As the head of the presidential administration’s Public Projects Department, Sergey Novikov has the power to destroy an artist’s career over an anti-war letter. His department has gained notoriety for various reasons: spreading anti-Ukrainian narratives online, silencing Russia’s anti-war cultural figures, and conducting propaganda work in occupied Ukrainian territories. While Novikov was once considered a friend among journalistic circles, he now engages in cultural censorship.

Meet the creators of the new ‘post-sanctions’ magazine for the Russian elite On March 8, 2022, the global magazine publisher Condé Nast announced it was suspending its operations in Russia in response to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, leaving the country’s elites with no prestigious glossy mags in which to read about themselves.

Putin’s domestic policy czar hopes to engineer a sale that would further consolidate the state’s control over Russia’s Internet industry Yuri Kovalchuk. Alexander Nikolaev / Interpress / AFP / Scanpix / LETA The Kremlin’s domestic policy czar, First Deputy Chief of Staff Sergey Kiriyenko, is advocating a new plan to sell off tech giant Yandex’s remaining Russian assets, journalists at Meduza and The Bell have learned.

A Putin-approved plan to sell Yandex’s Russian assets to a ‘consortium’ might collapse due to Western shareholders’ concerns about sanctions Vagit Alekperov A deal to sell Yandex’s remaining Russian assets to a “consortium of Russian billionaires” is in danger of collapse due to the risk of international sanctions, four sources with knowledge of the negotiations told journalists at Meduza and The Bell .

How wartime pressures drew former first son Ilya Medvedev into politics Story by Andrey Soshnikov (Current Time), Svetlana Reiter (Meduza), and Elizaveta Surnacheva (Current Time), with additional reporting by Kristina Safonova (Meduza). English-language version by Sam Breazeale.

The West is preparing a new round of sanctions against Russia, but who really pays, and what’s the point, in the end? Christian Hartmann / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA On February 8, 2021, at the initiative of the Permanent Representation of Poland to the European Union, two of Alexey Navalny’s associates — Leonid Volkov and Vladimir Ashurkov — held a meeting with Western diplomats.

Production problems involving Sputnik V’s second dose complicate Russia’s plans for mass coronavirus vaccinations Maxim Sheremetov / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA Russia has currently stockpiled at least 500,000 doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, but no more than 200,000 have been approved for mass release Earlier this week, Vladimir Putin vowed that Russia will produce 2 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine, known as “Sputnik V,” in the coming days.

Meduza spoke to all the likely sources behind the ‘Steele dossier.’ The report that forever transformed Donald Trump into a ‘Russian agent’ looks less and less convincing. Win McNamee / Getty Images U.S.

How ‘Meduza’ journalist Maxim Solopov was beaten and arrested in Minsk before he disappeared Maxim Solopov’s personal archive Meduza special correspondent Maxim Solopov is one of four Russian journalists who were jailed in Minsk on Sunday night, August 9. Unlike his three colleagues, however, Solopov is still missing. He was in Belarus to cover Sunday’s presidential election and related events. The last time he was in contact with Meduza ’s newsroom was around 1 a.m. on August 10.

‘Anti-Corruption Foundation’ spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh defends her team’s investigative work Semyon Kats for “Meduza” Opposition politician and Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) founder Alexey Navalny has an uneasy relationship with journalists; not only with reporters from pro-Kremlin outlets, but also with those working for independent media.

Opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on how her presidential campaign is taking on Lukashenko Sergey Grits / AP / Scanpix / LETA As Belarus approaches its presidential elections on August 9, the 2020 race has already been deemed the dirtiest in the country’s history: the authorities arrested alternative candidate Viktor Babariko (Viktar Babaryka) and opposition leader Sergey Tikhanovsky (Syarhey Tsikhanouski), while another would-be candidate, veteran politician Valery Tsepkalo (Valeryy