Politics
Online voting, electronic manipulation Paid Members Public
Russia’s electoral system is moving closer to the Kremlin’s idea of perfection. For the first time in history, an upcoming poll for elections to the Moscow City Duma will be fully online. Electronic voting makes it much easier for the authorities to manipulate the results and has the
Russia’s propagandists on the Biden-Trump debate Paid Members Public
A presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump was always going to be too tasty an affair to pass up for Russia’s hoard of propagandists. While the coverage on state TV was surprisingly calm, focused mainly on Biden’s health, columns published on pro-Kremlin sites were far more
Moscow goes crazy for Kanye West Paid Members Public
It’s less than six months since American journalist Tucker Carlson came to Moscow on a trip that was possibly the highlight of the year for West-bashing Russian propagandists. Now another American celebrity, rapper Ye (Kanye West) is reportedly in town. And once again, Moscow has seized on the visit
A string of hardline proposals from Russia’s chief investigator Paid Members Public
Russia is never short of outrageous proposals from officials looking to grab the headlines. But last week was impressive even by those standards, with Russia’s Chief Investigator Alexander Bastrykin rafting off a string of ultra-hardline initiatives he wants the country to adopt. In the space of just three days
Russia’s anti-Olympics turns into Soviet-style joke Paid Members Public
Around the world sports fans are tucking into a summer of top-quality competitions. The Euro 2024 and Copa America football tournaments are underway, to be followed by the Paris Olympics which kicks off next month. Russia is not competing in any of them, banned from both Uefa football competitions and
Will Ukraine be blamed for the latest Russian terror attack? Paid Members Public
A shock attack in Russia’s southern Dagestan region, the largest there in many years, killed at least 15 police officers. It is the third terrorist attack carried out by Islamist groups in Russia this year, and officials have already tried to draw some connections to Ukraine, despite an obvious
Controversial ‘theater case’ moved into closed court hearings Paid Members Public
A Moscow military court has ordered a highly controversial court case in which a playwright and director are accused of justifying terrorism to proceed behind closed doors, shutting off public scrutiny. The move came a month into the trial and after prosecution witnesses had finished testifying. * Director Evgenia Berkovich and
Russian “Trolls” turn to Western AI for their disinformation campaigns Paid Members Public
Russian internet trolls have been caught using Western AI to generate and spread disinformation about Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s own homegrown AI-powered services aren’t up to the task since they are coded to refuse to answer questions related to the war in order to avoid breaking
