Meduza interviews photographer Sergey Maximishin about his two-volume farewell to Russia and a century of history captured in his work and amateur images Reindeer Herders’ Day. The town of Tazovsky, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. 2004. In December 2025, the Russian photographer Sergey Maximishin released a two-volume album titled “ Rodina ” (Motherland). The first volume consists of amateur photographs from different years — images Maximishin has collected at flea markets and auctions.

Proekt Lidia Leonova Under Orthodox Church canon law, a patriarch cannot be married and must be celibate. But according to a new Proekt investigation , Russian Orthodox Church head Patriarch Kirill has had a “secret common-law wife” for more than 50 years. Journalists report that Lidia Leonova lives in the patriarch’s apartment, manages the household, and regularly accompanies him on trips. Meduza shares the investigation’s key findings about Patriarch Kirill’s longtime companion.

The cause of the fire in a bar in the resort of Crans-Montana in Switzerland was probably caused by sparklers. This was stated by the Prosecutor General of the canton of Valais, Beatrice Pilloux. “Everything indicates that the fire started due to burning sparklers that were attached to champagne bottles. They were too close to the ceiling,” the prosecutor general said. Pillou noted that the ceiling was covered with acoustic foam, so the flames spread very quickly.

Russian street singer Diana Loginova, jailed for performing anti-war songs, gives first major interview in exile In 2025, three St. Petersburg street musicians did something seemingly impossible in wartime Russia: they repeatedly drew crowds of dozens of people to sing openly anti-war songs in public. The feat didn’t come without a price. In mid-October, Diana Loginova, Aleksandr Orlov, and Vladislav Leontyev were arrested.

Chinese authorities have canceled tax breaks on contraceptives as of January 1 as part of measures to stimulate the birth rate, writes Reuters. Condoms and birth control pills are now subject to the standard 13% VAT for consumer goods. Tax breaks on contraception have been in effect for about thirty years - they were introduced when the country, in contrast, was struggling with population growth. China's population declined for the third year in a row in 2025.

Check out these and other iconic photo stories that Meduza published in 2025 Over the course of the year, Meduza published dozens of stories in photographs - and these are not only photographs related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, although, of course, footage of the great war is the most important work of our photo editors.

The Russian government sent an official diplomatic note to the United States demanding that it stop pursuing the Bella 1 tanker, which was heading to Venezuela. The New York Times writes about this, citing sources. Stalking Bella 1 On December 20, the US Coast Guard attempted to detain the Panama-flagged tanker Bella 1 in the Caribbean Sea. The ship was on the sanctions list for transporting Iranian oil.

One thousand four hundred and nine days. In Kharkov, 30 people were injured when a rocket hit a five-story building, authorities said. The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that it did not strike the city 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.

What is happening in Iran and what are the demonstrators trying to achieve? EPA / Scanpix / LETA Protest demonstration in Tehran, December 29, 2025 Protests in Iran began on December 28. The reason is the economic crisis: the collapse of the national currency and huge inflation. But the slogans, from purely economic, very quickly became political: the protesters are seeking the overthrow of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a review of the entire policy of the Islamic Republic.

Here's what viewers, critics and the authors themselves have to say about the ending of the series (warning: spoilers!) Netflix One of Netflix's biggest hits, the series Stranger Things, has ended. The excitement around the finale was such that when the last episode was released on New Year's Eve, the streaming site again stopped working for a short time due to the influx of viewers (this had already happened in November, when the first episodes of the fifth season were released).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has offer ed the post of head of the President’s Office to military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov. “I had a meeting with Kyrylo Budanov and offered him the role of the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote in a post on X.

President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky invited the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, to head the office of the president. Zelensky himself wrote about this on social networks. Budanov himself soon announced that he accepted the president’s offer. “I consider the position of head of the president’s office as another line of responsibility to the country,” he wrote in a telegram.

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs re-put the founder of the Russian Volunteer Corps, RDK Denis Kapustin, on the wanted list after Ukrainian intelligence reported that his death was staged. “Grounds for the search: wanted under an article of the Criminal Code […]. Re-announced,” says the card on the Ministry of Internal Affairs website. Kapustin first appeared in the Ministry of Internal Affairs database in 2023.

Stranger Things has ended. Anton Dolin sums up the results and explains why the series will remain in history, despite any questions about the finale netflx Netflix has released the final episode of the fifth season of Stranger Things, one of the most popular shows in the history of the service. Almost ten years have passed since the release of the first season, and during this time the characters (and the actors who played them) have grown and the audience has changed.

US President Donald Trump said the United States would “come to the aid” of protesters in Iran if authorities crack down on protests using weapons. “If Iran shoots and brutally kills peaceful protesters, as is their usual practice, the US will come to their aid. We are ready for action and fully armed,” Trump wrote on the Truth social network. Protests have been ongoing throughout Iran for five days, caused by a sharp drop in the value of the national currency and rising prices.