🚨 Live Q&A with Vlast – Thursday, 23 April Save the date and submit your questions! To mark our recent rebranding, Vlast is delighted to announce a special event where we will answer all your questions about Russian politics and economics👇
Farida Rustamova
@faridaily.bsky.social
all about Russian politics | 'Vlast' newsletter about Russian power | ex-BBC Russian, Meduza, RBC
❗FSB’s online crackdown divides Russian elite The blocking of Telegram, a campaign against VPNs, and internet shutdowns have complicated the lives of bureaucrats, and caused business people to lose money.
Our newsletter is getting a makeover! From now on, what you now know as Faridaily will be “Vlast.” In Russian, “vlast” has several meanings, but it’s usually translated into English as “power,” “dominion,” or simply “the authorities.”
The Russian leader is appearing less frequently in public The number of times Russian President Vladimir Putin has appeared in public was significantly down in the first three months of this year.
In the fifth year of the war, this story may seem insignificant. But I wrote about it with anger and deep sadness. The last pockets of sanity are disappearing in Russia, and the security forces are taking over absolutely every sphere of life.
🦠 Remember this hilarious picture of Putin and Macron at the longest table imagineable? Putin kept everyone who had not undergone quarantine before meeting him at a distance. But now – finally – the Kremlin scraps quarantine for Putin meetings.
This issue of our newsletter is unusual: we look at the Russian opposition rather than the Russian power faridaily.substack.com/p/europes-do...
Europe’s doomed effort to unite the Russian opposition
What we know about the Council of Europe’s attempt to establish an official organ to represent the exiled, anti-Putin Russian opposition.
faridaily.substack.com
Russian President Vladimir Putin has barely appeared in public since the New Year, and has notably refrained from commenting on Venezuela and Iran. What Putin’s refusal to comment on events in Venezuela and Iran says about his strategy in Ukraine? 🧵
Putin has been silent about Maduro for almost six (!) days now
Realising that many are currently preoccupied with Venezuela, we would still like to talk about Russia’s rulers and the tough year 2026 ahead of them. In our first newsletter of 2026, we look at five pressing issues they are facing 👇
While things are still relatively calm and quiet, we’ve selected our top three most-read Russia stories from 2025 – and made them free to read 👇
🪖There has been a significant uptick in the number of public meetings about the Ukraine war involving President Vladimir Putin over the last three months. The Russian leader has also been seen far more often in military uniform.
❗️Top Russian officials told us that the Kremlin does not expect to regain control of $280 billion in frozen assets. The Kremlin would be open to the idea of the funds being invested in rebuilding Ukraine after the end of the fighting.
🚫 Russia goes offline Russia is undergoing a dramatic process of de-digitalisation. Under the pretext of protection from Ukrainian drones, it is evident that the Kremlin is exploiting security concerns to extend its control over the internet. Read more here faridaily.substack.com/p/putins-int...
⛔️ Putin’s internet firewall has arrived
Hello and welcome to your essential guide to Russian politics and economics!
faridaily.substack.com
Important tidbit from my Q&A with @faridaily.bsky.social in the context of the current peace talks. Kremlin insiders believe that Putin will not stop the war against Ukraine unless there’s “a substantial rethinking of the global security system.” Read more here👇 meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Journalist Farida Rustamova explains how Russia’s elites went from dreading war to fearing peace — Meduza
In his 2024 state-of-the-nation address, Vladimir Putin declared that the word “elite” had lost much of its credibility. “Those who have done nothing for society and consider themselves a caste with s...
meduza.io
Listen to Kevin by listening to @eilishhart.bsky.social and @faridaily.bsky.social; great conversation on Russian elites. (Not entirely spared Kevin’s voice, he pops in to ask for money for @meduza.io - you should listen to Kevin about that too).
Kevin Rothrock@kevinrothrock.me · 10mo agoGreat conversation here. Naked Pravda listeners are spared my voice and idiocy this week, with my most excellent colleague @eilishhart.bsky.social running the show and @faridaily.bsky.social offering sharp insight into how it all went so wrong for Russia’s elites.
For @meduza.io’s podcast, I talked to the excellent @faridaily.bsky.social about how Putin’s war effort has changed the rules for Russia’s “old elites” and made them fear the prospect of peace. Listen now! meduza.io/en/episodes/...
Russia’s elites once dreaded war. Now, they fear peace. — Meduza
In his 2024 state-of-the-nation address, Vladimir Putin declared that the word “elite” had lost much of its credibility. Russia’s “real elite,” he said, are those who serve their country: “the workers...
meduza.io
Great conversation here. Naked Pravda listeners are spared my voice and idiocy this week, with my most excellent colleague @eilishhart.bsky.social running the show and @faridaily.bsky.social offering sharp insight into how it all went so wrong for Russia’s elites.
Meduza in English@meduza.io · 10mo agoPutin’s war reshaped Russia’s elite, making them fear peace most of all. On the latest Naked Pravda, Meduza’s @eilishhart.bsky.social talks with journalist @faridaily.bsky.social about the pressure, the paranoia, and what a post-war future could unleash. meduza.io/en/episodes/...
“The elite and the government are preoccupied with how the war will end,” I told The Economist's Kate de Pury. In this longread, she explores the Russian elite transformation and how some are taking advantage of the situation to break into this so-called elite
The Economist@economist.com · 10mo ago“All decisions are taken by Putin alone. No one has his ear.” The fortunes of Russia’s elite depend on the president. 1843 explains why paranoia is spreading through the old guard
Russian President Putin delivered a geopolitical rant last week, which appeared to crystallize a new foreign policy direction. These were Putin’s first public comments on foreign affairs for several weeks, and he made it abundantly clear that Europe—not the US—is now Russia’s primary adversary
❓What lies behind the resignation of Putin confidante Dmitry Kozak ❓How a sluggish economy has forced the Russian government to raise taxes ❓Why it will be even harder to gauge what Russians think about the war in Ukraine Find out in our latest issue faridaily.substack.com/p/fewer-unco...
🔴 Fewer uncomfortable truths for Putin
Hello and welcome to your essential guide to Russian politics and economics—written by Farida Rustamova and Margarita Liutova.
faridaily.substack.com
📌 Newsletter alert! Our main political story is about the draconian online censorship law requested by the security services. We also discuss the Central Bank announcing its deepest interest rate cut since 2022 as fears grow that the economy is cooling too fast faridaily.substack.com/p/online-cen...
🚫 Online censorship law sparks rare public row
Hello and welcome to the third edition of our newsletter—an essential guide to Russian politics and economics—written by Farida Rustamova and Margarita Liutova.
faridaily.substack.com
Our second edition is out! The main story focuses on an extraordinary event for post-Soviet Russia—the suicide of a government minister. We have spoken to our sources in the Russian elite to gauge their response faridaily.substack.com/p/ministers-...
⬛️ Minister's suicide rattles Russian elite
Hello and welcome to the second edition of our new English-language newsletter—your essential guide to Russian politics and economics.
faridaily.substack.com
🟥 please welcome the first edition of our new English-language newsletter—your essential guide to Russian politics and economics. this time our main stories are about why Putin picks Trump over Iran and DME airport ownership saga subscribe and spread the word! faridaily.substack.com/p/putin-pick...
🟥 Putin picks Trump over Iran
Hello and welcome to the first edition of our new English-language newsletter—your essential guide to Russian politics and economics.
faridaily.substack.com
New biweekly English-language newsletter coming from @faridaily.bsky.social, Margarita Liutova, and co. The focus will be Russian politics and economics. open.substack.com/pub/faridail...
💡Faridaily announces launch of new newsletter!
Your essential guide to Russian politics and economy.
open.substack.com
on Thursday will be talking to the great Keith Gessen about Russian politics and journalism harriman.columbia.edu/event/talkin...
Talking to the Russian Elite: Insights and Challenges | The Harriman Institute
harriman.columbia.edu
wow, this is exactly what our sources in the Russian elite were feared of – when two old men will piss each other off. from our latest faridaily.substack.com/p/putin-sign...
NBC News@nbcnews.com · last yr.President Trump says he's "angry" and "pissed off" at Russian President Putin for criticizing Ukrainian President Zelenskyy's credibility.