In Tajikistan’s Siyoma Valley, watchman Ivan Bragin bears witness to the local consequences of the global climate crisis. For The Beet, @skhashimov.bsky.social tells his fascinating story. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

A protest against Latvia’s proposed withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention drew more than 10,000 people — even though lawmakers had already decided to table it. We asked protesters why they came out. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Today happens to be the anniversary of the October Revolution. Read historian Alexey Uvarov on why the Russian Orthodox Church is still divided over the imperial family the Bolsheviks executed. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

I'm proud of how this very personal piece turned out, thanks to my wonderful editor @eilishhart.bsky.social and her team at @meduza.io. GIve it a read and reach out if you want to see more photos of the stunning Siyoma Valley, one of my favorite places in the world. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Tajikistan's Siyoma Valley is slowly withering away. Climate change, overgrazing, pollution are threatening the valley's fragile ecosystem. I've toured the valley many times and spoke to its sole resident about what these changes mean for the rest of Central Asia. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

When @skhashimov.bsky.social pitched this story, I jumped at the chance to commission it for The Beet. Ivan Bragin’s fascinating life as the lone resident of Tajikistan’s Siyoma Valley offers us a window into the local consequences of a global issue. Read it now! meduza.io/en/feature/2...

After years of all-out war and martial law, Ukraine’s political landscape is showing signs of thawing — even as the country continues to rally around Zelensky. “Ukrainians are not only resilient but also remarkably restrained,” analyst Balazs Jarabik told me. meduza.io/en/feature/2... @meduza.io

According to the police, around 10,000 people took to the streets of Riga tonight to protest against the (so far unsuccessful) attempts to withdraw Latvia from the Istanbul Convention.

In a new interview, Meduza talks to analyst Balázs Jarábik about Ukraine’s thawing political landscape and what it presages for the powers that be in Kyiv. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Ukraine jails Russian soldier for life for executing prisoner of war, @fabricedeprez.bsky.social reports for FT. “The judgment carries significant symbolic weight as Kyiv says hundreds of its troops have been killed in similar fashion.” www.ft.com/content/0ae0...

After years of all-out war and martial law, Ukraine’s political landscape is showing signs of thawing — even as the country continues to rally around Zelensky. “Ukrainians are not only resilient but also remarkably restrained,” analyst Balazs Jarabik told me. meduza.io/en/feature/2... @meduza.io

The battle for Pokrovsk has become a desperate game of cat and mouse. Russian troops are not storming the city but infiltrating it. While the command hopes to clear the city with special units, soldiers on the ground fear it's too late, warning that a major encirclement is imminent.

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Latvia has the highest femicide rate in Europe — ranking above Russia. Its parliament just voted to exit a treaty protecting women from violence. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

In wartime Ukraine, one’s future can vanish in a heartbeat. That’s why some Ukrainians are turning to tarot — a deck of cards that symbolizes life’s themes, spiritual lessons, and everyday experiences, used for both divination and self-reflection — to gain some semblance of control amid chaos.

Have Armenia and Azerbaijan made any more progress towards peace since the White House summit in August? My conversation with @zaurshiriyev.bsky.social for @ceip-politika.bsky.social covers that and more! Check it out now: youtu.be/N3TXiu7LM2s?...

Russia has placed Galina Timchenko, co-founder and CEO of Meduza, on its international wanted list, the country’s Investigative Committee announced on Wednesday. meduza.io/en/news/2025...

Fascinating read about the rise of Russia’s new wartime political elite. “All decisions are taken by Putin alone,” said one Kremlin insider. “No one has his ear.” www.economist.com/1843/2025/10...

Three independent news outlets in Kyrgyzstan — including OCCRP member center Kloop — have been branded “extremist organizations,” with a court banning all their online and social media activity. www.occrp.org/en/news/kyrg...

Kharkiv’s Saltivka neighborhood has suffered more damage and destruction from Russia’s invasion than any other part of the city. But even with the war still raging, the district is already starting to rise from the devastation. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Russia’s forced passportization campaign is depriving Ukrainians living under occupation of medical care, jobs, and even humanitarian aid. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

“At the pace of the past 30 days, seizing what remains of the four regions Mr Putin already claims—Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia—would take until June 2030. (For Russia to occupy all of Ukraine would require a further 103 years.)”

We realize that not everybody can contribute to Meduza financially, but here are six simple ways to support us on our 11th birthday that won't cost you a dime. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

“Putin rejected the US offer of sanctions relief for a ceasefire, insisting the war would end only if Ukraine capitulated and ceded more territory in the Donbas. The Russian president then delivered a rambling historical discursion…” www.ft.com/content/7af3...

Despite no elections on the horizon, political advertising is gradually ramping up in wartime Ukraine. "The real question is what message these political forces are sending, and what their strategy is," Viktoria Maksymova, an analyst with the political watchdog Chesno, told the Kyiv Independent.

“Everyone understands that if Ukraine comes under Russian domination, or is even absorbed into a kind of reconstituted Russian empire, then we have a challenge that is so much larger,” a senior NATO official told Meduza in Brussels this week. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

“[Russia] is systemically trying to capture and institutionalize its wartime experience and prepare for a postwar reform period. It realizes that the future character of warfare is changing, so the military must change, as well,” writes @massdara.bsky.social. www.foreignaffairs.com/russia/how-r...

Impressive investigation by @claramarchaud.bsky.social into the “great confiscation” Russia is carrying out in the occupied territories of Ukraine — a systematic campaign targeting some 25,000 homes belonging to Ukrainians who were displaced or killed during the war. www.lefigaro.fr/fig-data/ils...

in the occupied territories of Ukraine, people are kidnapped and tried as “spies” and “traitors” — with new sentences imposed every 3 days. Teenagers, pensioners, and entire families have fallen victim to the repression. Here is what we have learned 🔽 istories.media/en/stories/2...

“While things certainly don’t look great for Russia, we are far from a serious economic crisis at the moment. So that means that, unfortunately, public opinion will probably continue to acquiesce to this war.”

While traveling through Uzbekistan this summer, I became curious about the history of the Bukharan Jews and decided to examine how tourism is shaping what remains of the community, for my latest in @meduza.io's The Beet. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Reporting from Bukhara, journalist @sashaslobodov.bsky.social explores how tourism and the diaspora sustain the last vestiges of Uzbekistan’s Jewish heritage. The Beet’s latest. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Big thanks to @msnegovaya.bsky.social for joining me on The Naked Pravda to talk about the next chapter of Russia’s war against Ukraine. We cover the mounting costs pressuring the Kremlin, four scenarios for the war’s future trajectory, and so much more. meduza.io/en/episodes/... @meduza.io

Putin believes Russia can outlast and overpower Ukraine. What does that mean for the war’s future? @msnegovaya.bsky.social breaks down four possible scenarios. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

If you prefer reading to listening, check out the Q&A version of my interview with @msnegovaya.bsky.social about what might come next in Russia’s war against Ukraine. meduza.io/en/feature/2... @meduza.io

New podcast alert! For The Naked Pravda, researcher @msnegovaya.bsky.social breaks down the rising costs straining the Kremlin’s war machine — and explores four possible scenarios for the Russia–Ukraine war’s next chapter. meduza.io/en/episodes/...

Big thanks to @msnegovaya.bsky.social for joining me on The Naked Pravda to talk about the next chapter of Russia’s war against Ukraine. We cover the mounting costs pressuring the Kremlin, four scenarios for the war’s future trajectory, and so much more. meduza.io/en/episodes/... @meduza.io

“Both photojournalists, wearing helmets and bulletproof vests marked ‘press,’ were in the open.” RSF’s preliminary findings on the deliberate Russian drone strike that killed French journalist Antoni Lallican & severely injured Ukrainian photojournalist Georgiy Ivanchenko. rsf.org/en/ukraine-r...

Overnight, Russian forces carried out their biggest strike on Ukraine’s gas production infrastructure since the start of the full-scale invasion, according to a statement from the state-owned energy company Naftogaz. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Powerful piece by imprisoned Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli. “I was offered a plea deal – an admission of guilt in exchange for a lighter sentence – but I refused. To reconcile with injustice is to be buried alive.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The water shortage in Ukraine’s occupied Donbas region is at a crisis level and only getting worse. Desperate residents’ public appeals to Putin have had few results. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Moldova’s pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity, led by President Maia Sandu, has won more than 50 percent of the vote in the country’s parliamentary election. meduza.io/en/news/2025...

Fugitive tycoon Plahotniuc lands in Moldova after being extradited, media reports reut.rs/46DSbHy

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a report on Sept. 23 detailing the vast scale of torture committed by Russian forces on Ukrainian civilians held in captivity in occupied territories.

Two weeks ago, Meduza launched an emergency crowdfunding campaign. To survive, we needed a radical increase in the number of our monthly supporters. And thanks to you, we did it! But sustainability means our campaign continues. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

In a dispatch from Armenia, journalist Kushane Chobanyan uncovers the human stories behind Vanadzor’s forgotten industrial giant. The Beet’s latest. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Each of Ukraine’s 20,000 stolen children are the eyewitness to a war crime. Now that they’re on the Trump administration’s radar, will it help get them back from Russia? My latest. meduza.io/en/feature/2... @meduza.io

Reporting on the Armenian city of Vanadzor often focuses on its industrial decline. In The Beet’s latest dispatch, journalist Kushane Chobanyan uncovers the human stories behind the city’s most famous factory. meduza.io/en/feature/2... @meduza.io

Ukraine has verified Russia’s deportation of nearly 20,000 children from occupied territories. Can the Trump administration help get them back? meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Each of Ukraine’s 20,000 stolen children are the eyewitness to a war crime. Now that they’re on the Trump administration’s radar, will it help get them back from Russia? My latest. meduza.io/en/feature/2... @meduza.io