Robert Coalson worked as a correspondent for RFE/RL from 2002 to 2024.
Amidst the pomp of Russia’s uber-patriotic state ceremonies commemorating the Soviet contribution to victory in World War II, more than 100 people across the country were detained for using the occasion to take a stand against the invasion of Ukraine.
In Vladimir Putin's Russia, May 9 has become the most ideologically charged date on the calendar, and this year there's speculation that he might use the Victory Day ceremonies to make major policy announcements about the war in Ukraine.
In its drive to eliminate all dissent over its war against Ukraine, Moscow has stepped up pressure on artists across Russia, pushing them to speak out in favor of the invasion or face dismissal or worse. Some artists say the war could spell the end of post-Soviet Russian culture.
Deficits. Defectors. Denunciations. Analysts have long said that Russian President Vladimir Putin's policies are partly driven by nostalgia for the Soviet Union. As Moscow's war in Ukraine nears its third month, that nostalgia is increasingly coming true as long-forgotten Cold War-era terms return.
Among the many problems Russia has run into since it invaded Ukraine in February is a growing number of servicemen refusing to participate in what Moscow calls its “special military operation.” By one estimate, up to 40 percent of troops recently withdrawn from Ukraine are refusing to go back.
Across Russia, schoolchildren and preschoolers are participating in various demonstrations in support of the country’s war in Ukraine. Schools, local administrations, and the ruling United Russia party are posting photos of the children on social media in an apparently coordinated effort.
Leading Western experts on fascism agree that Vladimir Putin's Russia is an aggressive and dangerous dictatorship that shares some characteristics with fascist regimes. But, they say, it is not fascist itself, and other historical precedents are more useful for understanding the Kremlin.
An English teacher in Penza is facing prosecution after students recorded her criticizing Russia's war in Ukraine. Teachers, activists, and others have increasingly been targeted by denunciations – often anonymous – that remind some of the darkest repressions under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.
In the weeks since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, Russia state TV broadcasts have been a blur of unsubstantiated, often wildly false claims about the war and the actions of Kyiv and the West. Here’s a sampling.
Tens of thousands of Russians have left the country since Moscow invaded Ukraine a month ago. Many of those doing so have reported unpleasant -- and illegal -- interrogations as they passed through Russian passport control.
On March 4, Russia adopted a new administrative statute and a draconian criminal law against "discrediting the armed forces." In the two weeks since, the country has seen a massive wave of repression against any form of criticism against the Kremlin's "special military operation" in Ukraine.
With Moscow's attack on Ukraine now in its fourth week, authorities in Russia are pulling out all the stops to drum up enthusiasm for the campaign. And the Latin letter Z has become a ubiquitous -- and to some, deeply sinister -- symbol of support for the war and for President Vladimir Putin.
Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor at state-run Channel One television, carried out an anti-war demonstration on the air in front of a potential audience of millions. In a separate video, she urged Russians to follow her example and speak out. Can a gesture like Ovsyannikova's make a difference?
Polling in Russia is unreliable, but it’s clear a substantial number of Russians support Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine, despite tight ties between the two countries. The Kremlin achieved this support through decades of opinion manipulation. Those efforts are now being put to the test.
For many, International Women's Day has been overshadowed this year by Russia's war on Ukraine, which has killed thousands of people and displaced more than 2 million. RFE/RL has gathered the voices of several women whose lives have been upended by terror, destruction, and death.
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entering its second week, President Vladimir Putin's government is pulling out all the stops to control information about the war and the impact of unprecedented Western sanctions.
On the first day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, more than 1,800 people were detained at anti-war demonstrations in 60 Russian cities as the authorities increased the pressure against civil society. Yet the country's nascent anti-war movement pledges to press on.
As Putin marched toward war with Ukraine over the last four months, the Russian public largely watched in disbelief. It seemed impossible that Russia would attack a country so near and dear to the hearts of millions of ordinary Russians. With the guns now blazing, Russians face a new reality.
After a day of vague and sometimes contradictory statements by Russian officials, President Vladimir Putin clarified that Russia had recognized as independent the separatist formations in eastern Ukraine not merely as they exist now, but as comprising the much larger territory that they claim.
Talk of Russian recognition of the separatist-claimed parts of eastern Ukraine is a "political tactic," analysts say. Moscow remains focused on forcing Kyiv to implement the Kremlin's version of the Minsk agreements.
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