Polina Nikolskaya
@reporter-polina.bsky.social
Investigative journalist focused on #Russia and CIS countries. Currently at @Reuters.com Opinions are all my own.
https://www.instagram.com/polina_reports
https://www.instagram.com/polina_reports
November 14, 2025 at 5:20 PM
A timely piece by Alexandra Prokopenko (Carnegie) on how Russia uses Western legal systems to press exiled influencers: once labelled “extremists” or “terrorists” at home, they face banking and employment issues in Europe, the US, etc. In RU but easy to machine-translate
meduza.io/feature/2025...
meduza.io/feature/2025...
У российских властей новая тактика: массово объявлять неугодных террористами и экстремистами Хуже всего, что западные банки верят этим статусам. Александра Прокопенко (Carnegie Politika) объясняет, по...
За почти четыре года большой войны российские власти освоили новый вид репрессий — признание неугодных людей «террористами» и «экстремистами» без каких-либо доказательств. Причем получение такого стат...
meduza.io
November 14, 2025 at 12:18 PM
A timely piece by Alexandra Prokopenko (Carnegie) on how Russia uses Western legal systems to press exiled influencers: once labelled “extremists” or “terrorists” at home, they face banking and employment issues in Europe, the US, etc. In RU but easy to machine-translate
meduza.io/feature/2025...
meduza.io/feature/2025...
Reposted by Polina Nikolskaya
Pokrovsk, Ukraine. Portrait of a city in war by Tyler Hicks. View for free: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/w...
What Our Photographer Saw as a Safe City Became a Blood Bath
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Pokrovsk, Ukraine. Portrait of a city in war by Tyler Hicks. View for free: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/w...
Highly recommend the book "With Good Intentions” (Благими намерениями) by Ksenia Luchenko to anyone who wants to understand how modern Russian nationalist rhetoric was formed and evolved. Ksenia showed it through the Russian Orthodox Church. Only in Russian now, I hope for an Eng edition one day
November 5, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Highly recommend the book "With Good Intentions” (Благими намерениями) by Ksenia Luchenko to anyone who wants to understand how modern Russian nationalist rhetoric was formed and evolved. Ksenia showed it through the Russian Orthodox Church. Only in Russian now, I hope for an Eng edition one day
please check out these dishes from a Georgian restaurant in Chisinau: Ceasaridze salad, khinkaluli (wtf?), and the real monster - khachapuri stuffed with khinkali
October 10, 2025 at 10:13 AM
please check out these dishes from a Georgian restaurant in Chisinau: Ceasaridze salad, khinkaluli (wtf?), and the real monster - khachapuri stuffed with khinkali
good data analysis from colleagues:
How Ukraine's European allies fuel Russia's war economy
www.reuters.com/business/ene...
How Ukraine's European allies fuel Russia's war economy
www.reuters.com/business/ene...
www.reuters.com
October 10, 2025 at 10:02 AM
good data analysis from colleagues:
How Ukraine's European allies fuel Russia's war economy
www.reuters.com/business/ene...
How Ukraine's European allies fuel Russia's war economy
www.reuters.com/business/ene...
I think this year we can really see the consequences of sanctions in Russia: www.reuters.com/world/europe...
www.reuters.com
October 9, 2025 at 1:32 PM
I think this year we can really see the consequences of sanctions in Russia: www.reuters.com/world/europe...
Reposted by Polina Nikolskaya
Despite Moscow recruiting and paying dozens of priests in the deeply religious country to urge congregations to vote against the pro-European PAS party, Moldovans flipped the bird at Russian fascism in yesterday's elections, voting for democracy over Russian terror.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Holy war: How Russia recruited Orthodox priests to sway Moldova's voters
Russia paid for Moldovan Orthodox priests to make Moscow pilgrimages and gave them debit cards loaded with hundreds of dollars on their return home. In exchange, priests created Telegram channels to influence Moldova's elections, promoting traditional values over ‘gay Europe.’
www.reuters.com
September 29, 2025 at 5:46 AM
Despite Moscow recruiting and paying dozens of priests in the deeply religious country to urge congregations to vote against the pro-European PAS party, Moldovans flipped the bird at Russian fascism in yesterday's elections, voting for democracy over Russian terror.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
To get a sense of Moldova, look at this: a woman riding her bike along the highway, leading her cow on a rope. Watermelons in Moldova are truly beyond all expectations 🍉🍉🍉
September 28, 2025 at 12:00 PM
To get a sense of Moldova, look at this: a woman riding her bike along the highway, leading her cow on a rope. Watermelons in Moldova are truly beyond all expectations 🍉🍉🍉
Reposted by Polina Nikolskaya
Russia paid for Orthodox priests from #Moldova to make pilgrimages to Moscow. In exchange, they had to set up social media accounts warning about the dangers of closer European integration. @reuters.com investigation about how Kremlin is trying to influence Sunday’s key #election in Moldova 🇲🇩
Holy war: How Russia recruited Orthodox priests to sway Moldova's voters
Russia paid for Moldovan Orthodox priests to make Moscow pilgrimages and gave them debit cards loaded with hundreds of dollars on their return home. In exchange, priests created Telegram channels to influence Moldova's elections, promoting traditional values over ‘gay Europe.’
www.reuters.com
September 27, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Russia paid for Orthodox priests from #Moldova to make pilgrimages to Moscow. In exchange, they had to set up social media accounts warning about the dangers of closer European integration. @reuters.com investigation about how Kremlin is trying to influence Sunday’s key #election in Moldova 🇲🇩
I also encourage you to watch the short film about Russia's influence on the upcoming elections in Moldova through the Church, featuring some amazing shots by Janis Laizans for our story
youtu.be/83kfW9yZZ8Q?...
youtu.be/83kfW9yZZ8Q?...
How Russia recruited Orthodox priests to sway Moldova's voters | REUTERS
YouTube video by Reuters
youtu.be
September 26, 2025 at 4:31 PM
I also encourage you to watch the short film about Russia's influence on the upcoming elections in Moldova through the Church, featuring some amazing shots by Janis Laizans for our story
youtu.be/83kfW9yZZ8Q?...
youtu.be/83kfW9yZZ8Q?...
I’ve just launched a new Instagram account dedicated to journalism, where I share photos from my trips, behind-the-scenes moments, and everyday life as a reporter. Feel free to subscribe! I’ve already posted some background content from my recent trip to Moldova
instagram.com/polina_reports
instagram.com/polina_reports
September 26, 2025 at 2:03 PM
I’ve just launched a new Instagram account dedicated to journalism, where I share photos from my trips, behind-the-scenes moments, and everyday life as a reporter. Feel free to subscribe! I’ve already posted some background content from my recent trip to Moldova
instagram.com/polina_reports
instagram.com/polina_reports
My team and I spent 2 weeks in Moldova reporting ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections. We found how Russia has persistently tried to influence voters through the Orthodox Church 1/8
w/@christianlowe.bsky.social @zverevlive.bsky.social Janis Laizans Marton Monus
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
w/@christianlowe.bsky.social @zverevlive.bsky.social Janis Laizans Marton Monus
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Holy war: How Russia recruited Orthodox priests to sway Moldova's voters
Russia paid for Moldovan Orthodox priests to make Moscow pilgrimages and gave them debit cards loaded with hundreds of dollars on their return home. In exchange, priests created Telegram channels to influence Moldova's elections, promoting traditional values over ‘gay Europe.’
www.reuters.com
September 26, 2025 at 11:41 AM
My team and I spent 2 weeks in Moldova reporting ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections. We found how Russia has persistently tried to influence voters through the Orthodox Church 1/8
w/@christianlowe.bsky.social @zverevlive.bsky.social Janis Laizans Marton Monus
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
w/@christianlowe.bsky.social @zverevlive.bsky.social Janis Laizans Marton Monus
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Russian authorities are now trying to negotiate relief from sanctions, particularly on spare parts, which they say are critical for flight safety, a source in Russia's aviation sector told Reuters.
www.reuters.com/business/aer...
www.reuters.com/business/aer...
Russia asks UN aviation agency ICAO to ease sanctions over safety concerns
Russia is urging the U.N. civil aviation agency to ease sanctions on spare parts and overflights, dismissing its response to the war in Ukraine as "unlawful coercive measures," according to working papers and a source familiar with the matter.
www.reuters.com
September 22, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Russian authorities are now trying to negotiate relief from sanctions, particularly on spare parts, which they say are critical for flight safety, a source in Russia's aviation sector told Reuters.
www.reuters.com/business/aer...
www.reuters.com/business/aer...
our investigation into occupied Enerhodar was cited in @thestudyofwar.bsky.social note on Russian control of Ukrainian territories: how the Russian occupation of the town and the ZNPP has turned the area into a “Russified ghost town.”
understandingwar.org/research/rus...
understandingwar.org/research/rus...
Russian Occupation Update, September 9, 2025
Key Takeaways Deportation and Forcible Transfer of Ukrainian Citizens, Including Children Nothing significant to report. Sociocultural Control Russia is continuing its efforts to Russify and militari...
understandingwar.org
September 17, 2025 at 10:58 AM
our investigation into occupied Enerhodar was cited in @thestudyofwar.bsky.social note on Russian control of Ukrainian territories: how the Russian occupation of the town and the ZNPP has turned the area into a “Russified ghost town.”
understandingwar.org/research/rus...
understandingwar.org/research/rus...
RUSI has quoted our investigation into Russia’s efforts to control Enerhodar. Below, @ddolzikova.bsky.social shares her thoughts on how to handle the difficult situation at the nuclear power plant 👇
www.rusi.org/explore-our-...
www.rusi.org/explore-our-...
Peace Negotiations and Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
As expectations continue to swirl for peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, the future of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe hangs in the balance.
www.rusi.org
September 9, 2025 at 4:33 PM
RUSI has quoted our investigation into Russia’s efforts to control Enerhodar. Below, @ddolzikova.bsky.social shares her thoughts on how to handle the difficult situation at the nuclear power plant 👇
www.rusi.org/explore-our-...
www.rusi.org/explore-our-...
Reposted by Polina Nikolskaya
Sverdlin founded Get Lost soon after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in Ukraine, the project helped hundreds and hundreds of people escape the army since. They also declared February 29 Desertion Day. More here:
en.zona.media/article/2024...
en.zona.media/article/2024...
“I told them to fuck off and left.” AWOL and desertion in the Russian army are beating one record after another
Get Lost, an anti-war project that helps Russians flee from the army, declared this past February 29 Desertion Day. “We were being told that deserters are traitors and wimps. We do...
en.zona.media
September 9, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Sverdlin founded Get Lost soon after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in Ukraine, the project helped hundreds and hundreds of people escape the army since. They also declared February 29 Desertion Day. More here:
en.zona.media/article/2024...
en.zona.media/article/2024...
Reposted by Polina Nikolskaya
Grigory Sverdlin, anti-war activist, former director of homeless charity Nochlezhka and founder of the Get Lost project, which helps Russians desert from the army, was sentenced to 6 years in absentia by a Moscow court today—for a post from April 2022 about the Bucha massacre
September 9, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Grigory Sverdlin, anti-war activist, former director of homeless charity Nochlezhka and founder of the Get Lost project, which helps Russians desert from the army, was sentenced to 6 years in absentia by a Moscow court today—for a post from April 2022 about the Bucha massacre
Reposted by Polina Nikolskaya
Reuters investigation exposes how Russia turned Europe’s largest nuclear city into a fortress of terror—families vanish, kids erased, workers coerced at gunpoint.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Russia turns a Ukrainian nuclear city into a stronghold of fear
Once a thriving city of 50,000, Enerhodar, home of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, is a ghost town. The Russian occupation is using intimidation and seemingly arbitrary detentions to scrub the region of its Ukrainian identity.
www.reuters.com
September 1, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Reuters investigation exposes how Russia turned Europe’s largest nuclear city into a fortress of terror—families vanish, kids erased, workers coerced at gunpoint.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Reposted by Polina Nikolskaya
🟠 "They force people to love them." https://www.reuters.com/investigations/russia-turns-ukrainian-nuclear-city-into-stronghold-fear-2025-08-29/
August 30, 2025 at 12:57 PM
🟠 "They force people to love them." https://www.reuters.com/investigations/russia-turns-ukrainian-nuclear-city-into-stronghold-fear-2025-08-29/
Reposted by Polina Nikolskaya
Here is our new investigation into Enerhodar, an occupied Ukrainian city that hosts Europe's largest nuclear plant. Based on interviews with over 50 people, we detail how Moscow's security apparatus and Rosatom are ruling over the city with violence and fear. www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Russia turns a Ukrainian nuclear city into a stronghold of fear
Once a thriving city of 50,000, Enerhodar, home of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, is a ghost town. The Russian occupation is using intimidation and seemingly arbitrary detentions to scrub the region of its Ukrainian identity.
www.reuters.com
August 29, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Here is our new investigation into Enerhodar, an occupied Ukrainian city that hosts Europe's largest nuclear plant. Based on interviews with over 50 people, we detail how Moscow's security apparatus and Rosatom are ruling over the city with violence and fear. www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Reposted by Polina Nikolskaya
🇷🇺 🇺🇦 Once a thriving city of 50,000, Enerhodar, home of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, is a ghost town. The Russian occupation is using intimidation and seemingly arbitrary detentions to scrub the region of its Ukrainian identity.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
#Russia #Ukraine
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
#Russia #Ukraine
Russia turns a Ukrainian nuclear city into a stronghold of fear
Once a thriving city of 50,000, Enerhodar, home of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, is a ghost town. The Russian occupation is using intimidation and seemingly arbitrary detentions to scrub the region of its Ukrainian identity.
www.reuters.com
August 29, 2025 at 11:25 AM
🇷🇺 🇺🇦 Once a thriving city of 50,000, Enerhodar, home of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, is a ghost town. The Russian occupation is using intimidation and seemingly arbitrary detentions to scrub the region of its Ukrainian identity.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
#Russia #Ukraine
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
#Russia #Ukraine
while the world debates a territorial deal between RU and UA, we found that RU is reshaping Enerhodar -the site of Europe’s largest nuclear plant - through fear, propaganda, and newcomers
w/
@saitomri.bsky.social
@zverevlive.bsky.social
M. Prysiazhniuk
L. Hinnant
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
w/
@saitomri.bsky.social
@zverevlive.bsky.social
M. Prysiazhniuk
L. Hinnant
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Russia turns a Ukrainian nuclear city into a stronghold of fear
Once a thriving city of 50,000, Enerhodar, home of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, is a ghost town. The Russian occupation is using intimidation and seemingly arbitrary detentions to scrub the region of its Ukrainian identity.
www.reuters.com
August 29, 2025 at 1:25 PM
while the world debates a territorial deal between RU and UA, we found that RU is reshaping Enerhodar -the site of Europe’s largest nuclear plant - through fear, propaganda, and newcomers
w/
@saitomri.bsky.social
@zverevlive.bsky.social
M. Prysiazhniuk
L. Hinnant
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
w/
@saitomri.bsky.social
@zverevlive.bsky.social
M. Prysiazhniuk
L. Hinnant
www.reuters.com/investigatio...