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Features

With 'Russian Houses,' Moscow Expands Soft Power Push Into Africa

More than a dozen Russian House cultural centers have opened across the continent in recent years, and more are on the way.

‘Belarus’ Strategic Importance Cannot Be Ignored’: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

The Belarusian opposition leader spoke to MT about Russia’s war, Europe’s fatigue and the future of a nation cut adrift.
11 Min read

They Fled Discrimination in Russia. Now They're Swept Up in Trump's Immigration Crackdown.

Indigenous peoples and minorities make up a sizable portion of the Russian asylum seekers caught up in the U.S. push for more deportations.
6 Min read

Sensing War Fatigue, Kremlin Exploits Music Festivals to Subtly Cultivate Patriotism

Nearly four years into the war, officials are using cultural roots and entertainment to foster patriotism instead of overtly militaristic propaganda.
5 Min read

When Normal Life Becomes Impossible: Stories from St. Petersburg Nearly 4 Years Into War

The Moscow Times spoke to five residents of Russia’s second-largest city about how the war has transformed their everyday lives.
6 Min read

Russian Low-Cost Drones Are Changing the Face of Its War in Ukraine

Along the M-14 highway, systematic Russian FPV strikes are putting Kherson’s only reliable connection with the rest of Ukraine under threat.
5 Min read

Bill Browder: It’s Time to Make Putin Pay for His War

The Kremlin critic talks overcoming sanctions fatigue, improving the Magnitsky Act and what to do with Russia’s frozen assets.
8 Min read

'A Bit Unusual': Russia's Sochi Resort Grapples With Ukrainian Drones

Disruptions to daily life have become more frequent in this summer escape on the Black Sea as Ukraine ups its long-range drone strikes on Russia.
3 Min read

As Kremlin Boasts of Arctic Riches, Indigenous Peoples Struggle to Survive

Though their ancestral lands are being eyed for their energy and mineral wealth, the Indigenous peoples of Russia's Arctic are unlikely to prosper.
6 Min read

‘I’d Never Make it Home Alive’: Russia’s War in Ukraine Turns Conscripts Into Deserters

A growing number of conscripts — young men who say they were forced into contracts and then sent to fight — are fleeing the front lines.
6 Min read

Their Fathers Fighting in Ukraine, Some of Russia’s Military Children Fall Into a Broken Orphanage System

Local officials describe families left in poverty, children shuffled between relatives and institutions and widows navigating a complex bureaucracy.
5 Min read

Russia Faces a Fraught Homecoming for Hundreds of Thousands of Ukraine War Veterans

The return of Russian soldiers from the war is already straining families and communities. What happens when the 700,000 men still fighting come home?
5 Min read

Beyond Putin and Xi’s Bromance, Chinese Culture Creeps Into Daily Life in Russia

From language and the arts to tourism and consumer goods, China’s presence in everyday life in Russia is becoming increasingly pronounced.
4 Min read

In the Donbas ‘Fortress,’ Ukraine’s Soldiers Refuse to Yield

For Kyiv’s troops, withdrawing from their strategic backbone in Donetsk — one of the Kremlin’s conditions for peace — is nearly unthinkable.
5 Min read

Russian Students Start School Year Marked by Surveillance, War Veterans and Anti-Migrant Measures

Students going back to school will find their classrooms transformed once again by the war in Ukraine.
6 Min read

Everything You Need to Know About Max, Russia’s State-Backed Answer to WhatsApp

The government is pulling out all the stops to make Max Russia's "super-app." But its technical flaws and privacy risks are hard to ignore.
7 Min read

Russia Has 1,500 Political Prisoners. Their Art Is Now on Display in Europe.

Rights advocates collected artwork made by political prisoners for the Prisoners of Conscience installation at Artists Against the Kremlin.
4 Min read

Russia’s Pro-War Bloggers See ‘Humiliation’ in Putin-Trump Summit

Bloggers voiced frustration with the talks — and fears that they, too, could fall victim to tightening censorship and persecution if the war ends.
5 Min read

‘Intoxicating Victory’: How Bashkir Activists Led a Historic Protest Movement at Kushtau

This August marks five years since the Kushtau protests in Bashkortostan, one of the few successful grassroots protests in Russia’s modern history. ...
8 Min read
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