Politique

Surrounded by Donbas veterans, Putin declares he will run for presidency again PRO Members Public
Vladimir Putin has finally announced his candidacy for next year’s presidential election in a vote which the Federation Council has set for March 17, 2024. Putin officially launched his campaign at a meeting with “heroes of the war in Donbas,” an event seen by political analysts as symbolic. Putin

Loyalty test for foreigners entering Russia PRO Members Public
The Russian authorities have figured out how to force foreigners living in Russia to comply and abide by Moscow’s worldview — a loyalty pledge. The Interior Ministry wants to force foreigners to sign a “loyalty agreement” when they enter the country, agreeing to obey Russian laws that “protect national interests”

Outlawing Russia’s LGBT+ community and its advocates PRO Members Public
The Russian authorities have been persecuting and discriminating against the country’s LGBT+ community for many years. Last week that campaign escalated once more, as the LGBT+ community and their supporters were effectively outlawed under repressive legislation against “extremist” movements and organizations. It was the biggest blow since Russia introduced

Russia tries to trigger a migration crisis on its border with Finland PRO Members Public
Russia has belatedly responded to Finland’s accession to NATO by attempting to engineer a migration crisis along the two countries’ shared border. Russian border guards have begun to allow hundreds of refugees from the Middle East without proper documentation to cross the Russian border with Finland. Helsinki responded by

Russian authorities forced to save money on video surveillance PRO Members Public
As a result of the government’s budget deficit, the Russian authorities are keen to save money on anything they can that isn’t connected to the war effort or defense industry. This includes the creation of a national system of surveillance cameras, new plans show. Initially, Russia wanted to

Russia’s authorities seek to label LGBT+ movement as “extremist” PRO Members Public
The Russian authorities stepped up their relentless campaign against the LGBT+ community last week as the justice ministry asked the Supreme Court to recognize the “International LGBT Social Movement” as “extremist” and ban it in Russia. Since there is no single organization that goes by that name, the move is

Seven years in jail for supermarket sticker protestor PRO Members Public
One of Russia’s longest and most controversial political trials since the start of the war reached its inevitable conclusion in a court in St. Petersburg last week. Artist Sasha Skochilenko, 33, was sentenced to seven years in a penal colony for spreading “false information” about Russia’s armed forces.

Kremlin says criminals are “atoning with blood” on the battlefield in Ukraine PRO Members Public
With every passing week, more attention is being paid to the thousands of criminals, including brutal murderers, receiving pardons after being released from prison to serve with the Wagner private militia and other paramilitaries fighting in Ukraine. The problems stemming from the policy were inevitable. Unlike draftees, pardoned criminals are

Russian regions’ anti-abortion drive PRO Members Public
Russia’s war on Ukraine is proving to be no obstacle for the battle to promote “traditional values” – the conservative social program and messaging that Vladimir Putin has long placed at the heart of his domestic ideological agenda. The latest part of that agenda has now emerged, with the state

The Kremlin gears up to launch Putin’s re-election campaign PRO Members Public
President Vladimir Putin is preparing to announce his plans to run in the 2024 Presidential Election. The Kremlin is already assembling a working group of “social activists” who will officially announce and back his candidacy. The group may include the singer Shaman, who has become the latest symbol of Russian