In this week's edition of Regions Calling, @leylalatypova.bsky.social unpacks why the leader of her native republic of Bashkortostan, which has suffered some of the highest losses in the invasion of Ukraine, has ordered the creation of the republic’s first Ukrainian cultural center.

Why Is Bashkortostan Getting a Ukrainian Cultural Center? - The Moscow Times

Opinion | Hello and welcome to the latest edition of The Moscow Times’ Regions Calling newsletter, where our reporters examine key trends and events shaping life and politics in Russia’s regions.

themoscowtimes.com

Thanks to @leylalatypova.bsky.social for quoting me in her @themoscowtimes.com article. I was able to refer to collaborative research with Natasha Danilova at Aberdeen University about the responses of Russia's soldiers' wives and mothers to the war in Ukraine www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/05/23/i...

In Russia’s Sakha, a Fallen Conscript’s Family Searches for Justice on the State’s Terms - The Moscow Times

“We saw our Aman off to military service in Ussuriysk in June 2024 and never saw him again,” a woman named Inna wrote on Instagram on April 21.   Inna’s 22-year-old nephew, Aman Malyshev, had worked a...

themoscowtimes.com

Kondakova told MT that she believes the arrest warrant could stem from alleged noncompliance with Russia’s “foreign agent” law or her public criticism of the war in Ukraine.

Interior Ministry Issues Arrest Warrant for Indigenous Activist Sargylana Kondakova - The Moscow Times

Russian law enforcement authorities issued an arrest warrant for Sargylana Kondakova, a Yukaghir activist and co-founder of the exiled anti-war group Free Yakutia Foundation, media reported Wednesday.

themoscowtimes.com

Why is Tatarstan in the running to host the Russia-U.S. hockey match — and what does this say about the republic’s growing role in the Kremlin’s foreign policy outreach? MT’s @leylalatypova.bsky.social explores more in this week’s edition of Regions Calling:

Will Putin Tap Tatarstan’s Global Appeal for the Russia-U.S. Rapprochement? - The Moscow Times

Opinion | Hello and welcome to Regions Calling, a new weekly newsletter from The Moscow Times helping you make sense of events and understand the key trends shaping life and politics beyond the Russia...

themoscowtimes.com

We're excited to introduce Regions Calling, a new weekly newsletter bringing you the most important stories from across Russia. In this week's issue, @leylalatypova.bsky.social explores how the mourning for killed Russian soldiers on Victory Day ties with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

The Kremlin Prepared the Regions for Peace Talks – But Few Took Notice - The Moscow Times

Opinion | Hello and welcome to Regions Calling, a new weekly newsletter from The Moscow Times helping you make sense of events and understand the key trends shaping life and politics beyond the Russia...

themoscowtimes.com

@leylalatypova.bsky.social - Radio Liberty & Radio Free Europe Closure Silences Indigenous Voices Struggling Against Russian Imperialism. youtu.be/KdMawwzGG08

Leyla Latypova - RL & RFE Closure Silences Indigenous Voices Struggling Against Russian Imperialism.

YouTube video by Silicon Curtain

youtu.be

The looming shutdown of RFE/RL’s Russian bureau is likely to be acutely felt by millions of Russians in the country’s ethnic republics and regions. Journalists who spoke to me described it as a “foolish decision” and an outright “catastrophe”. www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/03/19/f...

For Russia’s Regional Journalism, RFE/RL’s Closure a ‘Catastrophe’ - The Moscow Times

The U.S. government’s decision to defund global broadcasters Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America has dealt yet another blow to Russian independent media after the Trump administration...

themoscowtimes.com

This is one of the coolest projects @hrf.org and @the-signal.bsky.social have ever done. An all-star cast of writers and analysts, taking a look through every facet of foreign influence and foreign corruption in the US. (Make sure to keep an eye open for a Bob Menendez's Egyptian ID card!)

Human Rights Foundation (HRF)@hrf.org · last yr.

1/ HRF is excited to announce #AlteredStates, a limited-run newspaper in partnership with The Signal. How much influence do autocrats really have over democratic life? Altered States exposes how dictators use illicit wealth & influence to weaken democracy and strengthen authoritarianism.

Whether Russia had a hand in it or not, Temirlan Ensebek's trial has become one of Kazakhstan's highest-profile political cases in recent years. @leylalatypova.bsky.social reports:

‘Hey, Russians’: In Kazakhstan, a Popular Satirist Battles ‘Russophobia’ Charges - The Moscow Times

“Dear subscribers and readers of Qaznews24! How are you?

themoscowtimes.com

“I know at least 500 dead men in person,” said Maria Vyushkova, the lead expert on Russia’s Indigenous war losses. Maria & I spoke about her unique work, racism in war coverage and the extermination of Russia’s smallest Indigenous communities in the war: www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/02/25/e...

‘Extermination of Entire Nations’: Scientist Maria Vyushkova Counts Russia’s Indigenous War Dead - The Moscow Times

On her YouTube channel, Maria Vyushkova describes herself as “a scientist by profession, Buryat by ethnicity” and “anti-war and decolonial activist by the sphere of social engagement.” In the three ye...

themoscowtimes.com

🇷🇺 invasion has cost 🇺🇦 thousands of lives and unmeasurable devastation. In 🇷🇺, the scars of the war might not be visible to the naked eye, but it sure has changed the nation forever. From Kursk to Moscow to Bashkortostan to Tyva, we tried to paint its portrait www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/02/24/p...

Portrait of a Nation: How Ordinary Russians’ Lives Have Changed in 3 Years of War - The Moscow Times

Monday marks three years since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which had already been at war with Moscow-backed separatist forces in its east since 2014.  Three years on, the ...

themoscowtimes.com

To mark UNESCO’s International Mother Language Day, I dove into how the Kremlin's policies facilitate the erasure of Indigenous languages across 🇷🇺. "Sometimes I imagine how my grandchildren might no longer know Bashkir…It is terrifying,” one mother told me. www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/02/21/f...

For Indigenous Families in Russia, Keeping Language Alive Is an Impossible Task - The Moscow Times

Friday marks the 25th annual International Mother Language Day, a holiday established by UNESCO to “underscore the role of languages in promoting inclusion.”  Russia has 155 living and 15 extinct lang...

themoscowtimes.com

The Kremlin might have found a new ally in Trump, but things have not been going so smoothly for Moscow in the Caucasus. Relations between 🇷🇺 and 🇦🇿 have been deteriorating since December. Read more about this rift and its implications in my latest: www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/02/19/u...

‘Unusually Public Crisis’: How a Plane Crash Is Driving Russia and Azerbaijan Apart - The Moscow Times

Relations between Russia and Azerbaijan, whose leaders once showcased their exceptionally friendly relationship, have been deteriorating since the Dec. 25 crash of an Azerbaijani plane headed for Russ...

themoscowtimes.com

OpEd: One year after the death of Alexei Navalny, his FBK finds itself engulfed in the biggest scandal since its founding, Morvan Lallouet writes.

The Fall of the House of Navalny? - The Moscow Times

Opinion | In the year since Alexei Navalny’s death, his most important legacy, the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), has been rocked by scandal and criticism.

themoscowtimes.com

Pavel Talankin kept months’ worth of footage filmed at the Chelyabinsk region school where he worked to produce “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” a rare firsthand glimpse at how Russian schools have become tools of state propaganda.

‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’: A Schoolteacher’s Stand Against Russia’s Child Indoctrination - The Moscow Times

Pavel Talankin witnessed Russia’s efforts to indoctrinate children with the state’s ideology while working as a school event coordinator in Karabash, a copper-smelting hub in Russia’s Chelyabinsk regi...

themoscowtimes.com

Indigenous knowledge is priceless. And it seems that’s exactly why so many institutions, scholars and policy actors in a position of privilege consistently want to receive it for free (and tick a diversity box while leaving out inconvenient details).

We are expanding The Moscow Times' groundbreaking Women Against the Kremlin series with interviews with some incredibly inspiring female Indigenous activists who are fighting not just the Putin regime but injustices ingrained in the very fabric of the country's society