Russian skinheads, challenging Navalny's allegations, and Putin's holiday legislation Friday, December 28, 2018 ( Meduza 's daily newsletter will return on Wednesday, January 2. See you all in 2019!) This day in history. On December 28, 1943, the Soviet authorities launched “Operation Ulusy” and began deporting members of the Kalmyk ethnic minority (more than 93,000 people) to forced labor camps in Siberia.