Evening Medusa

A former Chechen security official told how people are tortured and killed in the region. Do I need to follow restrictions after vaccination? A four-day work week is a reality (but not in Russia)

Good evening,

This is Meduza's daily newsletter about the important news of the day. Let's start today's episode by rejoicing for Imanbek Zeikenov (aka DJ Imanbek), the first musician from Kazakhstan in history to receive a Grammy. We'll tell you how a former railway worker who learned music from lessons on YouTube managed to achieve such success.

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Pulse

The main thing for the day - point by point

• Roskomnadzor threatened to block Twitter in a month
• Apple agreed to implement the “law against Apple” in Russia. She will have to pre-install Russian applications on phones and tablets.
• The State Duma banned educational activities without the consent of the authorities . The amendments are so broad that even websites, YouTube channels and podcasts fall under them. The scientific community is, to put it mildly, dissatisfied .
• Deputies also toughened the punishment for “insulting the memory of defenders of the Fatherland.” From now on, if you insult a veteran on the Internet, you can get up to five years in prison.
• The Vatican has banned priests from blessing same-sex unions.
• 19-year-old Dynamo St. Petersburg hockey player Timur Fayzutdinov died in hospital . During a match on March 12, he was hit by a puck.

Texts of the day

A former special forces soldier from Chechnya told how security forces in the republic tortured and killed people

This text was published by our colleagues from Novaya Gazeta. A former employee of the patrol service regiment named after Akhmat Kadyrov, Suleiman Gezmakhmaev, spoke about torture and executions. Participating in counter-terrorism operations, regiment employees finished off wounded militants on the spot so that they would not say “too much” during interrogations. Those who were detained were beaten with rubber hoses and batons, subjected to electric shocks and lowered into a barrel of water. The torture ended either when the detainee confessed or when he died . Some detainees were forced to call themselves “emirs”—that is, militant commanders. 12 of the 13 “amirs” were killed in the basement of one of the regiment’s barracks. Gezmakhmaev’s commander advised not to kill them with a pistol (so as not to stain the walls and floor with blood), but to strangle them with a sports rope.

Today’s episode of the “What Happened” podcast is devoted to the same topic (see below).

Spain could become one of the first countries in the world to try a four-day working week

The country's authorities approved in principle the idea of ​​the Mas Pais party. The experiment, which is planned to cost 50 million euros, will last three years . It is assumed that the government first fully and then partially covered the companies' expenses associated with the experiment: 100% in the first year, 50% in the second and 33% in the third year. Mas Pais expects to attract about 200-250 companies, each with between six and 200 employees. The idea also has critics among businessmen. They consider the proposal "madness" due to the worst recession in Spain's economy since the civil war in 1936-1939.

Coronavirus

What can and cannot be done after vaccination?

Let's be upset right away: you still need to wear masks (even on the street), keep your distance and avoid prolonged contact with others. The reason is that there is still no reliable data to indicate that vaccinated people do not become asymptomatic carriers of the virus. It is also unknown how long the immunity obtained as a result of vaccination lasts.

Other news about coronavirus:

• The South African strain of coronavirus was identified for the first time in Russia. It is about 50% more contagious than other variants
• In Crimea, the ban on mass events was lifted to mark the anniversary of joining Russia. The Kremlin said that lifting restrictions is the responsibility of regional heads.
• The United Statestried to dissuade Brazil from purchasing Sputnik V.

Podcast “What Happened”

How extrajudicial executions of innocent people work in Chechnya

The author of the Novaya Gazeta investigation , Elena Milashina, and human rights activist Oleg Petrov talk about this. How are the power structures structured in Chechnya, can the story of Suleiman Gezmakhmaev be trusted, and how the work of human rights activists in Chechnya has changed after the publication of the first texts on extrajudicial executions.

Listen to “What Happened” on Meduza. Today the issue should be released around nine in the evening Moscow time. And subscribe to Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Yandex.Music and other podcast services.

By the way, the “What Happened” podcast recently turned one year old. On this occasion, we decided to arrange a meeting with listeners in the clubhouse . Today at 20:00 Moscow time, follow the link for Vladislav Gorin, Andrey Pertsev, Konstantin Gaase and conversations about Russian politics.

NFT of the day

Elon Musk recorded a song about NFTs - and is (seemingly) going to sell it as an NFT

Non-fungible token technology (also known as NFT) allows anyone to secure ownership of any digital art object and then sell it. In general, Musk recorded a techno track about NFTs and posted it on Twitter . The song is accompanied by a looping video with a gold figurine, a neon NFT lettering and a carousel with Doge and coins - as well as an announcement about the sale of the composition. There are no links, however. So it's unclear how serious the tech king's plans are.

In case you didn't understand anything, we have an analysis of how NFTs work.

With the hope that you too will have a four-day work week, your “Medusa”