Dylan Primakoff
@dylanmp.bsky.social
Senior Manager for Eurasia Programs at the National Endowment for Democracy. Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council Eurasia Center. Posting mostly about Russia.
Reposted by Dylan Primakoff
Russian soldiers who refuse orders to return to duty after being injured are discovering that the military treats such desertion without much sympathy. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
To force deserters back to war, Russia’s military is torturing their families — Meduza
The Russian army has swelled since Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Months into the war, Russia conducted a “partial mobilization” for several chaotic…
meduza.io
November 12, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Russian soldiers who refuse orders to return to duty after being injured are discovering that the military treats such desertion without much sympathy. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Reposted by Dylan Primakoff
A little piece of good news. There will have to be more like this: institutions of civil society, academia, and expertise separating from the state.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...
Dismantled by DOGE, a Foreign Policy Center Finds New Life
www.nytimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 11:58 AM
A little piece of good news. There will have to be more like this: institutions of civil society, academia, and expertise separating from the state.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...
This Responsible Statecraft article claiming "Western media is larging ignoring" Ukraine's recruitment struggles and harsh conscription tactics cites articles on that very topic from the BBC, RFERL, the LA Times, and the Telegraph.
responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-recr...
responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-recr...
Ukraine's 'Busification' — forced conscription — is tip of the iceberg
Western media is largely ignoring that Kyiv has to rip young men off the streets amid recruitment shortages and desertions
responsiblestatecraft.org
November 6, 2025 at 8:12 PM
This Responsible Statecraft article claiming "Western media is larging ignoring" Ukraine's recruitment struggles and harsh conscription tactics cites articles on that very topic from the BBC, RFERL, the LA Times, and the Telegraph.
responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-recr...
responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-recr...
Reposted by Dylan Primakoff
“All we were doing was bringing the music we like to a mass audience. We hope we’ll be home soon. It’s what we’re dreaming of most,” Stoptime vocalist Diana Loginova tells me. She & the other members of the band are still in jail after their street concerts. My report from St Petersburg.
How teenager gave street concert and was caught up in Russia's repressive past
Diana Loginova sang songs critical of the Kremlin. The 18-year-old and her bandmate are now in court.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 1, 2025 at 2:12 PM
“All we were doing was bringing the music we like to a mass audience. We hope we’ll be home soon. It’s what we’re dreaming of most,” Stoptime vocalist Diana Loginova tells me. She & the other members of the band are still in jail after their street concerts. My report from St Petersburg.
A deeply unconvincing piece arguing that since the small amount of available leverage the US has applied to Russia as of this week is – on its own – unlikely to change Russia's outlook on the war, the US should therefore agree to agree to Russia's current negotiating positions.
New sanctions and weapons will not stop Russia. It’s time for Ukraine’s allies to change their flawed strategy | Christopher S Chivvis
New sanctions and weapons will not stop Russia. It’s time for Ukraine’s allies to change their flawed strategy | Christopher S Chivvis
A negotiated settlement would be unfair and frustrating. But after nearly four years of fighting, it may be the best option, says Christopher S Chivvis of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
www.theguardian.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:48 AM
A deeply unconvincing piece arguing that since the small amount of available leverage the US has applied to Russia as of this week is – on its own – unlikely to change Russia's outlook on the war, the US should therefore agree to agree to Russia's current negotiating positions.
This is a significant step.
US sanctions Russia’s Rosneft and Lukoil on.ft.com/47muOmr
US sanctions Russia’s Rosneft and Lukoil
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent calls for ‘immediate ceasefire’ in war in Ukraine
on.ft.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:52 AM
This is a significant step.
Reposted by Dylan Primakoff
On Oct. 7, 2006, Novaya Gazeta reporter Anna Politkovskaya was assassinated in her apartment building in Moscow. 19 years ago today. At least one of the men who planned her murder, a former police officer, has since been pardoned for going to kill again in Ukraine.
Also today, Putin turns 73.
Also today, Putin turns 73.
October 7, 2025 at 4:01 AM
On Oct. 7, 2006, Novaya Gazeta reporter Anna Politkovskaya was assassinated in her apartment building in Moscow. 19 years ago today. At least one of the men who planned her murder, a former police officer, has since been pardoned for going to kill again in Ukraine.
Also today, Putin turns 73.
Also today, Putin turns 73.
It's depressing how much bad info on Navalny is still floating around out there. Navalny publicly supported gay marriage as of 2017; the Putin regime put the "international LGBT movement" on its list of terrorist and extremist organizations and jails people for wearing rainbow earrings.
October 5, 2025 at 12:42 AM
It's depressing how much bad info on Navalny is still floating around out there. Navalny publicly supported gay marriage as of 2017; the Putin regime put the "international LGBT movement" on its list of terrorist and extremist organizations and jails people for wearing rainbow earrings.
Reposted by Dylan Primakoff
In January, activist Konstantin Kotov escaped house arrest and fled Russia: he was accused of financing an "extremist organisation" because of a $30 donation to Navalny’s ACF. Today, a Moscow court sentenced him to 5 years in absentia. Read his interview:
en.zona.media/article/2025...
en.zona.media/article/2025...
“There’s no sense in playing roulette with the court.” Interview with Konstantin Kotov who escaped house arrest after being accused of donating $30 to Navalny’s ACF
Moscow activist Konstantin Kotov’s first criminal case was in 2019: he was sentenced to four years in prison for participating in “unsanctioned protests.” After public outcry it wa...
en.zona.media
September 25, 2025 at 10:53 AM
In January, activist Konstantin Kotov escaped house arrest and fled Russia: he was accused of financing an "extremist organisation" because of a $30 donation to Navalny’s ACF. Today, a Moscow court sentenced him to 5 years in absentia. Read his interview:
en.zona.media/article/2025...
en.zona.media/article/2025...
Reposted by Dylan Primakoff
"There is currently no sign Putin will scale back his expansive ambitions unless he concludes that continuing to pursue them may call into question the security of his regime."
Sharp and succinct as always from @nigelgould-davies.bsky.social
Sharp and succinct as always from @nigelgould-davies.bsky.social
Russia–Ukraine: peace looks more remote than ever
Russia has not scaled back its ambitions and America will not pressure it to do so. Territorial issues and security guarantees are currently second-order issues. The war remains intractable.
www.iiss.org
August 22, 2025 at 10:09 PM
"There is currently no sign Putin will scale back his expansive ambitions unless he concludes that continuing to pursue them may call into question the security of his regime."
Sharp and succinct as always from @nigelgould-davies.bsky.social
Sharp and succinct as always from @nigelgould-davies.bsky.social
No movement from the March 2022 position.
⚡️ Security guarantees for Ukraine can't be discussed without Russia's participation, Lavrov claims.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that "seriously discussing security issues without Russia is a road to nowhere."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that "seriously discussing security issues without Russia is a road to nowhere."
Security guarantees for Ukraine can't be discussed without Russia's participation, Lavrov claims
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that "seriously discussing security issues without Russia is a road to nowhere."
kyivindependent.com
August 20, 2025 at 2:33 PM
No movement from the March 2022 position.
Great @nytimes.com profile of one of the most important figures in the Russian government.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/w...
The Quiet Technocrat Who Enacts Putin’s Ruthless Agenda
www.nytimes.com
August 10, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Great @nytimes.com profile of one of the most important figures in the Russian government.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/w...
Reposted by Dylan Primakoff
#Russia’s ethnic minorities – including Arctic Indigenous ethnicities Chukchi, Inuit, Itelmen, Koryak, Nenets, Nganasan, Udege & Saami – are vastly overrepresented in the death toll of the #war in #Ukraine.
Read more 👉 blogs.lse.ac.uk/crp/2025/08/...
Maria Vyushkova @demsecinstitute.bsky.social
Read more 👉 blogs.lse.ac.uk/crp/2025/08/...
Maria Vyushkova @demsecinstitute.bsky.social
August 4, 2025 at 2:08 PM
#Russia’s ethnic minorities – including Arctic Indigenous ethnicities Chukchi, Inuit, Itelmen, Koryak, Nenets, Nganasan, Udege & Saami – are vastly overrepresented in the death toll of the #war in #Ukraine.
Read more 👉 blogs.lse.ac.uk/crp/2025/08/...
Maria Vyushkova @demsecinstitute.bsky.social
Read more 👉 blogs.lse.ac.uk/crp/2025/08/...
Maria Vyushkova @demsecinstitute.bsky.social
Reposted by Dylan Primakoff
"Russia’s rulers are taking more and more extreme measures to block access to independently produced information. But there’s resistance." @andreisoldatov.bsky.social and Irina Borogan
Browser History: The Kremlin’s Newest Weapon
Russia’s rulers are taking more and more extreme measures to block access to independently produced information. But there’s resistance.
cepa.org
August 3, 2025 at 2:27 PM
"Russia’s rulers are taking more and more extreme measures to block access to independently produced information. But there’s resistance." @andreisoldatov.bsky.social and Irina Borogan
Very sad news about the passing of Derk Sauer, a hero of Russian journalism: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/w...
Derk Sauer, Champion of Free Press in a New Russia, Dies at 72
www.nytimes.com
August 1, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Very sad news about the passing of Derk Sauer, a hero of Russian journalism: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/w...
The Russian defense industrial complex is now using child labor: meduza.io/en/feature/2...
‘Drone academy’ New report details how the Russian military draws on schoolchildren’s labor to fuel its war in Ukraine — Meduza
Russia has established an extensive network of state-backed organizations aimed at incorporating schoolchildren into the country’s military-industrial complex, including the production, development, a...
meduza.io
July 23, 2025 at 5:52 PM
The Russian defense industrial complex is now using child labor: meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Great article from @szakonyi.bsky.social on what is being lost with the closure of Russian election monitor Golos: www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/07/11/w...
July 14, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Great article from @szakonyi.bsky.social on what is being lost with the closure of Russian election monitor Golos: www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/07/11/w...
Reposted by Dylan Primakoff
Children’s rights officials across the Far East and Siberia warned of a “rise in indicators of family dysfunction” among families of those serving in Ukraine.
Children of Russian Soldiers Increasingly Placed in State Care, Regional Officials Say - The Moscow Times
Children of soldiers deployed to Ukraine are increasingly being classified as “at-risk” and removed from their homes to state-run orphanages and boarding schools, according to reports from officials i...
www.themoscowtimes.com
July 2, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Children’s rights officials across the Far East and Siberia warned of a “rise in indicators of family dysfunction” among families of those serving in Ukraine.
Reposted by Dylan Primakoff
Police in Yekaterinburg arrested dozens of people of Azerbaijani origin this weekend in connection with a decades-old murder case. Two of the suspects died, and others appeared in court with signs of abuse. Baku is demanding an investigation.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...
meduza.io/en/feature/2...
‘Unacceptable violence’ Sudden mass arrests in decades-old murder case spark diplomatic row between Russia and Azerbaijan — Meduza
A court in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg has jailed seven people pending trial on charges of murder and attempted murder targeting members of the Azerbaijani community between 2001 and 2011.…
meduza.io
June 30, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Police in Yekaterinburg arrested dozens of people of Azerbaijani origin this weekend in connection with a decades-old murder case. Two of the suspects died, and others appeared in court with signs of abuse. Baku is demanding an investigation.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...
meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Reposted by Dylan Primakoff
Police raided the Baku office of the Russian state media agency Sputnik Azerbaijan on Monday. The outlet had reportedly continued operating even after it officially suspended operations in compliance with a new Azerbaijani law.
meduza.io/en/news/2025...
meduza.io/en/news/2025...
Police raid Baku office of Russian state media agency Sputnik Azerbaijan — Meduza
Police raided the Baku office of the Russian media agency Sputnik Azerbaijan on Monday, according to local media reports citing the Azerbaijani Interior Ministry.
meduza.io
June 30, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Police raided the Baku office of the Russian state media agency Sputnik Azerbaijan on Monday. The outlet had reportedly continued operating even after it officially suspended operations in compliance with a new Azerbaijani law.
meduza.io/en/news/2025...
meduza.io/en/news/2025...
Reposted by Dylan Primakoff
Belarus opposition leader freed from jail after pardon, human rights group says
Belarus opposition leader freed from jail after pardon, human rights group says
Syarhei Tsikhanouski seen smiling in video shared by wife Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya after his release
One of the leaders of Belarus’s opposition movement, Syarhei Tsikhanouski, has been released from jail after being pardoned, the Belarusian human rights group Viasna has said.
His wife, Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya, who took over the opposition cause after his jailing, on Saturday shared a video of him smiling and embracing her after his release with the caption: “FREE”. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
June 21, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Belarus opposition leader freed from jail after pardon, human rights group says
