The Real Russia. Today.

Trump Junior’s new Russia scandal; Putin’s G20 Photoshop coup; the man behind an army of pro-Kremlin elderly women; and the ballet that was “too gay” for Russia’s Culture Ministry

Russia and the world

Trump Jr. was told in an email of a Russian effort to aid his dad’s campaign. Before arranging a meeting with an allegedly Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer he believed would offer him compromising information about Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Jr. was informed in an email that the material was part of a Russian government effort to aid his father’s candidacy, according to three people with knowledge of the email. Read The New York Times’ story

Kaspersky Lab has reportedly been working with Russian intelligence. Emails show the software-security maker developed products for the FSB and accompanied agents on raids. Story by Bloomberg

Vladimir Putin conquers the G20 with a little Photoshop magic. On July 8, a photo taken during the G20 meeting in Hamburg started circulating online showing several world leaders, including President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, huddled around Vladimir Putin. The image, meant to show the Russian president’s world significance and influence, is a fake, however. Meduza looks at the meme phenomenon surrounding this counterfeit photo. Story in English

How Pornhub saved itself in Russia. In an effort to avoid being blocked again in Russia, the world’s largest adult website, Pornhub, recently instituted a new age-verification system that requires visitors in Russia to login through a Vkontakte account to prove that they’re 18 or older. The news site TJournal has learned that Vkontakte’s developers actually added a special field to the social network’s authorization application programming interface (API) specifically for Pornhub, allowing it to check if an individual has reached adulthood. To learn more about the change, TJournal spoke to Pornhub’s vice president, Corey Price, and Vkontakte’s press secretary, Evgeny Krasnikov. Story in English

The adventures of Alexey Navalny

Might they finally lock up Navalny for good? Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) has asked a Moscow court to change opposition politician Alexey Navalny’s suspended felony sentences to incarceration behind bars. On June 29, officials from the FSIN visited Navalny in jail to warn him that they could request that he be locked up. Story in Russian

• Context: According to Russia’s penal code, the government can issue such warnings to persons with suspended sentences in cases where the individual has evaded obligations imposed by courts or been convicted of disturbing the peace. If these incidents become regular enough, the FSIN is empowered to ask a court to change an individual’s suspended sentence into a real prison sentence. Background in English

The oppositionist versus the separatist. Opposition politician Alexey Navalny has agreed to a public debate against Igor Girkin (better known as Igor Strelkov), the leader of the nationalist movement “Novorossiya.” Navalny says he has accepted the debate invitation because he wants to prove that his presidential campaign should also appeal to self-described Russian patriots, like the people Girkin represents. Igor Girkin was one of the main public figures among the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine during the early stages of the armed confrontation in 2014. Story in English

The man behind “Putin’s Troops.” On July 4, members of a movement known as “Putin’s Troops” raided Alexey Navalny’s presidential campaign office in Krasnodar. Made up mostly of elderly people, the group chanted slogans, ripped up campaign materials, and flipped over furniture. This incident wasn’t the first disturbance instigated by “Putin’s Troops.” The group regularly stages protests against Russia’s democratic opposition, and earlier this year it even produced a viral video modeled on the hit song “Ice Melts.” Behind all this activism, you’ll find a philanthropist named Marat Dinayev, the founder of a charity called “Social Justice.” In a special report for Meduza, Artem Besedin of Yuga.ru spoke to Dinayev and his activists to learn more about how this forme Krasnodar politician created a small army of elderly pro-Putin video bloggers. Special report in English

No more letting the “anti-corruption” fighters push them around. Russia’s National Guard said in a press release on Tuesday that it plans to bring lawsuits against people who threaten or harass its troops on the Internet. Officials haven’t yet named any of the supposed victims or perpetrators, but the National Guard’s public statement says, “The authors of these publications often hide behind exceptionally noble goals, sometimes calling themselves ‘anti-corruption fighters.’” The National Guard’s announcement comes as police continue a nationwide crackdown on Alexey Navalny’s presidential campaign offices. Story in English

Also in the news

• That email attachment you wish you could unsend. A Moscow office of Russia’s Pension Fund leaked personal data belonging to more than 17,000 people to all the companies registered in that Pension Fund office’s local district, according to a post on the IT blog Geektimes. The office reportedly supplied local businesses with a list of 17,752 people’s personal information, including birth dates, registered home addresses, and even their personal insurance policy numbers. Story in English
• The Chechens are alright, maybe. On the night of January 26, Chechen police summarily executed more than two dozen prisoners in Grozny, according to a July 9 report by the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which published the names of 27 alleged victims, noting that the death toll could be as high as 56 people. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that the government is aware of Novaya Gazeta’s report, though he says it’s also received assurances from Chechen Interior Ministry officials that the claims are untrue. Story in English
• The ballet that’s “too gay.” The Bolshoi Theater canceled the world premiere of a new ballet by director Kirill Serebrennikov on direct orders from Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky, a source told the news agency TASS on Monday. Medinsky allegedly intervened after deciding that Serebrennikov’s new ballet, “Nureyev,” contains so-called “gay propaganda.” Story in English

Yours, Meduza