In a draft resolution, members of the Russian State Duma propose to exempt from criminal liability for committing crimes of minor and medium severity those who survived the war against Ukraine. From the very beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Russian authorities have been actively involving criminals in the war. At the same time, Russian…
The Russian government has announced the revival of a special commission on economic resilience, originally created during the COVID-19 crisis. The commission is tasked with identifying problem areas and developing support measures. Russian officials have now identified nine such sectors in need of assistance. Western sanctions have crippled Russian exports to Europe, and finding alternative…
Russian State Duma has drafted a bill that removes the possibility of administrative liability for “public discrediting” of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, leaving only criminal liability in all cases. ▫️ MPs also plan to criminalize the article calling for sanctions against Russia. After the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the…
Residents of the Russian city of Kemerovo rallied and recorded a video message to Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin about the poor quality of coal being sold to them at a regional discount. The situation is absurd, given that Kemerovo is located in Kuzbass, Russia’s main coal region. People complain that the coal burns poorly and…
Payments to the families of Kursk residents killed or wounded in the war have not been made since last July, while the region’s budget deficit has already reached 17 billion rubles ($175 million). The seven-month delay in payments to the military in the Kursk region once again highlights Russia’s heavy losses and deepening economic problems—issues…
At the end of 2024, Russia saw a rise in wage arrears. According to official statistics, the amount owed to workers in 2024 was 43.5% higher than in 2023. This is the first recorded increase in wage arrears since 2015, with the largest debts in the construction sector, which has been severely impacted by the…
Russian media actively cover the demonstrative report of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to dictator Vladimir Putin on the situation in the Russian economy. ▫️ Mishustin’s report contains traditional propaganda narratives: “Russia has successfully handled the sanctions”, “GDP growth is higher than expected and higher than in the United States”, “incomes and industrial production are growing”,…
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin made several statements at a meeting of the Russian Council for Science and Education, signaling his intent to complicate the process of getting higher education in Russia. ▫️ According to Putin, by 2029, the highest demand in Russia will be for specialists with secondary vocational education. As a result, starting in…
The Azerbaijani media report on the suspension of the activities of the Rossotrudnichestvo representative office (the “Russian House” in Baku) in the country. The “non-transparent schemes” of the organization’s activities and the “overtly reconnaissance nature” of its structure are emphasized. As the Center previously reported, Rossotrudnichestvo and the Russian Houses organized by it are an…
Across Russia, so-called “museums of smo” are being opened on a massive scale—yet another Kremlin propaganda tool, particularly aimed at children. These museums are already operating in Moscow and major cities, as well as in district centers, villages, and national republics like Buryatia and Bashkortostan. Special emphasis is placed on opening “museums of smo” directly…
According to official statistics, the average technical speed of freight trains on the Russian Railways network fell to 40.6 km/h last year, the lowest since 1960. The average sectional speed, which includes time spent at stops, dropped to 35.7 km/h, the lowest since 1993. At the end of last year, freight traffic on Russian railways…
The number of rockets Russia launches into space has been declining since 2014, when sanctions were first imposed on the country, while other space powers have rapidly expanded their launch capabilities. In 2024, Russia launched only 17 rockets, falling back to 1970s levels. For comparison, the United States conducted 152 launches last year. At this…
