“Nobody wants to go to a club that can be raided by the police.” How queer clubs in Russia survive after the country’s “LGBT movement” ban

Due to police raids and increasing pressure, gay-friendly clubs nationwide are being forced to cancel drag shows.
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Introducing The Insider Sunday Digest!

In store this week:

How Dagestan became Russia's crypto Klondike; Putin’s wave of new appointments offers an implicit admission of military failure — and more

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🇺🇦 Weekly Ukraine war summary: Russian advances near Kharkiv and Donetsk stalled, unprecedented Ukrainian drone attack on Russia and Crimea

The Insider's round-up of the main events of the war in Ukraine from May 11 to May 17, 2024.

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“This used to be a pig farm, but now we're mining Bitcoin”: How Dagestan became Russia's crypto Klondike

Blackouts, energy theft, police raids, and corrupt officials. The Insider's report on the Bitcoin boom in Russia's North Caucasus.
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Research and espionage: an institute staffed by Russian intelligence officers is recruiting students and scientists abroad

Following a series of high-profile failures of uniformed “diplomats,” Russian intelligence has turned to more subtle methods.

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❗Researchers at the Slovak cybersecurity firm ESET have uncovered two new backdoors ('LunarWeb' and 'LunarMail') that were likely used by Turla, an FSB-affiliated hacking group, to infiltrate the foreign ministry of an unnamed European country.

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Reshuffling deck chairs: Putin’s wave of new appointments offers an implicit admission of military failure

The Insider editor Alexei Levchenko suggests looking beyond the demotion of former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for cues on the regime's future.

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⚡️Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico has been hospitalized following an assassination attempt.
The condition of the head of government has been described as 'critical.'

An assailant opened fire after a government meeting. Fico sustained injuries to his chest, stomach, and

🇬🇪 Tear gas, water cannons, and 'foreign agents': Georgians take to the streets to defend their country against Russian influence

🎥The Insider's video report from Tbilisi: youtu.be/jRHP8WP1Spw

❗Despite sanctions, at least 3,606 Glock pistols have been imported into Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to an investigation by The Insider.

3,203 of them were made in Austria, while 403 were made in the U.S.

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❗Sanctions have not stopped Russia from importing dozens of Austrian-made Steyr Mannlicher rifles and pistols, which are then used in Ukraine.

The Insider has discovered that 11 sniper rifles were delivered to Russian companies as recently as Feb. 2024.

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Russia’s Potemkin “treason” industry: despite record convictions, the Kremlin’s intelligence services are not catching actual spies

The vast majority of these cases target scientists, journalists and ordinary professionals.

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Illegal in the Kremlin: The West still has the tools to recognize Putin as an illegitimate president

Western countries have a wide range of options for reinforcing the illegitimacy of the Russian leader, writes human rights lawyer Sergei Golubok.

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Preparations for reparations: How Russia can compensate Ukraine for economic damage from the war

The Insider reviews the history of postwar reparations — and considers the recovery mechanisms that can be applied to Russia to rebuild Ukraine.

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“Putin's loyal soldier”: What we know about Russia’s future Minister of Defense Andrey Belousov

A gifted macroeconomist and Putin's long-time confidant, Belousov can be tasked with a thorough audit of military spending.
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Gallows for a Propagandist: How the Third Reich's chief proponent failed to defend himself in Nuremberg

The Insider continues its series on international tribunals.

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🇺🇦 Weekly Ukraine war summary: Kharkiv border region “comes into motion,” record long-range drone attack on Russian territory

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Waning confidence. Despite its consensus on war with Hamas, Israeli society demands political reforms

Political analyst Zeev Hanin highlights a stark contrast: while public trust in the IDF remains high, confidence in the government is waning.

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No Georgian dream. Is Tbilisi on the verge of a new revolution?

Georgian civil society at least stands a chance of defending their country’s European aspirations.

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