Mediazona English
@en.zona.media
Independent news from Russia. Investigative reporting, courtroom live-blogging, digital censorship coverage (now censored in Russia)
https://en.zona.media/
https://en.zona.media/
Pinned
Mediazona English
@en.zona.media
· Mar 31
Mediazona on the brink. We need 5,000 monthly subscribers to survive
Mediazona is running out of money. We’ve had to cut staff and slash salaries. Editor-in-chief Sergey Smirnov and editor Dmitry Treshchanin will now be working without pay. If thing...
en.zona.media
THIS IS AN EMERGENCY. Mediazona is struggling.
We’ve tracked 100K Russian casualties in Ukraine. Covered political prisoners repression. We survived Putin’s censors.
Our reporters risk prison. Our editors will now work without pay. We need your help: en.zona.media/article/2025...
We’ve tracked 100K Russian casualties in Ukraine. Covered political prisoners repression. We survived Putin’s censors.
Our reporters risk prison. Our editors will now work without pay. We need your help: en.zona.media/article/2025...
On Friday, our confirmed count of Russia’s war dead passed 145,000. We noted a sharp rise in the number of teenagers killed at the front, fueled by new laws allowing 18-year-olds and criminal suspects to be recruited from detention.
Read the full story: en.zona.media/article/2025...
Read the full story: en.zona.media/article/2025...
November 10, 2025 at 8:33 PM
On Friday, our confirmed count of Russia’s war dead passed 145,000. We noted a sharp rise in the number of teenagers killed at the front, fueled by new laws allowing 18-year-olds and criminal suspects to be recruited from detention.
Read the full story: en.zona.media/article/2025...
Read the full story: en.zona.media/article/2025...
Reposted by Mediazona English
Activist Mikhail Kriger has been on a hunger strike for over a month to protest solitary confinement. After @garbage’s Shirley Manson sent a public appeal to the prison chief, she got a response: 2 pages of penal code quotes that never mention his name
en.zona.media/article/2025...
en.zona.media/article/2025...
A Garbage response. Russian prison sends Shirley Manson bureaucratic boilerplate, omitting name of hunger‑striking activist she appealed for
The administration of Penal Colony No. 5 (IK-5) in Russia’s Oryol region has issued a formal, two-page response to a letter from Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson regarding the tr...
en.zona.media
November 10, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Activist Mikhail Kriger has been on a hunger strike for over a month to protest solitary confinement. After @garbage’s Shirley Manson sent a public appeal to the prison chief, she got a response: 2 pages of penal code quotes that never mention his name
en.zona.media/article/2025...
en.zona.media/article/2025...
Activist Mikhail Kriger has been on a hunger strike for over a month to protest solitary confinement. After @garbage’s Shirley Manson sent a public appeal to the prison chief, she got a response: 2 pages of penal code quotes that never mention his name
en.zona.media/article/2025...
en.zona.media/article/2025...
A Garbage response. Russian prison sends Shirley Manson bureaucratic boilerplate, omitting name of hunger‑striking activist she appealed for
The administration of Penal Colony No. 5 (IK-5) in Russia’s Oryol region has issued a formal, two-page response to a letter from Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson regarding the tr...
en.zona.media
November 10, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Activist Mikhail Kriger has been on a hunger strike for over a month to protest solitary confinement. After @garbage’s Shirley Manson sent a public appeal to the prison chief, she got a response: 2 pages of penal code quotes that never mention his name
en.zona.media/article/2025...
en.zona.media/article/2025...
Reposted by Mediazona English
He turned 18, signed a contract, and was dead a month later. Our analysis finds hundreds of teenage recruits among Russia’s war dead, a rise fuelled by relaxing laws and allowing criminal suspects to sign contracts from detention.
Read the full update: en.zona.media/article/2025...
Read the full update: en.zona.media/article/2025...
November 7, 2025 at 4:54 PM
He turned 18, signed a contract, and was dead a month later. Our analysis finds hundreds of teenage recruits among Russia’s war dead, a rise fuelled by relaxing laws and allowing criminal suspects to sign contracts from detention.
Read the full update: en.zona.media/article/2025...
Read the full update: en.zona.media/article/2025...
Reposted by Mediazona English
Over 145 thousand Russian soldiers. That’s the confirmed death toll as of 7 November.
Many of the 5K names added in the past two weeks weren’t new losses, they were men missing for months or years, now confirmed dead.
Read the update: en.zona.media/article/2025...
Many of the 5K names added in the past two weeks weren’t new losses, they were men missing for months or years, now confirmed dead.
Read the update: en.zona.media/article/2025...
November 7, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Over 145 thousand Russian soldiers. That’s the confirmed death toll as of 7 November.
Many of the 5K names added in the past two weeks weren’t new losses, they were men missing for months or years, now confirmed dead.
Read the update: en.zona.media/article/2025...
Many of the 5K names added in the past two weeks weren’t new losses, they were men missing for months or years, now confirmed dead.
Read the update: en.zona.media/article/2025...
Bis zum 7. November sind über 145.000 russische Soldaten gestorben. Viele der 5.000 neuen Namen waren lange vermisst und jetzt bestätigt tot. Darunter Hunderte Jugendliche, einige nur einen Monat nach der Rekrutierung. Bericht lesen: zona.media/article/2025...
November 7, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Bis zum 7. November sind über 145.000 russische Soldaten gestorben. Viele der 5.000 neuen Namen waren lange vermisst und jetzt bestätigt tot. Darunter Hunderte Jugendliche, einige nur einen Monat nach der Rekrutierung. Bericht lesen: zona.media/article/2025...
Plus de 145 000 soldats russes confirmés morts au 7 novembre. Parmi les 5 000 nouveaux noms, beaucoup étaient portés disparus. Des centaines étaient des adolescents, certains morts seulement un mois après leur enrôlement.
Lire le rapport : zona.media/article/2025...
Lire le rapport : zona.media/article/2025...
November 7, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Plus de 145 000 soldats russes confirmés morts au 7 novembre. Parmi les 5 000 nouveaux noms, beaucoup étaient portés disparus. Des centaines étaient des adolescents, certains morts seulement un mois après leur enrôlement.
Lire le rapport : zona.media/article/2025...
Lire le rapport : zona.media/article/2025...
Más de 145 000 soldados rusos muertos hasta el 7 noviembre. Muchos de los 5 000 nombres recientes eran desaparecidos confirmados. Entre ellos, cientos de adolescentes, algunos muertos un mes tras enlistarse.
Lee la actualización: zona.media/article/2025...
Lee la actualización: zona.media/article/2025...
November 7, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Más de 145 000 soldados rusos muertos hasta el 7 noviembre. Muchos de los 5 000 nombres recientes eran desaparecidos confirmados. Entre ellos, cientos de adolescentes, algunos muertos un mes tras enlistarse.
Lee la actualización: zona.media/article/2025...
Lee la actualización: zona.media/article/2025...
Over 145 thousand Russian soldiers. That’s the confirmed death toll as of 7 November.
Many of the 5K names added in the past two weeks weren’t new losses, they were men missing for months or years, now confirmed dead.
Read the update: en.zona.media/article/2025...
Many of the 5K names added in the past two weeks weren’t new losses, they were men missing for months or years, now confirmed dead.
Read the update: en.zona.media/article/2025...
November 7, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Over 145 thousand Russian soldiers. That’s the confirmed death toll as of 7 November.
Many of the 5K names added in the past two weeks weren’t new losses, they were men missing for months or years, now confirmed dead.
Read the update: en.zona.media/article/2025...
Many of the 5K names added in the past two weeks weren’t new losses, they were men missing for months or years, now confirmed dead.
Read the update: en.zona.media/article/2025...
He turned 18, signed a contract, and was dead a month later. Our analysis finds hundreds of teenage recruits among Russia’s war dead, a rise fuelled by relaxing laws and allowing criminal suspects to sign contracts from detention.
Read the full update: en.zona.media/article/2025...
Read the full update: en.zona.media/article/2025...
November 7, 2025 at 4:54 PM
He turned 18, signed a contract, and was dead a month later. Our analysis finds hundreds of teenage recruits among Russia’s war dead, a rise fuelled by relaxing laws and allowing criminal suspects to sign contracts from detention.
Read the full update: en.zona.media/article/2025...
Read the full update: en.zona.media/article/2025...
Russian business travel to the U.S. hit a new wartime high in the third quarter of 2025. The data suggests these were direct flights, a notable change as diplomatic contacts increase
en.zona.media/article/2025...
en.zona.media/article/2025...
Alaska air. Russian business travel to the United States hits a new high amid Trump‑Putin peace talks
In the third quarter of 2025, Russians traveled to the United States 365 times for business purposes, a record number since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine. Mediazona fo...
en.zona.media
November 7, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Russian business travel to the U.S. hit a new wartime high in the third quarter of 2025. The data suggests these were direct flights, a notable change as diplomatic contacts increase
en.zona.media/article/2025...
en.zona.media/article/2025...
That didn’t take long.
A man from a Urals town looked up information on Ukrainian military units while on a bus.
His internet provider reported him, and he is now the first to face charges under Russia’s newly minted “search for extremism” ban
en.zona.media/article/2025...
A man from a Urals town looked up information on Ukrainian military units while on a bus.
His internet provider reported him, and he is now the first to face charges under Russia’s newly minted “search for extremism” ban
en.zona.media/article/2025...
Searched and about to be fined. First man in Russia charged under new “searching for extremism” law after provider reports him to FSB
An administrative protocol has been filed against Sergey Glukhikh, a resident of Kamensk-Uralsky, for searching for “extremist” materials, report the local news outlet It’s My City...
zona.media
November 6, 2025 at 6:09 PM
That didn’t take long.
A man from a Urals town looked up information on Ukrainian military units while on a bus.
His internet provider reported him, and he is now the first to face charges under Russia’s newly minted “search for extremism” ban
en.zona.media/article/2025...
A man from a Urals town looked up information on Ukrainian military units while on a bus.
His internet provider reported him, and he is now the first to face charges under Russia’s newly minted “search for extremism” ban
en.zona.media/article/2025...
The road to renewed nuclear testing in the Arctic begins not with a bang, but with a request to draw up “coordinated proposals on the possible start of work to prepare.” When the stakes are this high, the legalese must outweigh the danger
zona.media/article/2025...
zona.media/article/2025...
Strategic bureaucratese. Vladimir Putin requests “coordinated proposals on the possible start of work to prepare for nuclear weapons testing”
Vladimir Putin has instructed Russia’s military and security agencies to draw up “coordinated proposals on the possible start of work to prepare for nuclear weapons testing”. Amid ...
zona.media
November 5, 2025 at 4:51 PM
The road to renewed nuclear testing in the Arctic begins not with a bang, but with a request to draw up “coordinated proposals on the possible start of work to prepare.” When the stakes are this high, the legalese must outweigh the danger
zona.media/article/2025...
zona.media/article/2025...
Vladimir Putin has signed two laws expanding Russia’s military mobilization system: one introducing year-round military conscription checks, the other allowing reservists to be called up even in peacetime. The moves signal the Kremlin’s intent to keep war footing indefinite
1/4
1/4
November 4, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Vladimir Putin has signed two laws expanding Russia’s military mobilization system: one introducing year-round military conscription checks, the other allowing reservists to be called up even in peacetime. The moves signal the Kremlin’s intent to keep war footing indefinite
1/4
1/4
A Moscow court has jailed Irina Rudnitskaya, a psychologist and head of a “family values protection” NGO who became guardian to a boy taken from Mariupol after Russia’s siege. She now faces charges of trafficking “two or more children,” up to 10 years in prison
1/4
1/4
November 3, 2025 at 4:30 PM
A Moscow court has jailed Irina Rudnitskaya, a psychologist and head of a “family values protection” NGO who became guardian to a boy taken from Mariupol after Russia’s siege. She now faces charges of trafficking “two or more children,” up to 10 years in prison
1/4
1/4
Data from the Central Bank shows an influx of volunteers into the Russian army: over 69,000 loan deferrals for them in the third quarter of 2025. Since September 2022, when Russia announced the mobilisation and passed a law on benefits, almost 658,000 deferrals have been granted
November 3, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Data from the Central Bank shows an influx of volunteers into the Russian army: over 69,000 loan deferrals for them in the third quarter of 2025. Since September 2022, when Russia announced the mobilisation and passed a law on benefits, almost 658,000 deferrals have been granted
These 18 Ukrainians were captured by Russia, tortured and tried for their connection to the Aidar Battalion. Two were exchanged, one vanished in Russia’s prison system, fifteen were sentences to terms from 15 to 21 years:
en.zona.media/article/2025...
en.zona.media/article/2025...
October 31, 2025 at 6:02 PM
These 18 Ukrainians were captured by Russia, tortured and tried for their connection to the Aidar Battalion. Two were exchanged, one vanished in Russia’s prison system, fifteen were sentences to terms from 15 to 21 years:
en.zona.media/article/2025...
en.zona.media/article/2025...
Activist Mikhail Pushnitsky, 78, was detained at the Levashovo cemetery in St. Petersburg. He came there on October 30, Remembrance Day for the Victims of Political Repression. A court fined him $375 for "discrediting" the army: he wore a "Peace to Ukraine" yellow-blue pin.
Photo: Mediazona, Bumaga
Photo: Mediazona, Bumaga
October 31, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Activist Mikhail Pushnitsky, 78, was detained at the Levashovo cemetery in St. Petersburg. He came there on October 30, Remembrance Day for the Victims of Political Repression. A court fined him $375 for "discrediting" the army: he wore a "Peace to Ukraine" yellow-blue pin.
Photo: Mediazona, Bumaga
Photo: Mediazona, Bumaga
The time has indeed stopped for Stoptime band in St Petersburg: today, drummer Vladislav Leontyev got another 12 days in jail for a street performance.
Yesterday, the band’s singer Diana Loginova (Naoko) and guitarist Alexander Orlov were re-arrested
en.zona.media/article/2025...
Yesterday, the band’s singer Diana Loginova (Naoko) and guitarist Alexander Orlov were re-arrested
en.zona.media/article/2025...
Repeat performance. St Petersburg street musician Naoko fined and re‑arrested within hours of completing 13‑day jail sentence
Diana Loginova, who performs as Naoko with the street band Stoptime, was taken directly from a detention centre to a St Petersburg court, where she was convicted of “discrediting” ...
en.zona.media
October 30, 2025 at 4:16 PM
The time has indeed stopped for Stoptime band in St Petersburg: today, drummer Vladislav Leontyev got another 12 days in jail for a street performance.
Yesterday, the band’s singer Diana Loginova (Naoko) and guitarist Alexander Orlov were re-arrested
en.zona.media/article/2025...
Yesterday, the band’s singer Diana Loginova (Naoko) and guitarist Alexander Orlov were re-arrested
en.zona.media/article/2025...
Moscow State University's journalism department, the most famous school of its kind in Russia, has banned students from wearing “any Halloween attire” under threat of reprimand. First-year students recieved a message, according to which this includes any “costumes and makeup”
October 30, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Moscow State University's journalism department, the most famous school of its kind in Russia, has banned students from wearing “any Halloween attire” under threat of reprimand. First-year students recieved a message, according to which this includes any “costumes and makeup”
The prosecution has requested life sentences for all 8 defendants in the trial over the Oct. 2022 Crimean bridge attack (a truck full of explosives detonated).
The defendants, who include 6 businessmen, a farmer and a truck driver, are accused of facilitating the attack
1/5
The defendants, who include 6 businessmen, a farmer and a truck driver, are accused of facilitating the attack
1/5
October 29, 2025 at 5:57 PM
The prosecution has requested life sentences for all 8 defendants in the trial over the Oct. 2022 Crimean bridge attack (a truck full of explosives detonated).
The defendants, who include 6 businessmen, a farmer and a truck driver, are accused of facilitating the attack
1/5
The defendants, who include 6 businessmen, a farmer and a truck driver, are accused of facilitating the attack
1/5
Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin proposed cutting off pensions for Russians labeled as “foreign agents” (hundreds of people). He said, “A person who betrayed the country walks around Paris but gets a pension from Russia. Let that money go to a special account”
1/3
1/3
October 29, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin proposed cutting off pensions for Russians labeled as “foreign agents” (hundreds of people). He said, “A person who betrayed the country walks around Paris but gets a pension from Russia. Let that money go to a special account”
1/3
1/3
Street musician Diana “Naoko” Loginova and guitarist Alexander Orlov have each been jailed for 13 more days in St. Petersburg: “organising a public event” and “petty hooliganism.”
Amid all the crackdown, Orlov proposed to Naoko in court
en.zona.media/article/2025...
Amid all the crackdown, Orlov proposed to Naoko in court
en.zona.media/article/2025...
October 29, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Street musician Diana “Naoko” Loginova and guitarist Alexander Orlov have each been jailed for 13 more days in St. Petersburg: “organising a public event” and “petty hooliganism.”
Amid all the crackdown, Orlov proposed to Naoko in court
en.zona.media/article/2025...
Amid all the crackdown, Orlov proposed to Naoko in court
en.zona.media/article/2025...
18-year-old street musician Naoko completed 13 days in jail, was taken to court and fined, then returned to police custody where she fell ill. By evening, authorities had drawn up fresh charges.
Here’s what we know about her bizarre persecution so far:
en.zona.media/article/2025...
Here’s what we know about her bizarre persecution so far:
en.zona.media/article/2025...
Uncooperative. Three street musicians jailed in St Petersburg for performing songs by artists critical of the Kremlin
Three members of the street band Stoptime have been sentenced to 12 and 13 days in jail in St Petersburg after police accused them of staging unauthorised public performances. Judg...
en.zona.media
October 28, 2025 at 5:04 PM
18-year-old street musician Naoko completed 13 days in jail, was taken to court and fined, then returned to police custody where she fell ill. By evening, authorities had drawn up fresh charges.
Here’s what we know about her bizarre persecution so far:
en.zona.media/article/2025...
Here’s what we know about her bizarre persecution so far:
en.zona.media/article/2025...
In case you missed it last week: our confirmed count of Russia’s war dead is now at 140,101 (the lowest, verified named count).
Full update in English: en.zona.media/article/2025...
German: zona.media/article/2025...
French: zona.media/article/2025...
Spanish: zona.media/article/2025...
Full update in English: en.zona.media/article/2025...
German: zona.media/article/2025...
French: zona.media/article/2025...
Spanish: zona.media/article/2025...
October 27, 2025 at 2:40 PM
In case you missed it last week: our confirmed count of Russia’s war dead is now at 140,101 (the lowest, verified named count).
Full update in English: en.zona.media/article/2025...
German: zona.media/article/2025...
French: zona.media/article/2025...
Spanish: zona.media/article/2025...
Full update in English: en.zona.media/article/2025...
German: zona.media/article/2025...
French: zona.media/article/2025...
Spanish: zona.media/article/2025...