Russian-staged ‘referendums’ on Ukrainian soil pursue an illusion of legitimacy Evgeny Feldman Crimea, a "referendum" prior to the annexation, 2014 Today, Russian-organized “referendums” began in several occupied Ukrainian territories. Only a week ago, the once-bruited idea of these “referendums” was officially, and indefinitely, “ put on hold .” On Sept. 20, this situation was reversed.

How Russia's mobilization affects women and transgender people Moskva News Agency Buses wait for new conscripts outside of the Moscow Military Commissariat On September 21, Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would officially begin conscripting people to fight in the country’s war against Ukraine. Contrary to what the bulk of media coverage has suggested, cisgender men aren’t the only people at risk of being sent to war.

The Russian payment system Mir and its operator The National Payment Card System (NSPK) is under a massive DDoS attack, which was organized and coordinated by Ukrainian cyber activists, Kommersant writes. The purpose of the attack is to cause interruptions in the passage of payments and the operation of terminals. The start of the attack was confirmed to Kommersant by sources in the Russian cybersecurity market.

Finland in the next few days will introduce a ban on the entry of Russians with tourist visas issued by any country that is part of the Schengen area . This was stated by Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto. According to him, the relevant decision has already been agreed upon by the government and will be legally formalized in the coming days.

A rally concert was held on Manezhnaya Square in support of the “referenda”. On it, to Chicherina’s songs, Putin praised Putin and rejoiced at mobilization. Report "Medusa" Alexander Zemlyanichenko / AP / Scanpix / Leta In Moscow, a rally-concert was held on the Manezhnaya Square in support of the “referenda on joining Russia”, which are held in the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR, as well as in the territories of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions of Ukraine seized by the Russian army.

The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation has once again expanded the list of individuals - "foreign agents". Four people have been added to it: a journalist from the Ukrainian agency UNIAN Roman Tsymbalyuk, editor-in-chief of the Newsader website Oleksandr Kushnari, blogger Dmitry Ivanov (Kamikaze Di) and head of the Alliance of Teachers movement Daniil Ken.

Pro-Kremlin bloggers downplay mobilization by comparing conscripts to candy Yekaterina Yesayeva Using the hashtag #DontPanic, pro-Kremlin bloggers have started comparing conscripted soldiers to french fries and gummies in social media posts about how “small” the scale of the country’s mobilization actually is. The independent Russian outlet Mediazona has found at least three of these posts.

In the evening, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky called on residents of the territories occupied by Russia "in any way to hide from Russian mobilization." “Avoid the agenda. Try to go to the free territory of Ukraine, ”Zelensky said.

Similar posts began to be published on VKontakte, stating that as part of the mobilization, “only 1%” of the 25 million people who, according to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, constitute a “mobilization resource” will be called up to the Russian army. In these posts, people are compared to french fries, gummies and the contents of a woman's cosmetic bag. The fact that 1% of the "mobilization resource" will be called up to the army as part of mobilization, said Sergei Shoigu.

Your browser does not support the audio element. What if Vladimir Putin dies tomorrow? As acting president, elected president, prime minister, and then president again, Vladimir Putin has now ruled Russia for almost 23 years. And it doesn’t look like he plans to retire any time soon. Following amendments to the Russian constitution in 2020, Putin is now able to run in two more presidential elections. This means he could potentially remain in power until 2036, at which point he’ll be turning 83.

Dozens of people died West Asia News Agency / Reuters / Scanpix / Leta Protest Protest in Tehran. September 21, 2022 In Iran, the protests that began after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, which the moral police detained for the “wrong” wearing of the hijab, has been going on for a week. She died in the hospital after she was brought there from a police station. The first shares began on September 16, on the day of the death of the girl. Since then, protests covered dozens of cities.

So far, only Germany has (verbally) expressed such readiness On September 21, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced mobilization. On the same day, all tickets for the nearest flights to visa-free countries were sold out , and multi-kilometer traffic jams of people wanting to leave Russia formed at land borders. Will the EU countries help Russians who are subject to mobilization? We tell you what the EU is saying about this.

The city of Moscow’s military commissar reportedly sent a letter to the Moscow Bar Association warning lawyers that they could face criminal prosecution for helping citizens illegally evade the draft. In the message, the conscription official notes that Russia’s Criminal Code prohibits serving as an “organizer, accomplice, or abettor” to someone seeking to shirk the draft.

Behind the scenes of the Kremlin’s sham ‘referendums’ Nikolai Trishin / TASS A polling station being prepared in Donetsk. September 22, 2022 On September 23, just two days after Vladimir Putin’s mobilization announcement, Russia began staging the four-day “referendums” that it intends to use as a step towards annexing Ukraine’s occupied territories.

The new president was chosen in the Russian Academy of Sciences - he became Gennady Krasnikov, who is called the "man Kovalchuk." The day before the vote, the current president withdrew his candidacy due to "administrative pressure" Anton Novoderezhkin / TASS building of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. September 20, 2022 On September 20, elections were held by the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).