By the end of 2025, russia ranked first in the world for internet shutdowns. russians may take pride in this “global leadership” — but there is a catch. ▫️ According to monitoring services, the cumulative duration of shutdowns reached 37,166 hours, while economic losses amounted to $11.9 billion. By comparison, Venezuela, which ranked second, was…
russian dictator vladimir putin marked Christmas alongside military personnel and their families, using a church service to once again justify the war against Ukraine. ▫️ During the Christmas service, putin claimed that russian soldiers are carrying out a “holy mission” to defend the homeland “by God’s will.” In effect, the war was presented not as…
In the settlement of atamanovka in russia’s zabaykalsky krai, a third rupture in the heating system has occurred within just a few days. Due to this chain of accidents, thousands of residents remain without heating in –30°C temperatures. ▫️ Breakdowns in the heating network were recorded on 30 December, 2 January, and 5 January. While…
russia is forced to admit that the era of superprofits from the oil and gas sector has come to an end. ▫️The russian ministry of finance stated that oil and gas revenues will decline both in the medium and long term. According to the ministry’s calculations, this year the share of oil and gas revenues…
In the russian state duma, they openly announced the possibility of disconnecting mobile internet on New Year’s Eve. ◽️ The official explanation is classic – concern for citizens, so that they can “peacefully walk and celebrate”. That is, the authorities are once again trying to present restrictions on basic freedoms as a benefit. ◽️ According…
Against the backdrop of the 2026 tax reform, which is expected to bring at least 2.3 trillion rubles ($30 billion) to the russian budget, putin claimed that citizens would supposedly “understand” tax increases if the funds were allocated to “defense.” In this way, the kremlin is preemptively justifying fiscal pressure with the war, directly shifting…
russia’s federation council has initiated legislation that would oblige bloggers to disseminate propaganda advertising. ▫️ The draft law provides for the mandatory placement of advertising promoting “traditional values,” “patriotism,” “culture,” and similar narratives on all major online platforms, accounting for no less than 5% of all advertising content. ▫️ In addition, all owners of large…
In russia, authorities are discussing the introduction of a single user ID for all online platforms. It is planned to be permanent and linked to a phone number to “more accurately count audiences.” Officially, this is justified as a measure for transparent statistics and convenience for the advertising market. The ministry of digital development claims…
russia is preparing to introduce fines for distributing films that allegedly “discredit traditional values.” Lawmakers plan to submit the draft bill to the state duma soon. ▫️The initiative imposes financial liability on audiovisual services and even social media platforms. This means fines could affect not only businesses but also private individuals. ▫️The lack of clear…
russian authorities continue to ramp up funding for the war against Ukraine, significantly exceeding the planned budget. ▫️ By the end of 2025, russia’s military spending is nearly 20% higher than initially planned. ▫️ According to russia’s ministry of defense, total military expenditures will reach 15.9 trillion rubles ($198.8 billion), or 7.3% of GDP. This…
In December, two dangerous incidents involving passenger aircraft operated by russian airlines occurred, both of which could have led to the deaths of hundreds of people. ◽️ On December 16, a Boeing 777 bound from moscow to Cuba experienced an engine fire during takeoff. More than 450 people were on board at the time. A…
At a meeting of the human rights council, russian dictator vladimir putin announced plans to block phone calls from so-called unfriendly countries. ▫️This initiative is being justified as necessary to provide “digital protection for citizens” from phone and online scammers — a topic that russian media have recently been artificially amplifying. However, the real reason…
