Meduza

Meduza is an independent-minded online media that brings news and feature stories from hundreds of sources in Russia and across the former Soviet Union in both Russian and English languages. This publication has been designated a "foreign agent" by the Russian authorities under a controversial law.

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How Russian neo-Nazi paramilitary fighters steal cryptocurrency through Ukrainian charity sites — and use it to fund the war

November 22, 2022

The paramilitary group Rusich is one of multiple Russian far-right and neo-Nazi organizations that have fought in the war in Ukraine. Because it’s not an official part of the Russian Armed Forces, Rusich has had to find alternative ways of funding its members’ military equipment and medical needs — and has found the perfect solution in cryptocurrency.  Meduza special correspondent …

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How the war on Ukraine is reshaping Russia’s digital underground

November 22, 2022

At the beginning of the February invasion of Ukraine, there was widespread fear that cybercrime would be weaponized against Western organizations, especially given earlier examples of the Russian security services tolerating cybercriminals targeting the West (or even trying to recruit them for service). The US-Russian dialogue on cybercrime, which reportedly led to the arrest of …

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Russian IT specialist hides in the forest to escape draft order

October 26, 2022

Vladimir Putin’s September 21 mobilization announcement sparked a massive new wave of emigration out of Russia; in early October, Forbes Russia reported that roughly 700,000 people had left the country in the previous two weeks (the Kremlin has denied that the real number is that high). Other potential conscripts, unable or unwilling to leave the country altogether, have gone …

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YouTube used increasingly in Russia mainly for entertainment purposes

September 20, 2022

According to Mediascope data (cited by Kommersant), Russians spent more time on YouTube in the first six months of 2022 than previously. They spent on average about 84 minutes per day on the site in this period, then 87 minutes in July and 88 minutes in August. Among the reasons for this trend could be news fatigue and a desire for …

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Pro-Russian authority in Kherson cuts access to Instagram and YouTube

July 7, 2022

The authority installed by occupying Russian troops in Ukraine’s southern region of Kherson announced on Wednesday that access to Instagram and YouTube is now blocked locally. Officials acknowledge, however, that the American social networks are still available through VPNs. Occupying forces in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions disabled mobile Internet service by Ukrainian telecoms back in late …

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Toxic assets: How Yandex became part of Russia’s censorship machine

June 5, 2022

In late April, Russian Internet giant Yandex announced it was selling its news service, Yandex.News, and its personal recommendations service, Yandex.Zen, to VK Company, which is controlled by the Kremlin. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, these products (just like Yandex overall) have faced a barrage of criticism for misleading millions of users by withholding credible information …

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“This destroys my five years of hard work:” How Instagram ban affects Russians’ everyday lives

March 18, 2022

It’s been two days since Roskomnadzor blocked Instagram in Russia. The agency, which is in charge of telecommunications control and censorship, believes that the social network is filled with “calls to commit violent actions against Russian citizens and military personnel.” Russia’s Attorney General has called for Meta, Instagram’s parent company, to be blacklisted as an “extremist organization.” …

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16-year-old sentenced to five years in prison over plot to blow up virtual FSB building in video game

February 12, 2022

This Thursday, a Russian military court handed down sentences for terrorism to three teenagers from the Siberian town of Kansk. The boys were arrested in the summer of 2020 for posting leaflets with political slogans on the local FSB building. After searching their phones and uncovering a “plot” to blow up a virtual rendering of …

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How Russian authorities invest in domestic alternatives to YouTube

February 12, 2022

The Russian authorities have been sinking money into domestic alternatives to YouTube for over a year, says a new investigation from iStories and Agentstvo. Allegedly, these Russian video platforms are meant to serve as substitutes in the event that Russia’s censorship agency bans YouTube altogether. However, sources say the country’s leadership doesn’t believe that anything will come of …

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Russia threatens to block YouTube for taking down another German RT channel

December 19, 2021

Roskomnadzor, Russia’s telecom and Internet regulator, is threatening to restrict access to YouTube after the video platform shut down yet another German-language channel run by the Russian state-controlled television network RT (Russia Today). According to a Roskomnadzor press release published on Friday, December 17, the federal censor sent a letter to YouTube’s parent company, Google, demanding that …

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VK ownership changes have both political and business motives, say Russian pundits

December 8, 2021

While the restructure in VK (ex-Mail.ru Group)’s ownership announced last week is making the Kremlin’s control over Russian social media even stronger, business motives are also involved, believe insiders.  As reported by The Bell, Sogaz is said to be the real managing partner here, even though technically speaking, the new ownership structure at VK is a diarchy with …

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Anti-vaxxers wage ‘mental war’ on Russian governors via Instagram

November 25, 2021

Russian governors are being bombarded with comments and messages on Instagram, urging them to oppose draft legislation that would impose new QR-code vaccine passport prerequisites for accessing public places and certain modes of transportation. Journalists from Taiga.Info first reported the online campaign on Thursday, November 18, tracing it to conservative Orthodox groups and other organizations that promote …

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