Sam Breazeale
LightNews LightNews
sambreazeale.bsky.social
Sam Breazeale
@sambreazeale.bsky.social
650 followers 150 following 36 posts
Senior news editor at Meduza in English @meduza.io. Based in Riga, Latvia. Contact: breazeale@meduza.io
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
meduza.io
Putin’s war reshaped Russia’s elite, making them fear peace most of all. On the latest Naked Pravda, Meduza’s @eilishhart.bsky.social talks with journalist @faridaily.bsky.social about the pressure, the paranoia, and what a post-war future could unleash. meduza.io/en/episodes/...
Russia’s elites once dreaded war. Now, they fear peace. — Meduza
In his 2024 state-of-the-nation address, Vladimir Putin declared that the word “elite” had lost much of its credibility. Russia’s “real elite,” he said, are those who serve their country: “the…
meduza.io
November 22, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
ymatusik.bsky.social
Hard to keep up with the absurd news coming out of Kyrgyzstan. Tashiev, the head of national security, just unilaterally banned cafes and restaurants from being open past 10pm. Anyone who doesn’t respect these quiet hours will have their electricity cut off

kaktus.media/doc/535201_p...
"После 22:00 отключить им свет". Ташиев запретил кафе и ресторанам работать в ночное время
Камчыбек Ташиев возмутился тем, что закон о тишине не работает, и запретил кафе и ресторанам работать. В противном случае им отключат свет.
kaktus.media
November 13, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
kevinrothrock.me
For today's newsletter, I reviewed the Russians sentenced to years in prison for "illegal speech" acknowledging the Russian military's atrocities in Bucha and other parts of Ukraine — contrary to claims by a certain former Estonian president. meduza.io/en/brief/202...
This was Russia today Wednesday, November 12, 2025 — Meduza
meduza.io
November 13, 2025 at 5:05 AM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
meduza.io
As of August 2025, more than 1,700 people in Russia were behind bars on political charges. A new volunteer initiative lets them study subjects of their choice with experienced teachers — via snail mail.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Meet the volunteers bringing education to Russian political prisoners through letters — Meduza
More than three years into the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian prisons continue to fill with people jailed for speaking out against the war and the authorities. As of August 2025, more than…
meduza.io
November 12, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
ymatusik.bsky.social
For any followers in NYC: Zere, one of Kyrgyzstan’s most talented musicians, will be performing at Ibeam Brooklyn on November 19 at 09:30pm

Don’t miss out on a chance to see her live!

www.instagram.com/p/DQ8ztCvCFt...
November 12, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
meduza.io
Latvia has the highest femicide rate in Europe — ranking above Russia. Its parliament just voted to exit a treaty protecting women from violence.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...
‘Cynical and completely reckless’ Latvia has the highest femicide rate in Europe — including Russia. Its parliament just voted to exit a treaty protecting women from violence. — Meduza
In September 2025, a right-wing populist party in Latvia introduced legislation to withdraw the country from the Istanbul Convention, a key international treaty aimed at protecting women from…
meduza.io
November 4, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
ymatusik.bsky.social
A Bishkek court has just ruled that two of the countries most influential independent news sites Kloop and Temirov Live (both in exile abroad) are extremist organizations. This means that liking or reposting their content may be deemed a criminal act in Kyrgyzstan

kloop.kg/blog/2025/10...
Суд признал материалы «Клооп» и «Темиров лайв» экстремистскими
Суд признал материалы «Клооп» и «Темиров лайв» экстремистскими – в изданиях не знали об этом деле и намерены обжаловать приговор
kloop.kg
October 28, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
meduza.io
“Everyone understands that if Ukraine comes under Russian domination, or is even absorbed into a kind of reconstituted Russian empire, then we have a challenge that is so much larger,” a senior NATO official told Meduza in Brussels this week.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...
‘A lethal, capable, and European-led NATO’ Between Trump’s demands and Russia’s threats, is Europe finally getting serious about its own defense? — Meduza
NATO defense ministers gathered in Brussels on Wednesday for the first time since late June, when they agreed to raise national defense spending targets to five percent of GDP under pressure from the…
meduza.io
October 16, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
meduza.io
Reporting from Bukhara, journalist @sashaslobodov.bsky.social explores how tourism and the diaspora sustain the last vestiges of Uzbekistan’s Jewish heritage. The Beet’s latest.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Back to Bukhara How memory, tourism, and the diaspora sustain the last vestiges of Uzbekistan’s Jewish heritage — Meduza
Best known as a stop on the Silk Road trade route, Uzbekistan’s ancient city of Bukhara was home to a thriving Jewish community for more than 2,000 years. But since the Soviet Union’s collapse in the…
meduza.io
October 13, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
meduza.io
New podcast alert! For The Naked Pravda, researcher @msnegovaya.bsky.social breaks down the rising costs straining the Kremlin’s war machine — and explores four possible scenarios for the Russia–Ukraine war’s next chapter. meduza.io/en/episodes/...
Four scenarios for the next chapter in Russia’s war against Ukraine — Meduza
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has now passed the three-and-a-half-year mark, and there is still no end in sight. The Trump administration’s recent push to negotiate a ceasefire ground…
meduza.io
October 9, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
lebassett.bsky.social
More than 1800 detainees are missing after the closure of Alligator Alcatraz. Their families and lawyers can’t find them and they’ve vanished from the ICE database. Feels like this should be a much bigger story www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
Hundreds of Alligator Alcatraz detainees drop off the grid after leaving site
As of the end of August, the whereabouts of two-thirds of more than 1,800 men detained at Alligator Alcatraz during the month of July could not be determined by the Miami Herald.
www.miamiherald.com
September 23, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
meduza.io
Russians say the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show feels familiar. Here’s what became of the country’s TV comedy shows that dared to criticize the Putin administration.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...
‘Americans, don’t take this sitting down’ Russians say the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show feels familiar. Here’s what became of the country’s TV comedy shows that dared to criticize the Kremlin. — Meduza
On Wednesday evening, the American TV network ABC announced that it was indefinitely suspending comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show. The news came just hours after the head of the FCC, the…
meduza.io
September 18, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
meduza.io
You may have noticed that many of our stories simply say “Meduza” in the byline. That's a safety precaution, as any cooperation with our newsroom is against the law in Russia. But we'd still like you to know the people who work here. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
‘I ended up here because of what I wrote’ In their own words, Meduza’s anonymous staff members introduce themselves to readers — Meduza
Regular readers have likely noticed that many of our stories simply say “Meduza” in the byline. For safety reasons — since any cooperation with our newsroom is against the law in Russia — only a few…
meduza.io
September 5, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
sambreazeale.bsky.social
Any English speakers in Bishkek who’d be interested in informal language exchange/English practice with some local journalists?
September 2, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
meduza.io
Ukraine has verified Russia’s deportation of nearly 20,000 children from occupied territories. Can the Trump administration help get them back? meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Eyewitnesses to a war crime Ukraine’s 20,000 stolen children are on the Trump administration’s radar. But will it help get them back? — Meduza
More than two weeks have passed since U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Vladimir Putin in Alaska, and by all appearances, this controversial show of diplomacy yielded no tangible results. Despite…
meduza.io
September 3, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
abarbashin.bsky.social
Just in case you like in-depth analytical angle on Russia, think about donating to ridl.io
ridl.io/donate/
Donate – Riddle Russia
ridl.io
September 2, 2025 at 10:06 AM
sambreazeale.bsky.social
Any English speakers in Bishkek who’d be interested in informal language exchange/English practice with some local journalists?
September 2, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
abarbashin.bsky.social
.@meduza.io calls for immediate support, otherwise they are going to crash.
I got to say - they are the best independent Russian media that does extensive coverage of everything that you need to know about Russia.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...
We need your help An urgent appeal from the Meduza team — Meduza
Dear Meduza in English readers,
meduza.io
September 2, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
ymatusik.bsky.social
In 2004, my family moved back to Russia from Alaska, where we lived back then.

Putin was supposed to visit the school I attended in St.Petersburg, but never showed. I spent hours locked in a classroom because I had long hair and according to the principal would be an “embarrassment” in public
August 15, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
globalvoices.org
The draft media law has been in the works since 2022 and has been criticized by journalists, civil society, and human rights organizations from the outset.
Kyrgyzstan adopts new, draconian media law
The draft media law has been in the works since 2022 and has been criticized by journalists, civil society, and human rights organizations from the outset.
globalvoices.org
August 14, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
meduza.io
It’s long been too dangerous for our readers in Russia to support us financially. Luckily, we have more than 3 million readers abroad — but only 2 of every 1,000 donate monthly. Unless that changes, we won’t last much longer.
meduza.io/en/short/202...
Only 2 out of every 1,000 readers support Meduza monthly. With numbers like that, we won’t last much longer. We need your help. — Meduza
Underreported stories. Fresh perspectives. From Budapest to Bishkek. Protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
meduza.io
August 12, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
meduza.io
Born in Philadelphia, Telo Tulku Rinpoche was sent to a monastery in India at age seven. At 19, he was chosen to revive Buddhism in Russia’s Kalmykia. He spent 30 years doing just that — then denounced the war in Ukraine. Now he can’t return to Russia.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...
‘What was difficult was to remain silent’ Meduza’s interview with Telo Tulku Rinpoche, Russia’s first religious head to condemn the war in Ukraine — Meduza
In September 2022 — seven months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine — Telo Tulku Rinpoche, then the spiritual leader of Kalmykia’s Buddhists, became the first active religious…
meduza.io
August 6, 2025 at 11:40 AM
sambreazeale.bsky.social
You’ve heard of the Chicago Pope — now meet the Philly Lama.

I spoke to someone I’d been wanting to interview for years: Telo Tulku Rinpoche, who served as the head of Buddhists in Russia’s Kalmykia for decades until he denounced the war in 2022.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...
‘What was difficult was to remain silent’ Meduza’s interview with Telo Tulku Rinpoche, Russia’s first religious head to condemn the war in Ukraine — Meduza
In September 2022 — seven months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine — Telo Tulku Rinpoche, then the spiritual leader of Kalmykia’s Buddhists, became the first active religious le...
meduza.io
August 6, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Reposted by Sam Breazeale
eilishhart.bsky.social
My conversation with political analyst Balazs Jarabik about Zelensky’s anti-corruption reversal and the return of politics in wartime Ukraine. Check it out before the new bill goes to the Rada floor tomorrow! meduza.io/en/feature/2... @meduza.io
A political crisis that could weaken the war effort itself What Zelensky’s anti-corruption U-turn means at a ‘precarious moment’ for Ukraine — Meduza
On July 31, the Ukrainian parliament will consider a new anti-corruption bill designed to undo the damage from a piece of legislation it passed just last week. The controversial law, which deprived Uk...
meduza.io
July 30, 2025 at 2:05 PM
sambreazeale.bsky.social
My summary of the story of a very, very American family
July 28, 2025 at 4:17 PM