Sam Breazeale

‘A lethal, capable, and European-led NATO’ Between Trump’s demands and Russia’s threats, is Europe finally getting serious about its own defense? — Meduza NATO defense ministers gathered in Brussels on Wednesday for the first time since late June, when they agreed to raise national defense spending targets to five percent of GDP under pressure from the…

“Everyone understands that if Ukraine comes under Russian domination, or is even absorbed into a kind of reconstituted Russian empire, then we have a challenge that is so much larger,” a senior NATO official told Meduza in Brussels this week.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Back to Bukhara How memory, tourism, and the diaspora sustain the last vestiges of Uzbekistan’s Jewish heritage — Meduza Best known as a stop on the Silk Road trade route, Uzbekistan’s ancient city of Bukhara was home to a thriving Jewish community for more than 2,000 years. But since the Soviet Union’s collapse in the…

Reporting from Bukhara, journalist @sashaslobodov.bsky.social explores how tourism and the diaspora sustain the last vestiges of Uzbekistan’s Jewish heritage. The Beet’s latest.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Four scenarios for the next chapter in Russia’s war against Ukraine — Meduza Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has now passed the three-and-a-half-year mark, and there is still no end in sight. The Trump administration’s recent push to negotiate a ceasefire ground…

New podcast alert! For The Naked Pravda, researcher @msnegovaya.bsky.social breaks down the rising costs straining the Kremlin’s war machine — and explores four possible scenarios for the Russia–Ukraine war’s next chapter. meduza.io/en/episodes/...

Hundreds of Alligator Alcatraz detainees drop off the grid after leaving site As of the end of August, the whereabouts of two-thirds of more than 1,800 men detained at Alligator Alcatraz during the month of July could not be determined by the Miami Herald.

More than 1800 detainees are missing after the closure of Alligator Alcatraz. Their families and lawyers can’t find them and they’ve vanished from the ICE database. Feels like this should be a much bigger story www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

‘Americans, don’t take this sitting down’ Russians say the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show feels familiar. Here’s what became of the country’s TV comedy shows that dared to criticize the Kremlin. — Meduza On Wednesday evening, the American TV network ABC announced that it was indefinitely suspending comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show. The news came just hours after the head of the FCC, the…

Russians say the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show feels familiar. Here’s what became of the country’s TV comedy shows that dared to criticize the Putin administration.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...

‘I ended up here because of what I wrote’ In their own words, Meduza’s anonymous staff members introduce themselves to readers — Meduza Regular readers have likely noticed that many of our stories simply say “Meduza” in the byline. For safety reasons — since any cooperation with our newsroom is against the law in Russia — only a few…

You may have noticed that many of our stories simply say “Meduza” in the byline. That's a safety precaution, as any cooperation with our newsroom is against the law in Russia. But we'd still like you to know the people who work here. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Any English speakers in Bishkek who’d be interested in informal language exchange/English practice with some local journalists?

Eyewitnesses to a war crime Ukraine’s 20,000 stolen children are on the Trump administration’s radar. But will it help get them back? — Meduza More than two weeks have passed since U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Vladimir Putin in Alaska, and by all appearances, this controversial show of diplomacy yielded no tangible results. Despite…

Ukraine has verified Russia’s deportation of nearly 20,000 children from occupied territories. Can the Trump administration help get them back? meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Just in case you like in-depth analytical angle on Russia, think about donating to ridl.io
ridl.io/donate/

Any English speakers in Bishkek who’d be interested in informal language exchange/English practice with some local journalists?

We need your help An urgent appeal from the Meduza team — Meduza Dear Meduza in English readers,

.@meduza.io calls for immediate support, otherwise they are going to crash.
I got to say - they are the best independent Russian media that does extensive coverage of everything that you need to know about Russia.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...

In 2004, my family moved back to Russia from Alaska, where we lived back then.

Putin was supposed to visit the school I attended in St.Petersburg, but never showed. I spent hours locked in a classroom because I had long hair and according to the principal would be an “embarrassment” in public

Kyrgyzstan adopts new, draconian media law The draft media law has been in the works since 2022 and has been criticized by journalists, civil society, and human rights organizations from the outset.

The draft media law has been in the works since 2022 and has been criticized by journalists, civil society, and human rights organizations from the outset.

Only 2 out of every 1,000 readers support Meduza monthly. With numbers like that, we won’t last much longer. We need your help. — Meduza Underreported stories. Fresh perspectives. From Budapest to Bishkek. Protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

It’s long been too dangerous for our readers in Russia to support us financially. Luckily, we have more than 3 million readers abroad — but only 2 of every 1,000 donate monthly. Unless that changes, we won’t last much longer.
meduza.io/en/short/202...

«Труднее всего было долго молчать. Но я не могу делать вид, будто мы не слышим и не видим» Бывший глава буддийской общины Калмыкии, открыто выступивший против войны, дал интервью англоязычной «Медузе»... Тэло Тулку Ринпоче почти 30 лет возглавлял буддийскую общину Калмыкии — региона России, где буддисты составляют большинство. Он родился в США и получил образование в Индии, а в Калмыкию впервые приеха...

Excerpts in Russian:

meduza.io/feature/2025...

‘What was difficult was to remain silent’ Meduza’s interview with Telo Tulku Rinpoche, Russia’s first religious head to condemn the war in Ukraine — Meduza In September 2022 — seven months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine — Telo Tulku Rinpoche, then the spiritual leader of Kalmykia’s Buddhists, became the first active religious…

Born in Philadelphia, Telo Tulku Rinpoche was sent to a monastery in India at age seven. At 19, he was chosen to revive Buddhism in Russia’s Kalmykia. He spent 30 years doing just that — then denounced the war in Ukraine. Now he can’t return to Russia.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...

‘What was difficult was to remain silent’ Meduza’s interview with Telo Tulku Rinpoche, Russia’s first religious head to condemn the war in Ukraine — Meduza In September 2022 — seven months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine — Telo Tulku Rinpoche, then the spiritual leader of Kalmykia’s Buddhists, became the first active religious le...

You’ve heard of the Chicago Pope — now meet the Philly Lama.

I spoke to someone I’d been wanting to interview for years: Telo Tulku Rinpoche, who served as the head of Buddhists in Russia’s Kalmykia for decades until he denounced the war in 2022.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...

A political crisis that could weaken the war effort itself What Zelensky’s anti-corruption U-turn means at a ‘precarious moment’ for Ukraine — Meduza On July 31, the Ukrainian parliament will consider a new anti-corruption bill designed to undo the damage from a piece of legislation it passed just last week. The controversial law, which deprived Uk...

My conversation with political analyst Balazs Jarabik about Zelensky’s anti-corruption reversal and the return of politics in wartime Ukraine. Check it out before the new bill goes to the Rada floor tomorrow! meduza.io/en/feature/2... @meduza.io

My summary of the story of a very, very American family

Russian politician Roman Starovoit reportedly found dead just hours after dismissal as transport minister — Meduza Russian politician Roman Starovoit, whom Vladimir Putin dismissed from his post as the country’s transport minister on Monday morning, has been found dead in his home in the Moscow region in an appare...

Former Kursk Governor Roman Starovoit, who was dismissed by Putin *earlier today* as Russia’s transport minister, has reportedly been found dead in his home in an apparent suicide.
meduza.io/en/news/2025...

Freed from prison, Belarusian dissident Tsikhanouski tells AP about 5 years in solitary confinement Belarusian dissident Siarhei Tsihanouski says he was held in solitary confinement, in conditions similar to torture, during five years in prison.

“When Alexei Navalny died, I thought, that’ll probably be me soon…And then something changed. It was clear that someone at the top said, ’Make sure he doesn’t die here. We don’t need that problem.’” Siarhei Tsikhanouski’s first interview after 5 years in prison in Belarus. apnews.com/article/bela...

very rare that an update from Gaza is good to hear — but WCK’s tenacious commitment to its kitchens there is that rarity

I just donated again to support their work and hope you can & will too

Okay, that’s why.

My report from NATO def ministers’ last meeting in Brussels before the alliance’s annual summit later this month

‘There’s no such thing as safety’ In Russia, journalists must either adapt to censorship or risk their freedom. So why do they keep reporting? — Meduza In April 2025, Kommersant journalist Alexander Chernykh declined the most prestigious independent prize recognizing Russian journalism, Redkollegia. He’d won the award for a report from Russia’s Kursk...

“And then I’d sit in on yet another [online] safety training for journalists, listening to exiles telling me how important it is to ‘follow safety protocols’ — and it would drive me up the wall.”
More invaluable reporting from my colleague Lilia Yapparova:
meduza.io/en/feature/2...

“The head of the detention center said a doctor could be allowed into the facility [prison], but under these conditions, that’s extremely risky. What if the bleeding starts again? How equipped is the place to handle that kind of operation?”

Kasiet says the SIZO isn’t letting her mom go to a clinic to have her stitches removed. “…my mom had major surgery on her entire jaw. It was supposed to take 3 hours but lasted 8 due to nonstop bleeding.” She says her mom was in unbearable pain and the bleeding continued nightly for a week afterward

Rita Karasartova will be held in pre-trial detention until May 12. A judge declared her detention “illegal” but “warranted” and then moved ahead with remanding her in custody for the next month
kloop.kg/blog/2025/04...

Журналистов судят по делу ФБК. Приговор Антонину Фаворскую, Сергея Карелина, Константина Габова и Артема Кригера приговорили к 5,5 годам колонии каждого

Russian independent newsrooms in exile have been essential for our understanding of the Kremlin's crackdown on civil society in Russia: A lot of what we know about the closed-door trial of four journalists in Moscow is thanks to the excellent Mediazona:
zona.media/online/2025/...

Russia jails four journalists for 5.5 years over alleged ties to Navalny's team, including past Reuters and AP contributors — Meduza A Moscow court has sentenced four journalists to 5.5 years in prison on charges of participating in an “extremist organization” for their alleged involvement in making YouTube videos for Alexey…

Russia has sentenced four journalists to 5.5 years in prison, including past Reuters and AP contributors, on charges of participating in an “extremist organization” for their alleged ties to Navalny’s organization. The trial was held behind closed doors.
meduza.io/en/news/2025...