In this week's edition of Regions Calling, @leylalatypova.bsky.social unpacks why the leader of her native republic of Bashkortostan, which has suffered some of the highest losses in the invasion of Ukraine, has ordered the creation of the republic’s first Ukrainian cultural center.

Thanks to @leylalatypova.bsky.social for quoting me in her @themoscowtimes.com article. I was able to refer to collaborative research with Natasha Danilova at Aberdeen University about the responses of Russia's soldiers' wives and mothers to the war in Ukraine www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/05/23/i...

Kondakova told MT that she believes the arrest warrant could stem from alleged noncompliance with Russia’s “foreign agent” law or her public criticism of the war in Ukraine.

Why is Tatarstan in the running to host the Russia-U.S. hockey match — and what does this say about the republic’s growing role in the Kremlin’s foreign policy outreach? MT’s @leylalatypova.bsky.social explores more in this week’s edition of Regions Calling:

We're excited to introduce Regions Calling, a new weekly newsletter bringing you the most important stories from across Russia. In this week's issue, @leylalatypova.bsky.social explores how the mourning for killed Russian soldiers on Victory Day ties with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

@leylalatypova.bsky.social - Radio Liberty & Radio Free Europe Closure Silences Indigenous Voices Struggling Against Russian Imperialism. youtu.be/KdMawwzGG08

The looming shutdown of RFE/RL’s Russian bureau is likely to be acutely felt by millions of Russians in the country’s ethnic republics and regions. Journalists who spoke to me described it as a “foolish decision” and an outright “catastrophe”. www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/03/19/f...

This is one of the coolest projects @hrf.org and @the-signal.bsky.social have ever done. An all-star cast of writers and analysts, taking a look through every facet of foreign influence and foreign corruption in the US. (Make sure to keep an eye open for a Bob Menendez's Egyptian ID card!)

Whether Russia had a hand in it or not, Temirlan Ensebek's trial has become one of Kazakhstan's highest-profile political cases in recent years. @leylalatypova.bsky.social reports:

“I know at least 500 dead men in person,” said Maria Vyushkova, the lead expert on Russia’s Indigenous war losses. Maria & I spoke about her unique work, racism in war coverage and the extermination of Russia’s smallest Indigenous communities in the war: www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/02/25/e...

🇷🇺 invasion has cost 🇺🇦 thousands of lives and unmeasurable devastation. In 🇷🇺, the scars of the war might not be visible to the naked eye, but it sure has changed the nation forever. From Kursk to Moscow to Bashkortostan to Tyva, we tried to paint its portrait www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/02/24/p...

To mark UNESCO’s International Mother Language Day, I dove into how the Kremlin's policies facilitate the erasure of Indigenous languages across 🇷🇺. "Sometimes I imagine how my grandchildren might no longer know Bashkir…It is terrifying,” one mother told me. www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/02/21/f...

The Kremlin might have found a new ally in Trump, but things have not been going so smoothly for Moscow in the Caucasus. Relations between 🇷🇺 and 🇦🇿 have been deteriorating since December. Read more about this rift and its implications in my latest: www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/02/19/u...

OpEd: One year after the death of Alexei Navalny, his FBK finds itself engulfed in the biggest scandal since its founding, Morvan Lallouet writes.

Pavel Talankin kept months’ worth of footage filmed at the Chelyabinsk region school where he worked to produce “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” a rare firsthand glimpse at how Russian schools have become tools of state propaganda.

Indigenous knowledge is priceless. And it seems that’s exactly why so many institutions, scholars and policy actors in a position of privilege consistently want to receive it for free (and tick a diversity box while leaving out inconvenient details).

We are expanding The Moscow Times' groundbreaking Women Against the Kremlin series with interviews with some incredibly inspiring female Indigenous activists who are fighting not just the Putin regime but injustices ingrained in the very fabric of the country's society