Week-ending 1 August 2025
Russia’s War against Ukraine
The OSCE is about to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its founding document, generally known as “the Helsinki final act,” signed on 1 August 1975. (The Guardian, 25/7/25)
Law enforcement authorities in four Russian regions arrested 20 people suspected of operating scam call centers allegedly coordinated from Ukraine, the FSB said. (The Moscow Times, 25/7/25)
A prison sentence handed down to Seferbeg Gadzhiev, a serviceman based in Rostov-on-Don convicted of spreading “fake news” about the military, was replaced with a fine. (Meduza, 28/7/25)
A court sentenced 67-year-old retiree Viktor Komlev to pay 170,000 rubles (about $2,090) for liking multiple antiwar posts on the social network Odnoklassniki. (Meduza, 28/7/25)
Russia’s Interior Ministry has quietly stopped publishing data on deaths from criminal activity, according to analysts at the Esli Byt Tochnym (We’re Being Precise) project. (Meduza, 29/7/25)
Authorities in at least a dozen Russian regions have restricted mobile internet access indefinitely, citing security concerns. (The Moscow Times, 29/7/25)
Journalist Olga Komleva was sentenced to 12 years in prison over her past ties to Navalny’s banned organization and for spreading “fakes” about the Russian military. (The Moscow Times, 29/7/25)
Russia’s Investigative Committee said Ukrainian operatives were behind the recent forest fires in the Zabaikalsky region and charged two 16-year-old suspects with terrorsim. (The Moscow Times, 29/7/25)
A British court has rejected Russian billionaire Evgeny Shvidler’s latest attempt to overturn U.K. sanctions. (The Moscow Times, 29/7/25)
A court sentenced Valeria Yegorova to 17 years in prison and her husband, Pavel Korotich, to 15 years on treason charges for photographing and filming Defense Ministry sites. (Meduza, 30/7/25)
Vladimir Gutenev, head of the State Duma’s Industry and Trade Committee said Russians should be ready for “regular and necessary” internet shutdowns. (The Moscow Times, 30/7/25)
A group of European lawmakers walked out in protest during a speech by Valentina Matviyenko at the World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Geneva. (The Moscow Times, 30/7/25)
Russian academic and former adviser to the Kremlin Vadim Saltykovsky has been arrested on charges of high treason. (The Moscow Times, 30/7/25)
Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti published an inflammatory column titled There’s No Other Option: No One Should Remain Alive in Ukraine by columnist Kirill Strelnikov. (Meduza, 31/7/25)
Other news
President Putin called on investigative authorities to intensify efforts to safeguard “traditional values” and to counter foreign interference in domestic affairs. (The Moscow Times, 25/7/25)
This past week, Russian officials signaled they were moving toward blocking WhatsApp, the Meta-owned messaging app. (RFE/RL, 25/7/25)
UN experts on Monday called on Russia to take urgent action to end the trafficking and forced labor of migrant women. (The Moscow Times, 28/7/25)
St. Petersburg has officially prohibited foreign nationals from working as taxi drivers. (Meduza, 28/7/25)
A state-run outfit is conducting “neuroprofiling” tests on 10,000 children and teens to identify leaders and “anti-leaders” in a bid to boost patriotism and funnel young people into roles the results suggest they fit. (RFE/RL, 30/7/25)
President Vladimir Putin signed into law a controversial bill that criminalizes accessing or searching for online content labeled “extremist.” (The Moscow Times, 31/7/25)
Russia’s Justice Ministry added late opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s memoir “Patriot” to its list of “extremist” materials Wednesday. (The Moscow Times, 31/7/25)
Law enforcement authorities have charged Vladimir Kekhman, the artistic director of two of the country’s most prominent theaters, with accepting a bribe. (The Moscow Times, 31/7/25)
President Putin has signed a new law granting police broad powers to freeze individuals’ bank accounts without a court order. (The Moscow Times, 1/8/25)
Russian authorities are increasingly restricting access to core government statistics, including economic, demographic and crime data. (The Moscow Times, 1/8/25)
