In early 2009, Yevgeniya Khassis helped Nikita Tikhonov murder attorney Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova. At the time, Khassis and Tikhonov were members of the Combat Organization of Russian Nationalists, a neo-Nazi group based in Moscow. According to investigators, Tikhonov shot Markelov after Khassis informed him of the lawyer’s movements. Tikhonov also killed Baburova, who was standing next to Markelov during the attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree calling up Russians in the reserves for military training in 2026, Interfax reports. The document, signed on December 8, states that Russian citizens will be called up for training in the Armed Forces, the National Guard, rescue military units of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, as well as in state security agencies and the FSB.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, during a conversation with journalists on December 8, named the names of those who could head the presidential office, Ukrayinska Pravda reports.

Paramount Skydance has offered to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for $108 billion at $30 per share, Bloomberg reports, citing Paramount's press service. As the agency notes, Paramount's offer came a few days after Warner Bros. agreed to a deal with Netflix. Prior to this, Paramount and Netflix had been fighting for Warner Bros. assets for several months. Netflix, as announced on December 5, is only going to buy out the Warner Bros. film studio.

According to Dozhd's source, she could have been poisoned Archive of Aishat Baimuradova The 23-year-old native of Chechnya, Aishat Baimuradova, who was killed in Yerevan, was a relative of the head of the republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, said the head of the human rights group “Marem” Svetlana Anokhina and the director of the crisis group SK SOS David Isteev.

The Russian recording company Melodiya has revived the production of vinyl records under its own brand, according to the company’s website. Records began to be produced at a plant in Novosibirsk. The first batch of records, which have already appeared on sale, included: “Autogenic training for alcohol abusers.

Evgenia Khasis served 16 years for the murder of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova. Now she has been released - and immediately gave an interview to Ksenia Sobchak Evgenia Khasis is a member of the Combat Organization of Russian Nationalists (BORN), convicted in the case of the murder of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova. At the end of November, Khasis was released after 16 years in prison. Ksenia Sobchak gave her a long interview - her first after her release.

Andrey Pertsev - about crisis management measures that were discussed at the congress of political consultants Agency "Moscow" During the 2026 State Duma election campaign, United Russia members may demand the repeal of unpopular measures. For example, they will propose to reconsider the government's initiative to increase the cost of recycling fees for cars and technology fees for electronics.

The organizers of the Golden Globes have announced the nominees for the 2026 awards. The nominees for Best Picture – Drama are “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “A Mere Chance,” “Secret Agent,” “Sentimental Value” and “Sinners.” The nominees for the award in the category “Best Film – Musical or Comedy” are “Blue Moon”, “Bugonia”, “Marty the Magnificent”, “Method of Elimination”, “Battle after Battle”, “New Wave”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting of the Council on National Projects, admitted that the VAT rate could be reduced again in the future. And we have raised VAT now. When we held all these meetings on these issues, [...] we decided that when choosing all the tools, it was still more honest, straightforward and reliable to just go for this promotion. Temporary, I hope, but an increase. This is Putin's first comment on increasing VAT after the adoption of the relevant law.

International politics expert Hannah Notte answers Sergey Bobylev / RIA Novosti / Sputnik / Profimedia Meeting of Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa with Russian President Vladimir Putin during Sharaa’s visit to Moscow in October 2025 A year ago, Russia lost its most important ally in the Middle East - the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. The forces against which Russia fought on Assad’s side in 2015–2017 came to power in the country.

An earthquake of magnitude 7.2 occurred in Japan, NHK reports. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the sea, about 80 kilometers east of the northern part of the island of Honshu. The strongest tremors were felt in Aomori Prefecture. No damage or casualties were reported. After the earthquake, a tsunami threat was declared. The earthquake was the strongest in magnitude to hit Japan since early 2025. Before this, the strongest earthquake occurred off the coast of Iwate Prefecture on November 9.

One thousand three hundred eighty-four day. Zelensky meets with leaders of Germany, France and Great Britain Since February 24, 2022, Meduza has been broadcasting live about the Russian-Ukrainian war. We publish your letters in our daily materials because we are sure that we need to continue talking about the war. Share with us the thoughts you have about the war. What feelings are you experiencing?

The Russian Prosecutor General's Office approved an indictment against the “highest political leadership” of Ukraine. This is reported on the department's website.

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