What will the future be like for Russian opposition figures in exile and at home? Texts from the environment of exile.

In September 2017, Vladimir Putin heard from Yandex CEO Arkady Volozh. Photo: Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool/AP

The Russian and English portal Meduza is one of the most important Russian independent media. In January 2023, Meduza was completely banned in Russia. But Meduza continues to raise his voice against the war, from exile. Since March 1, 2023, the taz presents a weekly selection of what Meduza is currently reporting every Wednesday at taz.de/meduza. The project is funded by the Taz Panter Foundation.

During the week of February 1 to 7, 2024 Meduza reported on the following topics, among others:

Russian politicians exiled in Berlin

In Russia, since 2012, civil organizations and since 2020 individuals have been registered as foreign agents if they are politically active and the Russian State considers them “supported or influenced from abroad.” A group of these “foreign agents” met in Berlin on February 2 and 3. jellyfish accompanied the first congress with Russian politicians in exile and summarizes the discussions of these opposition figures about their future and the future of Russia in this article (text in Russian).

The idea of ​​a “Congress of 'Foreign Agents'” arose in 2023. It was clear: the security personnel of the congress are especially important because people who, for various reasons, have been declared enemies by the Russian authorities, are also exposed to persecution and assassination attempts in exile.

At the end of the congress, a final declaration was adopted, not without controversy and much discussed.

Yandex deal for $5.2 billion

The separation of the computer company Yandex from its activities in Russia comes to an end after a year and a half of negotiations. Yandex founder Arkady Volozh and foreign shareholders announced an agreement on February 5. The pressure from the Russian government on the Netherlands-based company became too great. The Kremlin had long pushed for Yandex to completely withdraw from Russia and sell its shares to a Russian investment group. The Yandex brand will no longer be used there.

Reports on that too. jellyfish (Text in English). Consortium. First is the name of the Russian investment fund that made the purchase. Members include current members of the management of Yandex, a fund owned by Lukoil, and a limited liability company (LLC) owned by former Gazprom vice president Alexander Ryazanov. Some of the investors could represent the interests of billionaire and Putin ally Yuri Kovalchuk. Sources of jellyfish They believe that Kovalchuk could probably become the final buyer of the company.

Podcast: Putin attacks his critics abroad

“You are not safe anywhere.” The Russian government has been sending this message to its citizens living in exile for years. Just as the Kremlin has taken increasingly draconian measures domestically to silence dissent since the start of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, it has also developed tactics abroad to attack Kremlin critics.

This is what a new episode of The Naked Pravda podcast is about (text in English). This is analyzed by journalist and activist Dan Storyev, who directs the English edition of the Russian NGO OVD-Info, and Yana Gorokhovskaia, director of strategy and design research at Freedom House, a United States-based organization that promotes development. of policies. civil rights and liberties observed throughout the world.

The organic movement is growing in Kyrgyzstan

One of the many consequences of Russia's attack on Ukraine is global food shortages. jellyfish This article (English text) analyzes fertilizer prices, which have skyrocketed since February 2022. Russia and Belarus are the main producers of the three main fertilizers (urea, phosphate and potash). Countries that depend on these imports have had to find alternative sources of supply.