Weekly Newsletter
21st June, RBC
Vorobyov spoke about the experiment with migrants without the Russian language
The Moscow Region is participating in an experiment to invite labour migrants from visa countries, such as China and Vietnam, including those who do not know Russian, Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said. “Companies will be able to invite labour resources without knowledge of the Russian language, because, in fact, they do not need it there. And this will very significantly solve the issue of labour shortages.” The shortage of qualified personnel in Russia is about 1.5 million people, and Russia is becoming less concerned with integration capacities, focusing on short-term economic stabilisation.
19th June, Moskvich Mag
Zakhar Prilepin will head the new theatre of modern patriotic drama in Moscow
Following Putin’s order to create a theatre that would address contemporary issues that including the current military conflict, a director position has been filled. Zakhar Prilepin, former National-Bolshevik and current co-chairman of the parliament party ‘Just Russia-For Truth’, has agreed to lead the new theatre. Having personally participated in a war in Ukraine, including before the full-scale invasion, Zakhar’s management is what the Kremlin wants the Russian theatre to be.
19th June, Realnoye Vremya
Zakhar Prilepin: Putin asked Medinsky to "sort out" the writers
Prilepin said that it was Vladimir Putin who instructed Vladimir Medinsky to sort out what is happening in Russia’s book industry, just as the state organised cinema and theatre before. Medinsky called the new appointment "not a privilege, but hard work and a burden." He also noted that after the collapse of the USSR, the state practically withdrew from the book industry. Now that Medinsky has headed the Union of Writers of Russia, the association will participate in the formation of the book market, "cleanse stores of low-quality reading material”, and promote state interests.
17th June, RIA Novosti
The State Duma adopted a law to toughen the punishment for inciting hatred
Article 282 of the Criminal Code of Russia has been strengthened, leaving less chance to those the Kremlin deems “extremists”. Previously, criminal liability for this crime occurred when it was committed within a year after being brought to administrative responsibility. The amended law introduces criminal liability for a single act aimed at inciting hatred or enmity, as well as humiliating human dignity, associated with the justification or approval of the use of violence or the threat of its use. It also adds a new qualifying crime sign - "commission of a crime by a group of persons or a group of persons by prior conspiracy." Now, every post on the Internet may result in a prison term if deemed offensive by the state.
https://ria.ru/20250617/gosduma-2023332090.html
14th June, Caucasian Knot
Orthodox activists make peace with Alaudinov
Following the emergence of a conflict between activists from the ‘Russian community’ and the head of the Chechen special forces, Alaudinov, another Russian Orthodox loyalist organisation, ‘Sorok Sorokov,’ met with Alaudinov, seemingly making peace. It is as if the Kremlin finally gave a hidden signal for the two groups to cease hostilities immediately. Then, sending a second Russian loyalist organisation seemed more plausible.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/412230
12th June, Interfax
Putin sees the meaning of Russia Day in the immortality of the Russian people
During the presidential address for the Russia Day, Vladimir Putin said the following: "I would like to end our meeting where I started, and with what we talked about with the writer Alexander Prokhanov. Indeed, today's meaning is the immortality of the Russian people, all the peoples of our multinational country and our state, our motherland - Russia. And the path to this immortality lies through the victories that you and your comrades-in-arms are laid," At the same time, Vladimir Putin noted that "the path to this immortality" lies through the victories of Russian servicemen. He invited those present at the meeting to shout a military "hurrah" in honour of those who are now on the line of contact. So that they could hear this greeting from the Kremlin itself, the head of state explained. Earlier that day, Vladimir Putin awarded the Heroes of Labour. Among them was the writer, Alexander Prokhanov. This award is a reminder that Prokanov’s recent TV documentary film was no accident. For Putin Russian nationalism means solely actions that serve the state, which he is the head of.
https://www.interfax.ru/russia/1030984
12th June, TASS
Putin admitted that he was surprised by the idea of the past that archaeology gives
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he learned from archaeologist, academic Valentin Yanin, about how deeply archaeological finds can penetrate the intricacies of the life of people of the past. Following those discoveries, the President said that Russia was originally formed as a multinational state, and the common interests of the country have always inspired its people. Putin never sees Russia as a nation-state, even at its historical beginnings.
https://tass.ru/obschestvo/24204551
8th June, Caucasian Knot
Demand to bring Apti Alaudinov to responsibility voiced before the religious procession in Moscow.
‘Russian community’ also managed to comment on Schema-Hegumen Gabriel’s firing and call to fire Alaudinov. The article suggests that Alaudinov made a statement that resulted in Garbiel’s dismissal after Chechen forces attempted to kidnap a person in Moscow.
https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/412048
7th June, Baza
Moscow police dispatched on alert to the Nekrasovka district
According to sources, the reason was a gathering of young people (reportedly members of the "Russian Community") who assembled to "patrol the area." At present, around 200 people have gathered in the district.
Update: According to preliminary information, the young people have dispersed. Police buses remain on standby at the scene.
The state has borders of cooperation with state-affiliated nationalists.
6th June, regional newspapers
Kurban Bayram/ Eid-al Adha in Oryol and Kaliningrad
Last week saw Russia saw a celebration of Kurban Bayram or Eid al-Adha. Those holidays have become a major visual indicator of the changing demography and the rise in migrant workers from Central Asia, in all major cities of Russia, not just Moscow and St. Petersburg. While the monthly newsletter focused on the area to the east, this newsletter is focusing on the western area, cities of Oryol and Kaliningrad.
https://newsorel.ru/fn_1676476.html
6th June, RBC
Monastery head removed from post after words about "wrong religion"
The Valaam Monastery removed Schema-Hegumen Gabriel from office after he said that Muslims were capable of "slaughtering Muscovites on the orders of the mullah." The priest's removal from his post was reported by the monastery press service on the Telegram channel. Attention was drawn to the sermon by the deputy head of the main military-political department of the Ministry of Defence, Lieutenant General Apti Alaudinov. He called the schema-hegumen "a representative of the troops of the Antichrist," and his words were "provocative stuffing." "I have a question: is it necessary for someone to go, break the law and do something to prevent such morons from saying such things? Why are they not subject to criminal measures? Why are no criminal cases initiated? Why <... > at least an official apology is not made?" asked Alaudinov.
https://www.rbc.ru/society/06/06/2025/684340e99a79470600c6358f
5th June, Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia
Statement of the Synod of Bishops on the Return of Twentieth-Century Ideological Approaches in Russia
The Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) has released a statement that critiques both the Kremlin and the Russian Patriarchate for following a ‘dangerous path’ that ROCOR disagrees with. One of the conditions behind the re-unification of ROCOR with the Moscow Patriarchate was recognition of the martyrdom of those who suffered during Soviet rule. Now that the government of Russia is proceeding with quiet de-rehabilitation of many martyrs, re-installation of monuments to Stalin and Dzerzhinsky, who were responsible for the deaths of those martyrs. Furthermore, a member of the Patriarchal Council openly said that we wish to personally shoot the last emperor, Nicholas II. If the situation remains the same, ROCOR may attempt to secede.
https://synod.com/synod/2025/20250605_synodstatement.html
May 28th, Newsru
Members of the "Russian Community/Russkaya Obschina" threatened their colleague with rape.
In the city of Kovrov, Vladimir region, three members of the local branch of the Russian Community movement took their 18-year-old colleague with a bag on his head to the forest, beat him and threatened him with rape, the Potok Telegram channel reports. Victim was threatened with rape with a rubber truncheon and murder. After three hours of torture, the men retreated from the scene of the crime. He got home on his own, after which he went to the hospital with numerous injuries. The police are conducting a check. One of the aggressors was detained, others are being sought. Every day, the police are given more and more reasons to go after the organisation when it is deemed a liability. For now, they continue to cooperate in migrant raids.
https://news.ru/criminal/chleny-russkoj-obshiny-ugrozhali-soratniku-iznasilovaniem
May 27th, Moscow Times
"Brain drain" from Russia has set a 25-year record
According to a study by Andrey Lovakov from the German Center for Research in Higher Education and Science, between 2022 and 2024, Russia annually lost about 0.8% of active researchers in the Scopus database of scientists (in total, it had 856,853 profiles of authors with a Russian address). The number is comparable to 2000, following the turbulent 1990s. The greatest losses are observed in physics, astronomy, computer science and mathematics – areas that are traditionally strong in Russian science. "The unprecedented outflow of scientific personnel from Russia will have short-term and long-term consequences, both for the Russian academic system and the global scientific community," Lovakov's study says. The situation is significant given that the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences has to downplay the brain drain.
May 21st 2025, Kommersant
Minister of Justice: protection of moral values should be exempted from criminal charges
Russia’s Minister of Justice Konstantin Chuychenko made a statement that aims to add morals as a legal justification for reduced or even excused actions, ultimately undermining the legal system in the long run in case that proposal would be accepted.
"And if he defended moral values? No one has any questions, for example, nationalists have just entered the Kursk region, many local residents defended their loved ones, their property and, of course, killed. No one has a question about how legitimate it is?" said Mr. Chuychenko at a session of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.
As an example, he cited a case when a man received a real sentence for the murder of a person who tried to rape a child. "Morality must be embodied in law," the minister concluded.
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/7737339
May 17th 2025, Interfax
Citizens of Abkhazia and South Ossetia will be able to obtain Russian citizenship under a simplified scheme
Citizens of Abkhazia and South Ossetia can apply for citizenship of the Russian Federation without complying with such requirements as permanent residence in the territory of the Russian Federation for five years, knowledge of the Russian language, knowledge of the history of Russia and the basics of the legislation of the Russian Federation (these requirements are provided for by paragraphs 1-3 of part 1 of Article 15 of the Federal Law "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation").
Russia is continuing to attract migrants without the need to check even their language knowledge. Everyone born in the territory of the former Soviet Union is eligible for a faster path to citizenship, even in partially recognised states, and the decree demonstrates that.
https://www.interfax.ru/russia/1026169
May 16th 2025, Vedomosti
VTsIOM/VCIOM has identified four demographic scenarios in Russia by 2036
The Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) has outlined 4 basic scenarios of demography in Russia for 2036, a year when Putin’s presidential term is currently expected to end. The current situation is classified as ‘autumn’ as fertility and migration are decreasing. ‘Winter’ is a continuation of existing trends with immigration ending. ‘Thaw’ involves a focus on demography and an increase in fertility because of maternity capital reform that encourages the birth of more than one child, as it does now. ‘Summer’ is a perfect case where fertility rises alongside a rise in migration. The final option is the robotisation option that allows for maintaining the current demography without adverse economic effects, with the question of how costly it will be to increase robotisation sevenfold. VCIOM believes that a balance between ‘autumn’ and ‘thaw’, depending on immigration and social services. Primarily focusing on just the fertility of the native population seems impossible for the sociologists.
May 13th 2025, RBK
81% of foreign schoolchildren were not allowed to test in Russian schools
While the government of Russia is attracting millions of new migrants, they are not bothering with the integration process, leaving families of migrants outside of society. Even applying to test Russian to be considered for school was denied to 81% of the applicants. Out of those allowed to apply, 61% passed the language test. Is the Russian government making a gamble that those children would learn Russian and integrate without the need for school, or will they do it all through private education? Wouldn’t they be alienated, and an organised crime syndicate would be the least harmful outcome for society?
https://amp.rbc.ru/rbcnews/society/13/05/2025/68233a9d9a79471e547aca32
May 6th 2025, Meduza
Homes of activists of the "Russian Community/Russkaya Obschina" were searched by police because of the raid they organised in Vsevolozhsk, during which a man died
Following a non-sanctioned anti-drug raid near St Petersburg that resulted in the death of a person activists considered a drug dealer, and a woman receiving injuries from having to jump from the apartment. So far, the police are not charging the organisation and are treating them as witnesses. When will a moment arise when the prior services assisting the police with raids cross a line, and they will be a new target?
April 30th 2025, TASS
Putin: nationalism is the first stage on the way to Nazism
The article is notable for the quotes on how Putin sees nationalism.
"Nationalism is the first stage to Nazism, this is the first step. Because nationalism is based not just on love for representatives of one's own ethnicity, but on hatred of others. This is the essence of nationalism. Patriotism is a completely different matter. Loving your homeland does not mean hating others," Putin said at a meeting with participants in the educational marathon.
He stressed that nationalism is fuelled by "hatred of other countries and other peoples." "Our task is to educate ourselves and the whole world around us in love for each other. It is in love for each other. This is the basis of the universe," the head of state added.
https://tass.ru/politika/23829959
April 16th 2025, Vedomosti
The head of the Kremlin department for Monitoring and Analysis of Social Processes, Alexander Kharichev, wrote an article “Civilisation “Russia” and what is “all-Russian civilisational code.”
In publication, Mr Kharichev describes how he wants to see the population of Russia. In his view, Russia is a ‘civilisation state’ built on diverse cultures, united by common themes of collectivism and shared respect of the state as the provider of everyone’s prosperity and development. As a result, the definition of freedom means the will to endure and make an appropriate choice that serves Russian Federation. In essence, the Kremlin publicly states its goals of nation-building that would make the state the only part that can make decisions, with the people having no real alternative but to serve it. The question of how this framework encompasses different nations and cultures to make it a durable form. The ‘Soviet nation’ experiment failed, aimed at common principles of humanity, making a new attempt extra challenging.