On Monday, the book by American journalist Evan Gershkovich, This Cursed Beautiful Land, appeared in U.S. bookstores. In it, the former Moscow correspondent for The Wall Street Journal рассказывает how, as a result of a provocation, he ended up as a hostage of the FSB, was sentenced to 16 years on espionage charges, and was released only thanks to an international prisoner exchange. The circumstances of this story are strikingly reminiscent of a Russian-American spy scandal from 40 years ago, which was resolved thanks to the intervention of Gorbachev and Reagan.

#documentaryprose #journalists #historyoftheSovietspecialservices #KGBoftheUSSR #Putin #repressions #Russia #securityforces #USA #FSB #cia #EvanGershkovich

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At the Shuya checkpoint in the Suoyarvi district of Karelia, two-way checks were introduced on September 19. The barriers are closed and open only after vehicles are inspected.

#leavingRussia #Karelia #Russia #securityforces #FSB #Shuya

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Soon after the AFU strikes on Ozon warehouses, it became known about Vladimir Putin’s decree on protecting infrastructure facilities. Its essence is simple: critical infrastructure facilities whose owners failed to ensure their security under conditions of external threats may be transferred to temporary state administration. The question of why business should perform the state’s duties does not even arise.

#Ozon #Analytics #droneattacks #business #Prigozhinsrebellion #VladimirPutin #WarinUkraine #state #retail #Russia #securityforces

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Nina Potarska is a Ukrainian sociologist and researcher in feminist political economy. She heads the Ukrainian Center for Social and Labor Research and is involved in the Global Women’s Alliance for Leadership in Security (WASL). Nina spent her childhood in Murmansk Oblast, from where Russian Air Force fighter jets now take off to carry out airstrikes on Kyiv. But Potarska does not agree with the widespread comparison between Ukraine after February 24 and Israel after October 7: she is in solidarity with Palestinians and criticizes Israel’s actions in Gaza. This spring, Nina joined the humanitarian flotilla «Sumud» — an international maritime initiative launched last year with the aim of breaking Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. She gave the first part of the interview at the beginning of the flotilla’s voyage, and the second part after she, along with other pro-Palestinian activists, was detained by Israeli security forces.

#bigtalk #war #warinGaza #WarinUkraine #Israel #interview #conflict #Palestine #GazaStrip #securityforces #Sumudflotilla

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Russian authorities have been restricting internet freedom for years. But recently, these restrictions have reached unprecedented levels and even surpassed China’s Great Firewall. The blockades are undermining the economy and sparking protests, yet the FSB, which now oversees control of the Russian internet, is not backing down.

#business #InternetblockinginRussia #state #theInternet #ArtificialIntelligence #China #acrisis #Nepal #Putin #Russia #freedom #securityforces #FSB #censorship

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On February 27, 2015, politician Boris Nemtsov was shot dead in the center of Moscow. Since then, Russia has changed radically—not only politically, but morally as well. This crime became the point after which the authorities realized: nothing will happen for killing an opponent.

#BorisNemtsov #VladimirPutin #power #WarinUkraine #warinChechnya #violence #Nemtsovka #memory #policy #criminalpunishmentandpunishment #Russia #securityforces #murder #essay

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Tajikistan is the only post-Soviet country where power has not changed hands since the early 1990s. The president long ago chose his eldest son, Rustam Emomali, as his successor, but the transfer of authority is constantly postponed.

#Analytics #universaloutput #aftertheUSSR #securityforces #Tajikistan #transitofpower #CentralAsia #EmomaliRahmon

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After the resignation of the head of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan, Kamchybek Tashiev, President Sadyr Japarov has begun a sweeping purge of officials. The apparent goal is to bring the entire system of state governance under his control and become the sole center of power. Achieving this won’t be easy: over the past five years, Tashiev concentrated a significant share of managerial and economic decisions in his own hands, and it’s far from clear that Japarov will be able to fill this vacuum—or hold on to power.

#Analytics #power #corruption #sell #Saharabypass #aftertheUSSR #securityforces #specialservices #CentralAsia

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Across the country, bookstores are undergoing searches and prosecutor inspections. Publishers send them lists of «banned» books that must be removed from sale and destroyed. All foreign agent books must be sold by the end of summer: from September 1, any educational activity by authors with this status will be prohibited. How do small bookstores in the regions survive under these conditions? A report from Rostov-on-Don, where, despite all difficulties, there are three such stores.

#business #foreignagents #Books #LGBT #youth #society #education #Regions #reportage #repressions #Russia #securityforces #south

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In Russia, they are preparing to punish people for searching for uncensored materials on the internet — including using VPNs. For Belarusian citizens, this has long been an everyday reality: for several years they have lived under a ban on access to independent information. In an interview with «Most,» Belarusian political scientist Artem Shraybman explains the difference between Russian and Belarusian censorship and what lessons from Belarusian digital resistance can be applied in Russia. He also discusses how the Lukashenko regime is evolving, what is happening with emigration, what to expect for political prisoners (including Maria Kolesnikova), and how the release of Sergey Tikhanovsky affects the Belarusian opposition in exile.

#AlexanderLukashenko #Belarus #Belarusianopposition #foreignpolicy #dictatorship #interview #KeithKellogg #personalitycult #MariaKolesnikova #massemigration #Minsk #independentmedia #politicalrepressions #protests #Russia #SergeiTikhanovsky #securityforces #censorship

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