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Breaking news in Russia, investigative reports, interviews, and opinions. In English. You’re welcome. https://meduza.io/en
As the year draws to a close, Meduza looks back at some of the best journalism produced by our peers in 2025.
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The stories that defined Russian journalism in 2025 Meduza’s roundup of the year’s best reporting from the Russian-language independent media — Meduza
With another year nearly behind us, it’s high time we look back at the best Russian-language reporting in 2025. Many of the year’s top stories addressed Russia’s increasingly draconian justice system…
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December 26, 2025 at 12:11 PM
As the year draws to a close, Meduza looks back at some of the best journalism produced by our peers in 2025.
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A Moscow court has sentenced Galina Timchenko, co-founder and CEO of Meduza, to five years in prison in absentia on charges of leading an “undesirable” organization.
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Moscow court sentences Meduza publisher Galina Timchenko in absentia to five years in prison — Meduza
A Moscow court has sentenced Galina Timchenko, co-founder and CEO of Meduza, to five years in prison in absentia on charges of leading an “undesirable” organization, Mediazona reported.
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December 26, 2025 at 11:46 AM
A Moscow court has sentenced Galina Timchenko, co-founder and CEO of Meduza, to five years in prison in absentia on charges of leading an “undesirable” organization.
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For the third year, Ukrainians are celebrating Christmas on December 25, together with the West. Here’s a glimpse of holiday preparations in a country still under fire.
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Lights under fire A glimpse of Ukraine’s Christmas season amid another winter of war — Meduza
For the third year, Ukrainians are celebrating Christmas on December 25, together with the West. Last week, Moscow rejected a Christmas truce and continued its relentless strikes on Ukraine’s energy…
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December 25, 2025 at 9:11 AM
For the third year, Ukrainians are celebrating Christmas on December 25, together with the West. Here’s a glimpse of holiday preparations in a country still under fire.
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The Beet newsletter will be pausing publication in 2026, but there’s no shortage of adventures in its archive. Here, you’ll find The Beet’s top five dispatches of 2025. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
The Beet’s top five stories of 2025 From hardened borders to fading factories, these dispatches trace how history, identity, and power shape everyday life across Eastern Europe and Central Asia — Meduza
For the past three years, The Beet newsletter has supplemented Meduza’s regular coverage with original reporting from Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. When we launched this…
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December 24, 2025 at 4:39 PM
The Beet newsletter will be pausing publication in 2026, but there’s no shortage of adventures in its archive. Here, you’ll find The Beet’s top five dispatches of 2025. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Around the globe, 2025 was a dark year for journalism. Meduza remembers seven media workers the world lost in 2025.
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Gone too soon Meduza remembers seven journalists the world lost in 2025 — Meduza
Around the globe, 2025 was a dark year for journalism. For the first time in its history, Reporters Without Borders classified the global state of press freedom as a “difficult situation.” According…
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December 24, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Around the globe, 2025 was a dark year for journalism. Meduza remembers seven media workers the world lost in 2025.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed a revised draft peace plan, developed with the United States, to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
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20 points to peace Zelensky reveals revised U.S.-backed plan to end Russia’s war against Ukraine — Meduza
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed a revised draft peace plan, developed with the United States, to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. Zelensky presented the 20-point proposal…
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December 24, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed a revised draft peace plan, developed with the United States, to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
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While Putin talks up a “multipolar world,” pro-Kremlin pundits are pushing another concept to justify Russia’s war against Ukraine. Political analyst @abarbashin.bsky.social breaks down “Chaos Theory” for Meduza. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Architects of Chaos Theory How pro-Kremlin pundits use geopolitical turmoil to explain away Russia’s war against Ukraine — Meduza
Vladimir Putin’s vision of a “multipolar world” has been a keystone of Russia’s foreign policy ever since he delivered his infamous Munich speech in 2007. Asserting that U.S. dominance is in decline…
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December 23, 2025 at 9:51 PM
While Putin talks up a “multipolar world,” pro-Kremlin pundits are pushing another concept to justify Russia’s war against Ukraine. Political analyst @abarbashin.bsky.social breaks down “Chaos Theory” for Meduza. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
How do you commission opinion journalism on Russia during the war in Ukraine? The Naked Pravda spoke with Moscow Times opinion editor @hancock2001.bsky.social about the challenges that now define the job.
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Moscow Times opinion editor Charlie Hancock discusses the challenges of commissioning commentary on Russia amid the war in Ukraine — Meduza
Opinion journalism on Russia has become a high-stakes enterprise since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, shaped by audiences sharply divided by politics and geography. At the center…
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December 23, 2025 at 7:11 PM
How do you commission opinion journalism on Russia during the war in Ukraine? The Naked Pravda spoke with Moscow Times opinion editor @hancock2001.bsky.social about the challenges that now define the job.
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Since mid-December, the app Be My Eyes — designed to assist blind and visually-impaired people — has been barely functional in much of Russia.
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Blind Russians lose access to accessibility app Be My Eyes as Internet restrictions tighten — Meduza
Since mid-December, the app Be My Eyes — designed to assist blind and visually-impaired people — has been barely functional in much of Russia. Some users suspected the service had been blocked.…
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December 23, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Since mid-December, the app Be My Eyes — designed to assist blind and visually-impaired people — has been barely functional in much of Russia.
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Since the start of Moscow’s full-scale war in Ukraine, Russian courts have convicted more than 1,000 people on charges of treason and espionage, according to a new study.
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A grim new record Russian courts convicted over 460 people of treason and espionage in 2025, according to a new report — Meduza
Since the start of Moscow’s full-scale war in Ukraine, Russian courts have convicted more than 1,000 people on charges of treason and espionage, according to a new study by analyst Kirill Parubets…
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December 22, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Since the start of Moscow’s full-scale war in Ukraine, Russian courts have convicted more than 1,000 people on charges of treason and espionage, according to a new study.
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Meduza special correspondent Andrey Pertsev spoke with Russian officials and political strategists to learn how the Kremlin’s information lockdown is backfiring on its own bureaucracy.
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‘How are we supposed to communicate?’ Russian officials tell Meduza that mobile Internet blackouts and blocked messaging apps are undermining their ability to manage public sentiment — Meduza
Russian officials are complaining about the country’s mobile Internet shutdowns and blocked messaging apps. The outages don’t just disrupt their day-to-day work — they’re cutting off the channels…
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December 22, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Meduza special correspondent Andrey Pertsev spoke with Russian officials and political strategists to learn how the Kremlin’s information lockdown is backfiring on its own bureaucracy.
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A car bomb killed Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Russian General Staff’s army operational training directorate, in Moscow on Monday, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee.
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Russian general killed by car bomb in Moscow — Meduza
A car bomb killed Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Russian General Staff’s army operational training directorate, in Moscow on Monday, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee. The…
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December 22, 2025 at 8:11 AM
A car bomb killed Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Russian General Staff’s army operational training directorate, in Moscow on Monday, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee.
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In his marathon year-end call-in, Vladimir Putin made sweeping claims about Russia’s economy, the war in Ukraine, peace talks, and relations with the West. Meduza breaks down what holds up and what doesn’t. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Balanced budgets and broken promises Meduza fact-checks Putin’s most problematic claims in today’s call-in marathon — Meduza
On Friday, President Vladimir Putin held his annual Direct Line call-in show, where he fielded questions from carefully selected journalists and Russian citizens for nearly four and a half hours. This...
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December 19, 2025 at 10:46 PM
In his marathon year-end call-in, Vladimir Putin made sweeping claims about Russia’s economy, the war in Ukraine, peace talks, and relations with the West. Meduza breaks down what holds up and what doesn’t. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Ukraine has clawed back ground in Kupyansk, but pressure is mounting elsewhere. Meduza's latest battlefield analysis breaks down where Kyiv is holding, where it’s losing ground, and why the overall picture remains precarious. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Gains in Kupyansk, crisis on other fronts Meduza analyzes the pressure on Ukraine’s defenses as Russia’s offensive continues — Meduza
Like our earlier reports on the combat situation in Ukraine, this article reviews recent battlefield developments based on open-source information. Meduza has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine fr...
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December 19, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Ukraine has clawed back ground in Kupyansk, but pressure is mounting elsewhere. Meduza's latest battlefield analysis breaks down where Kyiv is holding, where it’s losing ground, and why the overall picture remains precarious. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
During his annual call-in program, Putin said no new “special operations” will happen if the West “treats Russia with respect,” claimed Europe “tricked” Moscow over NATO, and insisted the West is waging war on Russia.
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Putin says there will be no new ‘special military operations’ if the West ‘treats Russia with respect’ — Meduza
During Vladimir Putin’s annual Direct Line call-in program on Friday, BBC journalist Steve Rosenberg asked the Russian president what kind of future he envisions for the country — and whether dissent,...
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December 19, 2025 at 1:50 PM
During his annual call-in program, Putin said no new “special operations” will happen if the West “treats Russia with respect,” claimed Europe “tricked” Moscow over NATO, and insisted the West is waging war on Russia.
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Asked whether he’d be responsible for future Russian and Ukrainian deaths if he rejects Trump’s peace plan, Putin replied: “We don’t consider ourselves responsible for people’s deaths because we didn’t start this war.” meduza.io/en/news/2025...
‘We didn’t start this war’: Putin rejects idea he’d bear responsibility for future deaths if he refuses Trump’s peace plan — Meduza
During his end-of-year press conference on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked by NBC journalist Keir Simmons whether he would consider himself responsible for the deaths of Russians an...
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December 19, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Asked whether he’d be responsible for future Russian and Ukrainian deaths if he rejects Trump’s peace plan, Putin replied: “We don’t consider ourselves responsible for people’s deaths because we didn’t start this war.” meduza.io/en/news/2025...
Speaking during his annual televised Direct Line call-in show, Vladimir Putin criticized Western efforts to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, saying the move would amount “not to theft, but to robbery.”
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‘Whatever they steal, they’ll have to return’: Putin says E.U. using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine would be ‘robbery’ — Meduza
Speaking during his annual televised Direct Line call-in show on Friday, President Vladimir Putin criticized Western efforts to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, saying the move would amou...
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December 19, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Speaking during his annual televised Direct Line call-in show, Vladimir Putin criticized Western efforts to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, saying the move would amount “not to theft, but to robbery.”
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Police officers in Putin’s Russia often hide their faces, but Alexey Okopny, known for monitoring protesters and brutally interrogating detainees, never did.
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Remembering Alexey Okopny, the notorious ‘anti-extremism’ cop who became the face of Putin’s police state — Meduza
Police officers in Putin’s Russia often hide their faces, but Alexey Okopny never did. Over his decades-long career in law enforcement, Okopny became an unlikely public figure in Moscow:…
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December 18, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Police officers in Putin’s Russia often hide their faces, but Alexey Okopny, known for monitoring protesters and brutally interrogating detainees, never did.
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Federal investigators are examining a deadly school stabbing outside Moscow that has drawn diplomatic pressure from Tajikistan and renewed scrutiny of far-right extremism and xenophobic violence in Russia. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Murder of 10-year-old Tajik boy at school outside Moscow sparks international outcry, xenophobia fears — Meduza
The murder of fourth-grader Kobiljon Aliev outside Moscow is now an international incident. On Wednesday, the boy’s home country, Tajikistan, summoned Russia’s ambassador to discuss the killing.…
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December 17, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Federal investigators are examining a deadly school stabbing outside Moscow that has drawn diplomatic pressure from Tajikistan and renewed scrutiny of far-right extremism and xenophobic violence in Russia. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Washington and Kyiv may be hailing progress in peace talks, but Vladimir Putin maintains that Russia will “undoubtedly achieve” its goals in the war against Ukraine. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Putin vows to conquer ‘historic lands’ in Ukraine, calls European leaders ‘piglets’ for backing Kyiv — Meduza
The U.S. and Ukraine may have hailed progress in peace talks earlier this week, but Vladimir Putin maintains that Russia will “undoubtedly achieve” its goals in the war against Ukraine. Speaking…
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December 17, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Washington and Kyiv may be hailing progress in peace talks, but Vladimir Putin maintains that Russia will “undoubtedly achieve” its goals in the war against Ukraine. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
For the first time, the Russian authorities have disclosed direct spending on the war against Ukraine. The country’s total war-related expenditures for 2025 reportedly amount to about $137.9 billion.
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Russia discloses direct war spending for the first time, estimating over $137 billion in 2025 — Meduza
Russia’s federal budget spending “directly related to the special military operation” is set to reach 5.1 percent of the country’s GDP in 2025, according to a presentation shown by Defense Minister…
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December 17, 2025 at 5:32 PM
For the first time, the Russian authorities have disclosed direct spending on the war against Ukraine. The country’s total war-related expenditures for 2025 reportedly amount to about $137.9 billion.
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A court in Yekaterinburg found an anti-war protester guilty of using the avant-garde poetry of Vladimir Mayakovsky to “discredit” the Russian military. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Russian court fines anti-war protester for using Vladimir Mayakovsky’s avant-garde poetry to ‘discredit’ the military — Meduza
A court in Yekaterinburg has found an anti-war protester guilty of using a poem by avant-garde poet Vladimir Mayakovsky to “discredit” the Russian military, the independent news outlet Sotavision…
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December 17, 2025 at 3:42 PM
A court in Yekaterinburg found an anti-war protester guilty of using the avant-garde poetry of Vladimir Mayakovsky to “discredit” the Russian military. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Russia has rejected a Christmas truce put forward by Germany, claiming it would give Ukraine’s forces a chance to regroup. meduza.io/en/news/2025...
Russia rejects Christmas truce with Ukraine as Trump continues push for peace deal — Meduza
Russia has rejected a Christmas truce put forward by Germany, because it would give Ukraine’s forces a chance to regroup, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said on Tuesday. “We want peace. We don’t want…
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December 16, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Russia has rejected a Christmas truce put forward by Germany, claiming it would give Ukraine’s forces a chance to regroup. meduza.io/en/news/2025...
What made the Maidan a revolution? Meduza talks to historian @marcishore.bsky.social about Ukraine’s “existential transformation” and the “systemic nihilism” of Russia’s war. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Historian Marci Shore reflects on the promise of Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution and the nihilism of Russia’s war — Meduza
When Ukrainians began protesting on Kyiv’s Independence Square in November 2013, historian Marci Shore was watching from Vienna. Ukraine’s then-president, Viktor Yanukovych, had backtracked…
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December 16, 2025 at 9:11 PM
What made the Maidan a revolution? Meduza talks to historian @marcishore.bsky.social about Ukraine’s “existential transformation” and the “systemic nihilism” of Russia’s war. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
After the latest round of talks in Berlin this week, Trump offered Kyiv ‘platinum’ NATO-style security guarantees. Does that mean the U.S. is prepared to go war in the event of a future Russian attack on Ukraine?
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Trump offered Kyiv ‘platinum’ NATO-style security guarantees. Does that mean the U.S. is prepared to go war for Ukraine? — Meduza
On December 14–15, during talks between U.S. and Ukrainian delegations in Berlin, the two countries reached a compromise on one of Kyiv’s most critical issues: security guarantees. Ukrainian…
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December 16, 2025 at 6:11 PM
After the latest round of talks in Berlin this week, Trump offered Kyiv ‘platinum’ NATO-style security guarantees. Does that mean the U.S. is prepared to go war in the event of a future Russian attack on Ukraine?
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