protecting the practical rights of anti-war Russians abroad, while also urging Europe to help Ukraine. The debut also highlighted ongoing frictions over the next year procedure and produced a viral moment when Kara-Murza dismissed a reporter from SOTA with the insult.

30th January, TVRain

A teenager kills a Roskomnadzor employee in Moscow, and state media is banned from writing about it

On January 19, a 16-year-old teenager killed 42-year-old Alexei Belyaev, an employee of the department, in the building of Roskomnadzor in Moscow, according to the anonymous telegram channel "Cheka-OGPU". According to the channel, the schoolboy stabbed Belyaev in the chest when he was leaving the office. The authors of the Cheka-OGPU learned about the incident by accident, noticing a woman on social media seeking a lawyer for her son. She allegedly has a resolution stating that the teenager is charged with murder motivated by political hatred (paragraph "l" of part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code). According to the woman, the investigation calls the child "an ardent opponent of the activities of Roskomnadzor." Later, she deleted the post. Channel contributors then found information about the schoolboy, who ran a YouTube channel and was fond of games and animation. The school said that the teenager stopped attending classes. The Agency notes that Belyaev's Tax Identification Number was invalidated on January 19, that is, on the day of the alleged murder.  Meduza, citing sources, writes that media loyal to the Kremlin were advised not to publish information about the murder of Belyaev.

30th January, RBC

Prosecutor's Office asks U.S. to dismiss $225 billion in Tsarist debt against Russia

The Prosecutor General's Office demanded that the lawsuit of the American investment fund Noble Capital, which wants to recover $225 billion from Russia on imperial bonds. The Russian side does not admit responsibility for the securities of 1916. Noble Capital RSD filed a lawsuit in a U.S. court for the District of Columbia in June 2025. The fund demanded that Russia fulfil its obligations on bonds for $ 25 million, issued with a coupon of 5.5%, which were sold to American private investors in 1916. The law firm Marks & Sokolov, representing Russian interests in this case, stressed that neither the USSR nor Russia had ever admitted their responsibility for the bonds in accordance with established international law. Once again, the only viable historical continuation the Russian Federation has is with the USSR.

29th January, Insider

11 Russian universities will withdraw from the Bologna process

From September 1 of this year, additional universities in the Russian Federation will cancel the "bachelor" and "master" formats; instead, basic and specialised higher education will be introduced. The transition away from the Bologna system began in 2022 with a pilot in six universities, and the new model will now be tested in 11 additional institutions. In May 2022, State Duma Deputy Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy said that it was time for Russia to abandon the Bologna system and return to the "traditional Russian education system" so as not to "suffer an ideological defeat" and not to "lose our schoolchildren and citizens."

28th January, Garant

Operators will be obliged to turn off communications and mobile Internet at the request of the FSB of Russia

The deputies adopted in the first reading a bill that provides for the obligation of providers to stop providing communication services, including mobile Internet, at the request of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. Parliamentarians propose to supplement Article 44 of Law No 126-FZ with a new paragraph. According to it, operators will be exempt from liability for non-fulfilment or improper fulfilment of their obligations to the client if this is related to the fulfilment of the requirements of the federal security service.

28th January, Meduza

"Now I am a bum." The apartment of track and field athlete Daria Klishina was given to the military

Russian track and field athlete Daria Klishina said that her one-room apartment in Tver, which the authorities gave her in 2011, was taken away from her. "As they gave it, so they took it away," she said in an interview with Vita Kravchenko. She was discharged from the apartment in 2025. The keys to the apartment were handed over to a military man whom Klishina does not know. It was justified by the state due to Daria not being a member of a national team.

26th January, Meduza

The Kremlin said that 250 thousand Russians who returned from the war do not work anywhere. "On a call from above", media reports about this were edited

At the end of December 2025, the head of the presidential department for public projects, Sergei Novikov, said that 250 thousand soldiers who returned from the front were not employed anywhere. "We have a fairly large grey zone - these are tens of thousands of people who... did not find a job. They returned, do not work, or spend the money they received, or make a living in another way... And in general, 250 thousand people... did not find a job anywhere... We must, of course, do this," a senior Kremlin official said. RIA Novosti published his quote on December 23 in the news with the headline "About 250 thousand veterans NWO remain unemployed, Novikov said." But soon the publication was changed, removing the mention of 250 thousand unemployed from the text and headline. Now the news is talking about "tens of thousands" of soldiers out of work.

26th January, Kommersant

The government supported the introduction of liability for denying the genocide of the Soviet people

The Government Commission on Legislative Activity supported the initiative to introduce criminal liability for denying the fact of genocide of the Soviet people and insulting the memory of its victims. An amendment is made to the article on the rehabilitation of Nazism (Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code). The same bill introduces criminal liability (in Article 243.4 of the Criminal Code) for the destruction or damage of monuments and other memorial structures perpetuating the memory of the victims of genocide, as well as for the desecration of their burials. Under the article on the rehabilitation of Nazism, which also appeals to the conclusions of the Nuremberg Tribunal, the maximum punishment is three years in prison or a fine of 3 million Rubles. Will it spread to statements that could be interpreted as denigration of the Soviet people in the future?

26th January, Meduza

Russia has been using Interpol mechanisms for years to persecute its critics abroad. At the request of Moscow, they are put on the wanted list. The Russian Federation can find out where they go.

Russia uses lists of people wanted by Interpol to seek the arrest of political opponents, businessmen and journalists, and the organisation's messaging system to monitor critics of the Russian authorities abroad, the BBC and the French investigative project Disclose found out. The leaked files also indicate Russia uses Interpol’s secure messaging channels to request information and sometimes obtain details on targets’ movements, effectively enabling monitoring of critics outside the country. Over the past 11 years, the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files reportedly received more complaints about Russia than any other country: about 700 people complained, and around 400 succeeded in getting Russian notices cancelled. One highlighted case is Igor Pestrikov, an ex-co-owner of Solikamsk Magnesium Plant, who said being listed for two years harmed his ability to rent housing and access banking until the oversight body ruled the request largely political. While Interpol says it increased scrutiny after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, internal reports cited in the leak suggest ~90% of Russian requests still passed initial screening in 2024, alongside discussions in 2024–2025 about easing some extra restrictions on Russia.

23rd January, Istories

A deserter who survived a torture cellar and fled the front three times was denied asylum in Germany.

Georgy, a Russian conscript who fled the front three times, was placed in a basement for "refuseniks" in the village of Zaitsevo, and is wanted in Russia for desertion, has been denied asylum in Germany. Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) justified the refusal by claiming that mobilisation in Russia had supposedly been completed in October 2022, as Sergei Shoigu reported to Vladimir Putin at the time. BAMF employee also doubted the existence of torture cellars where Russian military personnel are illegally held and decided that deserter Georgy and his family would face no consequences upon returning to Russia other than a fine of 30,000 Rubles for evading a summons. According to Georgiy, German authorities initially refused to consider his case because he entered via Croatia, where he had already applied for asylum.

23rd January, Vedomosti

The total fertility rate continued to decline in 2025

Rosstat data cited by Vedomosti show Russia’s total fertility rate fell to 1.374 as of December 2025 (from 1.4 in 2024), staying around 1.37–1.39 during 2025. The article highlights sharp regional gaps: the rate was above 2 in Chechnya, Yamalo-Nenets AO, and Tuva, while among the lowest were Leningrad, Smolensk, and Vladimir oblasts; it also notes a decline in the indicator for third and subsequent births to 0.362. Experts argue that the effectiveness of pro-natalist policies depends on stronger, more up-to-date support for families—especially large families—and on more uniform implementation across regions, ideally without means-testing, with some measures folded into the national project “Family” (2025–2030).

23rd January, Kommersant

United and collective

At the “Znanie. Gosudarstvo” forum, Kremlin official Alexander Kharichev delivered a programme talk presenting the “pentabasis” model (person–society–family–country–state) as a framework for defining Russia’s direction. He contrasted Russia’s “sovereign traditionalism” with Western “liberal globalism” and said that research into a “civilizational code” shows that top-rated values include collectivism, service to the fatherland, and the unity of peoples, with rights and freedoms rated much lower. Kharichev also outlined five “polar vectors” (e.g., rationalism–idealism, individualism–collectivism, negative vs “positive” freedom) and linked policy responses to perceived threats ranging from “childfree” ideas and distrust of institutions to consumerism, virtual retreat, and transhumanism. According to him, the vision of an ideal Russia has five options: Great, Comfortable, Just, Modern, and Land of opportunity, which the administration hopes to unite into one vision, where a citizen is a proactive participant.

22nd January, Port Media

Russians have become the fifth-largest diaspora in the world.

The UN has published global migration data for 2024. According to the organisation, over 9.1 million Russian citizens were living outside of Russia in 2024. Also in the top are Ukraine (9.769 million emigrants), Mexico (11.596 million), China (11.701 million), and India (18.533 million). The 2022 report had 10.65 million Russians emigres and was ranked third. A clear indicator that sanctions and other restrictions did not cause ‘brain drain’ and instead buttressed the Russian Federation.

20th January, Meduza

A schoolgirl who posted a photo of RVC fighters on a school bulletin board was sentenced to four years in prison.

The First Western District Military Court in St. Petersburg sentenced 17-year-old schoolgirl Eva Bagrova to four years in prison for posting photographs of members of the Russian Volunteer Corps at school. The verdict was handed down in October 2025 but was previously unknown. Bagrova was found guilty of justifying terrorism (Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code) and aiding terrorist activity (Article 205.1 of the Russian Criminal Code).

19th January, RBC

Patriarch Kirill called Putin an Orthodox leader.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia called Russian President Vladimir Putin an Orthodox leader. He made the statement during his Epiphany sermon at the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow. “We have reached a time when the head of our state is a truly Orthodox leader, not, as they say, by protocol, but by conviction, Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin],” the patriarch said after the liturgy. According to him, this indicates that “through the prayers of the holy saints” a “miracle of God” occurred.

15th January, Kommersant

Deputies will not let Russia “cheburakh” (tumble)

The State Duma Committee on Culture decided to hold a meeting on the state of Russian cinema. sparked by a bill that would give the Ministry of Culture the power to set “priority themes” for films seeking state funding. At the committee session, MPs complained about the alleged insider distribution of subsidies and “undesirable” filmmakers, criticised commercially successful fairy-tale franchises like Cheburashka and The Bremen Town Musicians for lacking the right message and values. They even floated the idea of letting the ministry intervene directly in the creative process. They are starting to intervene in non-political art, in a step from authoritarian to totalitarian.

15th January, Novaya Gazeta Europe

A political prisoner from the Omsk region died in a colony almost a year ago. The Federal Penitentiary Service reported this to an activist who was in correspondence with him

Roman Tyurin, a political prisoner from the Omsk region, who was convicted four times for posts on social networks, died in a colony almost a year ago, on February 17, 2025, Memorial reported. Human rights activists managed to find out about the death of the political prisoner when the activist, who was in correspondence with Tyurin, returned an unopened envelope with her letter. In February 2024, Tyurin was sentenced to four years in prison in a terrorism case (Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code). In the same month, the full namesake of the political prisoner was included in the register of extremists and terrorists of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service. In May of the same year, the term was increased to six years after the second sentence, in the case of military "fakes". In October 2024, the political prisoner was found guilty under the article on repeated discrediting of the Russian army (Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code), and in November, under the articles on calls for activities against the security of Russia (Article 280.4 of the Criminal Code) and repeated demonstration of prohibited symbols (Article 282.4 of the Criminal Code).On the aggregate of four sentences, the term of imprisonment for Tyurin reached six and a half years. Who else among political prisoners in Russia is already dead?

13th January, RBC

The court fined comedian Gudkov for the parody song "I am narrow"

A court in Krasnogorsk punished comedian Alexander Gudkov with a fine for parodying a song by singer Yaroslav Dronov (SHAMAN). Gudkov was found guilty under Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences - incitement to hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity and was sentenced to an administrative fine of 11 thousand Rubles. "The court found that Gudkov A.V. posted a video on the social network "VKontakte" with the name "Alexander Gudkov - I am narrow", using the arrangement of the song "I am Russian", performed by the singer under the pseudonym SHAMAN, changed the lyrics of the song, using the phrase "I am narrow," the press service of the courts of general jurisdiction of the Moscow region said in a statement. (In the Russian language, words ‘narrow’ and ‘Russian’ do rhyme, hence the song parody) A psychological and linguistic study showed that the video recording contains actions aimed at humiliating the dignity of "a person and a group of persons based on origin." Since the video recording is available to an unlimited number of people, these actions are also public on the Internet. Seems that SHAMAN has become a protected image now, not allowed of parody.

12th January, Current Time

Gazprom-Media has invested hundreds of millions of Rubles in a system for searching for LGBT "propaganda" and drugs in films and TV series

Gazprom-Media Holding has invested several hundred million Rubles in the Predicto Platform module complex, one of the systems of which is designed to automatically check video content for the presence of "undesirable elements" - "propaganda" of drugs, alcohol, smoking, and LGBT people. After processing the video in this program, it returns a file with colour marking for the presence or absence of "signs" of smoking, alcohol, drugs, and LGBT people. The platform itself consists of 12 modules. In addition to the content verification module, as noted, it includes modules for content personalisation, user activity analysis, a recommendation system, search, and analytical systems. With more extremist monitoring being assigned to the AI, human personnel are focusing on a wider share of the population.

12th January, Kommersant

Gazprom's supplies to China exceeded exports to Europe for the first time in 2025

According to preliminary data, 38.8 billion cubic meters of gas were exported to China through the Power of Siberia gas pipeline, 24.8% increase compared to 2024. At the same time, Gazprom continued to supply to the near abroad. In 2025, exports to Central Asia and Transcaucasia increased: Russian gas supplies to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan increased by 22.2%, and to Georgia by 40.4%. Another milestone in the economic shift.

11th January, URA.ru

Rossiyane/Russovians can lose their property after owing just 3,000 Rubles.

Bailiffs can seize property if the debt exceeds three thousand Rubles, Vladimir Gureev, chairman of the public council of the Federal Bailiff Service of Russia, has announced. "Current enforcement legislation allows for the seizure of a debtor's property for debts exceeding 3,000 Rubles (£28/€32/$38). Accordingly, foreclosure, generally, is possible starting from this amount," he said. Gureev noted that the debtor retains the opportunity to repay the debt voluntarily at any time, and if the seized property has not been sold within the framework of enforcement proceedings by that time, it will be returned to the debtor. A convenient method to take away the property of ‘foreign agents’ and those with frozen bank accounts.

8th January, Novaya Gazeta

The body of Russian journalist Yevgeny Safronov was found near Paris. Police are investigating the suicide, and media reports claim he may have received death threats.

On the morning of January 6, a 38-year-old Russian journalist was found dead in a Paris suburb, Le Figaro reports, citing a police source. The man's body was discovered beneath the windows of his apartment. Safronov left Russia before 2022, after the media outlet he worked for was designated a "foreign agent." At the end of 2024, Safronov "experienced a difficult and, as he claimed, unfair dismissal."  Yevgeny was reported to have been very depressed a week before the body was found, being crestfallen by the hacking of his accounts a week prior.  "During our last call, we were discussing the hacking of his accounts, and he still couldn't quite tell me what happened or how it happened. He was really depressed, totally on edge, and said he wanted to hang himself. "

7th January, TASS

Patriarch Kirill explained who is considered a traitor to the Motherland.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' called those who fall outside the public consensus traitors to the Motherland. According to the patriarch, there must be a public consensus around the idea of ​​the state's existence. "If someone falls outside this consensus, then there is the definition: 'traitor to the homeland, with all the legal consequences that entail ', " the cleric said. Regarding the issues that citizens should focus on, he cited spiritual and moral aspects and security, “inherent in human moral nature.”

6th January, Delfi

Volkov regrets writing a message about Kapustin, the RVC, and Ukrainian officials. 

After controversial statements about Ukrainian officials made by Lithuania-based Russian opposition figure Leonid Volkov surfaced publicly, he admitted that he regretted his words. “I regret writing that message. It was a stupid, incorrect, and harshly emotional message that should not have been written,” Volkov told the portal on Tuesday.

“I was deeply outraged by the story of many Russians glorifying D. Kapustin as a hero. Someone wrote, ‘All hope is lost.’ ‘This is the real Russian opposition.’ ‘He’s fighting the right way, and everyone else is fighting the wrong way.’ This offends me. I do not like neo-Nazis. I believe that supporting them or collaborating with them is wrong, because they are evil, and fighting evil with evil is not the best idea,” he explained.

In late December, following reports of the alleged death of Denis Kapustin—the leader of the Russian Volunteer Corps—Volkov called him a Nazi in a letter and celebrated his “denazification.” On Monday evening, Volkov confirmed his words but clarified that the letter was personal and therefore emotional. After learning of Volkov’s letter, the Migration Department intends to decide whether he will be allowed to continue residing in Lithuania. Following a strong statement from Lithuania’s prime minister, Volkov may have to change his country of residence. This may signal a shift in the balance of power within the Russian opposition.

5th January, Mediazona

Hopping from one Wi-Fi hotspot to the next: Regions with internet "white lists"

Since May 2025, mass mobile internet shutdowns have been sweeping across Russia. The authorities claim this is necessary to defend against Ukrainian drones, yet the restrictions affect regions far from the front lines. In early August, the Kremlin announced that during these mobile blackouts, only specific, state-approved services would remain accessible. They are included in the so-called “whitelists.” Mobile internet shutdowns leave people unable to use everyday services like taxis, navigation, messaging, and many payment systems, forcing them to hunt for Wi-Fi and carry cash. Authorities and operators increasingly rely on “whitelists,” where only selected, approved apps keep working, pushing people toward those platforms, and narrowing what information and services remain accessible. The outages also raise personal safety risks and anxiety because people cannot reliably contact others or get help when they need it.

2nd January, RBC

Russia's richest businessmen earned nearly $32.8 billion in 2025.

The total fortune of the richest Russian businessmen increased by $32.8 billion in 2025, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. As of Friday, January 2, 20 Russians were included in the billionaire ranking. According to the ranking, Alisher Usmanov, the founder of the USM holding, showed the greatest growth among Russian businessmen. His fortune increased by $6.04 billion to $19.3 billion, followed by the founder of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC), Iskander Makhmudov, whose fortune increased by $4.75 billion to $7.88 billion. A reminder that, if one of the sanctions goals was to put elites against the state, that goal has failed.

1st January, Novaya Gazeta

RDK leader Denis Kapustin is alive.

Denis Kapustin, the founder of the Russian Volunteer Corps, was not killed, as previously reported. This information was disseminated to cover up a Ukrainian intelligence operation to save his life. This was reported by Ukrainian intelligence agencies. According to the Main Intelligence Directorate, the murder of Denis Kapustin was ordered by Russian intelligence agencies, and half a million dollars was allocated for its implementation.28th April, Gazeta.ru