As russia rapidly loses budget revenues due to the war and sanctions, the government is turning to a “simple” solution — taking more money from its own citizens. The plan for collecting fines from russians and businesses in 2025 has been sharply increased — by a third. ▫️According to the updated plans, the state aims…
russia is finding it increasingly difficult to cover the massive costs of war, forcing the government to slash funding for key development programs — including science, industry, and innovation. russian state duma has approved major budget cuts in these areas due to falling oil revenues and a growing budget deficit. ▫️ A cut of 97…
russian authorities often talk about their “care” for veterans of the war against Ukraine, but in practice, these initiatives often amount to shifting the responsibility for their reintegration onto others. ▫️ For example, in russia’s vologda region, starting September 1, businesses with more than 100 employees will be required to allocate 1% of jobs for…
russia is trying to contain the rising price of potatoes by urgently importing them from other countries. After buying up supplies from belarus and sourcing additional shipments from China, russia still failed to cover the existing shortage — and has now started importing potatoes from Mongolia. In May alone, over 4,000 tons of the “second…
Alarm bells are ringing in the russian state duma: as early as July, russia’s largest agricultural machinery manufacturer — the rostselmash concern — may completely halt production. Warehouses are overflowing with over 3,000 unsold combines and tractors, and more than 15,000 workers have been sent on forced leave. ▫️rostselmash, listed as a strategic enterprise in…
russian railway monopoly “RZD” records a record decline in freight volumes — for the period of January-April 2025, the decrease amounts to nearly 6.8%, with a sharper drop of 8.6% in April. The most significant reduction in cargo flows is seen in the metallurgical, construction, oil, and agricultural sectors. ▫️ These problems are systemic and…
russian propaganda outlets are covering the so-called “primaries” within the “united russia” party. The main focus is on the “record number of ‘svr’ veterans” that putin’s party will send to the elections. ▫️ This is presented as evidence of kremlin’s care for veteran reintegration, the privileged status of participants in the war against Ukraine, and…
Military training is increasingly being implemented in russian schools. Recently, a UAV manual for 8th–9th grades, which appeared last year, was granted the status of a mandatory textbook for use in labor lessons. ▫️The introduction of a compulsory school course on UAVs is part of the “personnel for unmanned aerial systems” program, launched in September…
It has been reported that the website of russian propaganda TV channel “tsargrad” has been blocked in Azerbaijan. This followed a request by influential Azerbaijani journalist Emil Mustafayev to the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, urging the restriction of access to the resource due to its dissemination of false information targeted against Azerbaijan. ▫️…
russian dictator vladimir putin has publicly instructed that the conditions of the family preferential mortgage program be extended to the families of participants in the so-called “smo”. ▫️This initiative was announced at a time when the mortgage market in russia is at a historic low. Mortgages are currently unaffordable for the vast majority of the…
One of russia’s largest oil companies, gazprom neft, is reporting multi-billion dollar losses. In the first quarter of 2025, the company posted a loss of 21.3 billion rubles (approximately $230 million), compared to a profit of 36.9 billion rubles (approximately $463 million) a year ago. This happened amid a 5% drop in revenue and a…
russia is experiencing the largest natural wildfires in the last 7 years — since the beginning of the year, more than 4.3 million hectares have burned, which is equivalent to the size of Denmark. The worst situation is in the zabaykalsky region, where fire has destroyed over 2.2 million hectares, and the scale of the…
