#OpEd Jimmy Kimmel's removal from late night television resembles when the Kremlin attacked a television channel that satirized Putin — and even the liberal media rationalized what happened as if it was acceptable, warns Andrei Soldatov.

Russian pop icon Alla Pugacheva’s first interview since the invasion of Ukraine has been viewed 20m times since it premiered last week. It’s worth the watch (and has English subtitles)

Russia has blocked voice and video calls on WhatsApp and Telegram. Yet Russians who spoke to MT reported that the restrictions are far from foolproof — at least for now — and can vary based on one's mobile carrier and geographic location.

In this new two-part series, MT explores the political context that set the stage for the Kushtau protests — one of the few successful grassroots protests in Russia’s modern history — and how they unfolded.

Powerful reporting from Donetsk, where Ukrainian soldiers struggled to protect a strategic road from Russia’s advance “Contacted after our departure, Vitalii said the team had been ordered to abandon the road and fall back to Kharkiv. ‘It has become too dangerous. We are pulling back’.”

#OpEd "The flame of independent journalism Derk lit 30 years ago has not been extinguished. And we will bring it back to Russia," writes Moscow Times publisher Alexander Gubsky.

Apakhonchich’s creative reports to the Justice Ministry chronicle both the absurdity and brutality of Russia’s “foreign agents” law. They will be shown at Artists Against the Kremlin, an upcoming exhibition co-organized by MT in Amsterdam.

The latest round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks has ended after about 40 minutes. t.me/kommersant/8...

Activists warn the planned mine at Kyrktytau could harm ecosystems as far away as Kazakhstan — and its copper could be shipped as far as the EU.

The digital campaign, called Give Me a Choice, calls on doctors to take action against growing abortion restrictions inside the country.

Trump has privately encouraged Ukraine to step up deep strikes on Russian territory, even asking Zelenskyy whether he could strike Moscow if the US provided long-range weapons, according to people briefed on the discussions. w/ @henryjfoy.ft.com @maxseddon.bsky.social. www.ft.com/content/b66f...

Орешник?

"The truth is that repression in Russia is still very selective and limited. Even if you're against the war, it's much more likely that you'll be hit by a car or killed by a falling brick than be repressed. But you don't get paranoid about bricks every time you go outside, do you?"

BREAKING: Pro-Kremlin media report that former Transportation Minister Roman Starovoit, who was dismissed by Putin earlier Monday, has been found dead at his home in an apparent suicide.

In this week's edition of the Regions Calling newsletter, @leylalatypova.bsky.social explores how the latest hostilities in the Middle East have hit home for residents of Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan:

Can an ordinary person in Russia be imprisoned for sharing a book sold in bookstores? Grigory Skvortsov, a photographer from Perm, was sentenced to 16 years in prison Thursday for doing just that.

NEW: The Kremlin is struggling to respond to the Israel-Iran conflict after it failed to anticipate the outbreak of hostilities, leaving it powerless to support a key ally, four sources in Russia’s foreign policy establishment told MT.

Nadezhda Rossinskaya’s Army of Beauties volunteer initiative claims to have helped 25,000 people in occupied Ukraine between 2022 and 2023.

In the latest Regions Calling newsletter, @leylalatypova.bsky.social recounts a recent opposition event where the unhealthy power dynamic between the ethnic Russian majority and the few Indigenous attendees present was on full display.

Residents of the Ukrainian capital voiced feelings of shock and stress as they grappled with the aftermath of the attack that killed at least 14 people.

A potentially significant step in the search for answers over what happened to Seda Suleimanova nearly two years since she was abducted

If I don’t emerge from my apartment for the next six months, this is the reason why

The head of a Berlin gallery that also exhibits anti-war artists tells me it was his understanding that the Paris gallery never tried to hide the fact that Liza was working there

The Moscow Times examined new footage released by Ukraine's Security Service, showing a range of aircraft targeted across four air bases.

“There are quite a lot of Ukrainians living here on our [land]...This will be our way of showing that we respect them for preserving their culture,” Bashkortosan’s leader said. In fact, the Ukrainian diaspora in Russia face immense pressure and persecution:

EXCLUSIVE: When Putin visited Kursk this month, reports said his helicopter was targeted by Ukrainian drones. In reality, this was a PR move aimed at convincing Russians that Putin is ready to put his own life at risk for the country, officials told MT. @kozlov.bsky.social reports:

This is pretty depressing. Nasiliu.Net joined the first-ever episode of The Naked Pravda almost six years ago. Very sad to see Russia’s “foreign agent” paranoia hurting vulnerable groups like this. meduza.io/en/news/2025...

Aman Malyshev, a 22-year-old conscript, was killed in Russia’s Bryansk region near the Ukrainian border this spring. His family’s search for justice reflects the careful line that military families must tread when seeking answers from the government.

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:

NEW: Vladimir Putin has no intention of accepting Volodymyr Zelensky’s offer to meet in Istanbul, sources in the Russian government, the Foreign Ministry and close to the Kremlin have told MT. @kozlov.bsky.social reports:

I feel personally attacked by this content

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.

It’s 12:22 a.m. in Moscow and we are standing by for an announcement from Putin, likely to do with the Western demands for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine

Unlike the 2005 Victory Day parade, when leaders of the U.S., France and Germany attended, Russia is now alienated from those allies who shared in its World War II triumph. “We failed to bring together participants from the anti-Hitler Allies — and that’s telling,” one Russian diplomat told MT.

Volunteers from across the political spectrum are leading the fight against one of the worst environmental disasters in recent Russian history. The authorities aren't thrilled.

A man in central Moscow staged a rare protest against Vladimir Putin before jumping from a bridge into the Moscow River, SOTAvision reports. Read more: www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/05/06/r...

Uitwaaien

I used to monitor this stuff at work, mostly because it was inept and fun to share on Twitter. But you'd be surprised how many of RT's frequent guests and former hosts have resurfaced with real jobs, unencumbered by what should have been career-ending lowlight reels

On their first album in five years, AIGEL channels exile, existential reckoning and rebirth into a dancefloor-ready soundscape.

NEW: The Kremlin is scouring for incentives it believes can catch — and hold — Donald Trump’s attention, ranging from rare earths deals and geopolitical leverage in Iran and North Korea to a long-dreamed-of Trump Tower in Moscow. @kozlov.bsky.social reports:

⚡️⚡️ Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an Easter ceasefire in Ukraine that will begin Saturday at 6:00 p.m. Moscow time and last until midnight on Sunday.

It’s called embracing the digital nomad mindset

Journalism is not a crime

This perfectly describes even the English degrees (in early 2010s) despite being almost entirely separated from the rest of the school. Most of my classmates knew what was going on, when we got Выпускник МГИМО mugs on orientation day. Some classmates fully bought in, staying in Russia.

"don’t mistake performance for principle." An excellent summary of Russian diplomatic thinking. Essential reading for western officials

Ksenia Karelina, a U.S.-Russian citizen who was sentenced to 12 yrs in prison, for a small donation to a Ukrainian humanitarian NGO, has been released in a prisoner swap, WSJ reports

⚡ Russia’s stock market has suffered its worst week in over two years in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs and a drop in oil prices. The Moscow Exchange was down 8.5% at the end of trading on Friday, with $23.7 billion in market capitalization wiped out in two days.

Please support @en.zona.media —they're the best reporters and investigative journalists specialising in 🇷🇺 and they will no longer do without our help. Given the crackdown on independent media and rule-of-law decline in too many places, their work is more important than ever. Donate; spread the word.