While state censor Roskomnadzor objects to the terms attack, invasion, or war being used for the Russian "special military operation" in Ukraine, average Russians are showing their disapproval.

In which we unpack what Putin had to say about Ukraine while in France and what it's got to do with a punk band and a folk ditty.

Where we remember Vladimir Lagrange, the photographer who showed everyday Soviets living their lives.

“Usually, to put money on a card, you need an ATM; with magicians, everything is much simpler: just rub a coin and it becomes invisible.”

– Eugene, at Nevyansk prison, as he shows off a magic trick.

Some thoughts on George Turberville, who served as secretary in the embassy of Queen Elizabeth I to Russia’s Ivan IV, and was one of the earliest observers (and reporters) of Russian mores.

"Yes, we growl and bite. Yes, we have sharp teeth and strong grip. But we are the prerequisite for progress. We are the antidote against tyranny."

–  Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta Dmitriy Muratov, celebrating the work of journalists on December 10.

One brave Russian journalist has done great service for the world’s population of domestic cats by taste-testing their vittles.

Dmitry Muratov, the longtime editor in chief of the opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta received the Nobel Peace Prize, sharing the award with Philipina journalist Maria Ressa.

For the first time since 2016, and the first time since the momentous constitutional changes of 2020 allowing President Putin to run for two more presidential terms, Russia has elected a new parliament.

Russia's independent press faces innumerable pressures. Former Russian Life Editor Mikhail Ivanov (1995–2003) describes how economic issues have long plagued the Russian media system.

Roskomnadzor seems to have a funny bone to pick with the Sverdlovsk government publication Oblastnaya Gazeta, blocking their website in delayed reaction to a questionable text.

It takes something special in a human being to create a thing from scratch, to see a slab of stone and carve it into a sculpture, to see an empty storefront and turn it into a store, to sketch out a multistory building on paper and then shepherd it into existence in the real world.