Russia’s Military Shaken as Top-Level Purge Unfolds.
Irina Borogan and me on the purge of the military and the role of the FSB military counterintelligence department DVKR, for CEPA
cepa.org/article/russia…

Putin and the Secret Policeman’s Ball

As Putin starts his fifth term as Russian president, he has appealing offers for security services on the dark side.

Irina Borogan and me for CEPA cepa.org/article/putin-…

My friend Vladimir Kara-Murza got the Pulitzer Prize for his columns in the #WashingtonPost . He is still in Putin’s prison. Freedom for Vladimir!

My dispatch for from the frontline in eastern Ukraine, where the Russian are creeping forward. Photos by Alessio Mamo theguardian.com/world/article/…

Fueled by a century of paranoia —and volunteer units in Ukraine — Putin’s campaign against defectors seems likely to lead to further assassinations abroad and more crackdowns at home. Irina Borogan and me in Foreign Affairs on Putin’s Defector Obsession.
foreignaffairs.com/russian-federa…

'The internet wasn't invented to be filtered, to be dissected into sovereign parts,' Irina Borogan discusses Russian media censorship with Lucy Papachristou. buff.ly/4aPYTvb

.Maria Pevchikh's film has caused anger and recrimination, but it has launched a long-delayed and badly needed discussion. It's the first time the opposition introduced a new national debate rather than simply responding to the Kremlin. By Irina Borogan and me. cepa.org/article/russia…

A fantastic book, a personal account by Laurie Bristow of the tragic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Highly recommended!

'I am often asked if there is an alternative to Putin. Well, you are watching Vladimir Putin using the powerful Soviet-style repressive machine to try and destroy that alternative,' Evgenia Kara-Murza marks two years since Vladimir Kara-Murza's unjust imprisonment.

⁦Vladimir Kara-Murza⁩ shares this sad 2-year anniversary of unlawful detention with ⁦Free Sasha Skochilenko⁩ (7 years for anti-war speech).Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine was launched, detentions and arrests are happening in Russia on a daily basis. youtube.com/watch?v=TAGsKy…

How Putin’s regime is openly purchasing influence in neighboring countries, using tactics inspired by the Soviet system of sovzagranbanki (Soviet foreign banks).
Irina Borogan and me for CEPA

cepa.org/article/the-kr…

A Duty to Dissent — the Family Kara-Murza | 'Vladimir Kara-Murza tells the truths Russia’s rulers can’t bear to hear. As did his father, as did his grandfather.' Andrei Soldatov & Irina Borogan cepa.org/article/a-duty…

🗓️ As we mark nearly two years of Vladimir Kara-Murza’s unjust imprisonment, join Senator Ben Cardin, Evgenia Kara-Murza, Damon M. Wilson, Mike Abramowitz, and more as they spotlight Vladimir’s case and honor his legacy.

Tune in via livestream tomorrow, April 9th, at 10am EDT:
ned.org/events/from-be…

The last UK ambassador to Afghanistan ⁦Laurie Bristow⁩ saved hundreds of lives at the Kabul airport during the withdrawal. His book is out now. Don’t miss it! amazon.co.uk/Kabul-inside-w…

“The political reasons were put above intelligence and above people’s lives,” Irina Borogan discusses the Crocus City attacks with Daniel Ofman buff.ly/49jhnmd

In this morning’s mail.

Almost six months after Oct 7, I tried to reflect on my personal experience of being thrust in the middle of this impossible conflict:
telegraph.co.uk/world-news/202…

Putin Tells His Spies to Chase Phantom Enemies
Irina Borogan and me on Putin/FSB's shift of the narrative about the terror attack in Moscow into global Western/Ukrainian conspiracy. cepa.org/article/putin-…

.⁦Andrei Soldatov⁩ on the Moscow concert hall attack for The Guardian: “Brutal force and repression will only get you so far” theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Putin will be ruthless after the Moscow attack, but Russians don’t trust him to keep them safe | Andrei Soldatov theguardian.com/commentisfree/…