Claude Monet, 1878.

NEW: Bloomberg says it has taken disciplinary action against a number of people involved in breaking the prisoner swap embargo last week, email here from EIC John Micklethwait

I sat down with Ilya Yashin 48 hours after he was traded to the West against his will. He told me why he had wanted to remain in Russia, even if it meant staying in jail, and what he plans to do in an exile he never wanted.

Can Freed Russian Dissidents Help Energize an Opposition Movement? The release of activists like Ilya Yashin gives new hope to an movement in which various groups are often at war with each other. But many have doubts. nytimes.com/2024/08/06/wor…

Several prominent Russian political prisoners are free, albeit in exile. What's next? For The New York Times , Valerie Hopkins Alina Lobzina and I spoke to Russian opposition politicians, experts and Russians both inside and outside Russia. 🧵

Bulgarian parliament just passed a ban of "homosexual propaganda" in schools. The legislative amendment was put forward by the pro-Kremlin Vazrazhdane (Revival) party but the pro-Western GERB (EPP ) and MRF ( Renew Europe ) voted in favour too, securing a majority.

The FBI is searching the home of Scott Ritter, who has been a frequent visitor of Russia (and Chechnya in particular) in support of their war effort. He was also arrested twice (jailed once) in sting operations in 2001 & 2009 related to contact with minors wnyt.com/top-stories/fb…

"For them, the individual. For us, community and family". So according to the advertisement in #Hungary's state propaganda paper, you can either be a strict-looking career woman or a caring, wonderful mother with a loving husband in the background. Kudos to all working moms!

YouTube disruptions are a big deal in Russia - a huge channel for content across the ideological spectrum, and where else in the country can you say that? This may be temporary, but it may not. It follows sporadic throttling attributed by the government to degrading Google

Even some of the most pro-Kremlin Russian newspapers admit today that Ukraine’s cross-border attack has achieved some success. One paper says Kyiv “made a strong move with unpleasant consequences for our side.” Another: “the enemy is acting skilfully & daringly…” #ReadingRussia

.⁦Dionne Searcey⁩ takes us on a stroll through Tim Walz’s early years with some great reporting from Nebraska nytimes.com/2024/08/09/us/…

"The moral of this story is that you must keep silent, you have to support the dictatorship, then you can go to the Olympics." “Today, athletes in Belarus are either propagandists or extremists." Valerie Hopkins reports from Paris nytimes.com/2024/08/09/wor…

“Was there resistance in Hitler’s Germany? Yes there was. Not very strong, but it was there. And it was very important for future generations of Germans as a symbol. When it comes to resistance, symbolism is important.” My interview with Oleg Orlov theguardian.com/world/article/…

There’s an Interesting opinion piece today in one of the (ultra) pro-Kremlin papers. It offers clues to how life inside Russia may change as a result of Ukraine’s Kursk offensive. #ReadingRussia

❗️Ukrainian women and children, (including ethnic Hungarians) out on the street in #Hungary after being evicted from shelter. Under a government decree, only refugees from “Ukrainian territories affected by war operations” are entitled to state accommodation since August 21.

On the eve of this hearing, dozens of directors, actors and artists in Europe called on the Serbian authorities not to send Andrei Gnyot - a filmmaker and opposition activist - back to Belarus He insists the charges against him are wholly political This is his last appeal

Starting tomorrow, a long curfew will be introduced in Pokrovsk: civilians will be allowed to spend only 4 hours on the street - from 11:00 to 15:00. The Russians are advancing rapidly towards the city.

Staff shortages, beatings, corruption and harsh treatment of Muslim prisoners have all led to unrest among inmates, with recent uprisings turning deadly. w Ekaterina Bodyagina nytimes.com/2024/08/30/wor…

via ⁦The New York Times⁩ ⁦Christopher Schuetze⁩ nytimes.com/2024/09/01/wor…

One of the US Company founders listed in the DOJ indictment is Lauren Chen, who recently visited Budapest, to speak at MCC Feszt. story for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty mccfeszt.hu/en/performer/l… szabadeuropa.hu/a/magyar-fedoc…