Stories about Russia
Turning point? The ethnicization of social issues and what Indigenous communities think about it in Russia
Research by Vlada Baranova claims that the war in Ukraine has led to the ethnicization of conflicts and confrontation between the federal authorities, perceived as “Russian,” and the Indigenous population.
Moscow photographer captures the capital in military frenzy
For two years now, Alexander Gronsky has been documenting what Moscow looks like and how it lives during the war and how the war intrudes into the urban space.
Azerbaijan's FOMO moment
As it turned out, the meeting was indeed focused on Armenia and had nothing to do with Azerbaijan unlike claims leveled by the government of Azerbaijan ahead of the meeting.
Romani diasporas are now more marginalised in Russia than in the late USSR
There were few educational and social programs for Romani people in the USSR, and later in Russia, and there's little hope that any will be introduced in the near future.
What is behind the suicides of LGBTQ+ people in refugee camps in the Netherlands?
There have been at least four reported case of suicide among Russian-speaking refugees in the Netherlands over the past year
Georgian Dream's fight against LGBTQ+ people
Georgian Dream's anti-LGBTQ+ narrative is nothing new. Homophobia has been part of the party's toolkit in the years since the party took over the country's leadership in 2012.
The right-wing shock doctrine at the Finnish-Russian border
A group of human rights and migration researchers explains how the proposed Finnish law on asylum-seekers violates the country’s international obligations and human rights law.
Teenager with Muslim background saved over 100 people in Moscow concert hall terrorist attack
Fifteen-year-old Islam Khalilov, who works part-time as a cloakroom attendant, led more than a hundred people out of Crocus Concert Hall during the terrorist attack
A recycled narrative of peace amid ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan impasse
Two wars, a military operation and a deadly flare-up later, the two countries are still negotiating. At the heart of the negotiations is a bilateral agreement proposed by Azerbaijan in 2022.
How the North Caucasus became one of Russia’s arms for imperial policy in Ukraine
The region may may seem loyal to the central authorities, but it took Kremlin about a hundred years of repression and killing tens of thousands of locals to achieve this.
Lotteries, dressed-up figures, and other peculiar entertainment at the Putin's sham elections
Current regime needs people to come to the polls in order to show the regime's legitimacy inside the country. Authorities find ways of 'entertainment' that would attract people to vote.
New song titled ‘Mom has a Secret’ features mothers from Russia who are anti-war activists
All of the women featured in the video for the song, as well as Monetochka herself, are mothers but also high profile activists who oppose the war and the regime.
Yulia Navalnaya against Vladimir Putin
But who is Yulia Navalnaya? She has a familiar face: Alexey's participated in a lot of his rallies, was by his side when he was poisoned.
Despite escalating sanctions, key machines imported from East Asia sustain Russia’s war effort in Ukraine
Despite sanctions against Moscow in place as early as 2022, Asia remains a major source of key imports for Russia's war effort, including in the area of dual use machines.
Anger and grief as Russians in Armenia and Georgia mourn Navalny’s death
At the time of writing this story, at least 387 people have been detained at events across 39 Russian cities since Navalny's death, according to the Russian human rights group OVD-Info.
We can do more to help Ukraine
Two years and thousands of sanctions later, Moscow’s war capacity remains intact — Russia keeps bombing Ukraine as much, if not more,than in February 24, 2022 when the full scale invasion began.
‘My message in case I am killed: Do not give up': Alexey Navalny predicted his own demise
"Navalny’s death was a murder — a planned murder, a murder methodically carried out, a murder of which the Russian state is guilty."
Armenia and Azerbaijan: The most recent flare up puts peace prospects on the backburner
Whether these recent developments further derail prospects for peace depends on steps taken in the coming months. For now, peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan is hanging by a thread.
Hundreds of thousands supported anti-war candidate in Russia but he was banned from elections
Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova happened to be the main figures of the Russian elections in March 2024, although neither of them are going to be on the ballot
The battle of Bashkir people: Why the largest protests in wartime Russia happened in Bashkortostan
"Russia is stepping on ethnic rakes. The Bashkirs have their own land. At the heart of everything that happened is a word that is now distorted — patriotism."
In Moldova, asylum was denied to five representatives of the LGBTQ+ community from Russia
In all five responses published this week, Moldovan imigration agency claims that 'some individuals have certain obligations to protect their country, and their avoidance of military service in Russia does not pose a risk of persecution.'
