Here is an early look at the front page of a special section wrapping The Wall Street Journal on.wsj.com/4avlRqI

Questions have swirled over how Russia’s powerful security agencies were unable to thwart the deadliest attack in two decades. Critics say they were too busy hunting Putin’s opponents instead of actual threats

uk.news.yahoo.com/russias-opposi…

A methodological primer - from Russia's 2021 Duma elections - on how Russia's opposition & independent analysts look into and assess claims of ballot-stuffing:

A resurgent Putin - on track to become Russia’s longest serving leader since Catherine the Great - said his troops were “mowing down” Ukrainians on the battlefield and vowed to “deal with” those who dared protest his election procession

themoscowtimes.com/2024/03/18/put…

Voting in Russia's presidential election underway in occupied Ukraine

📷AFP stringer

Vladimir Putin is set to secure another six-year term as Russian leader this weekend in a vote the Kremlin says will show society is fully behind his assault on Ukraine

rfi.fr/en/internation…

I didn't take the obligatory airport-departure photo when I left Moscow 2 years ago today, 4 March 2022, the day Putin signed a package of military censorship laws into force.

But here's one of where I landed: Osh, on Kygyrzstan's National Hat Day.

Yulia Navalnaya, in address to EU lawmakers: You can't beat Putin with more sanctions, statements and resolutions

27 February 2022

“In Russia, it is not enough to kill an opposition leader. His ageing mother must travel to the Arctic Circle to search a prison colony and a morgue for his body. Russians with the temerity to lay carnations in his memory must be detained.” - Andrew Roth theguardian.com/world/2024/feb…

Alexei Navalny’s final weeks. In his own words.

themoscowtimes.com/2024/02/16/ale…

Ukraine has rushed soldiers to the embattled eastern town of Avdiivka, surrounded on three sides by Russian forces, where the military said the situation was 'extremely critical'

france24.com/en/europe/2024…

Ukraine's new army chief said the situation on the battlefield is 'extremely difficult,' after his first trip to the front, even as Kyiv managed to sink yet another Russian warship in the Black Sea

rfi.fr/en/internation…

23 minutes for “Putin gives a history of Russia & Ukraine” is probably the under to be fair.

Russia officially blocks pro-peace anti-Putin campaigner Nadezhdin from running in next months' presidential election

france24.com/en/live-news/2…

Yandex announces long-awaited $5.2bn divorce.

The deal will end 20+ years of Western backing in Yandex, a long-time darling of Russia's tech scene and case study of successful Western investment in the country

barrons.com/news/yandex-an…

our story on the huge shift in the way Russian prisoners fight in Ukraine is finally out in English. some massive changes over the last couple of months. the biggest are:

1. no pardons from Putin anymore

2. they’ll have to fight till the end of the war

bbc.com/news/world-eur…

Banking in Russia, with its volatility and high interest rates, is exceedingly profitable.

Take Raiffeisen: It earned half its total profit from Russia, even though the country makes up just 6% of loans and under 15% of assets.
Post-tax RoE in 2022 was a huge 69%.

A Moscow court extended Evan Gershkovich's pre-trial detention until 30 March this morning -- meaning he'll have been behind bars in a Russian prison for at least a year

📷Alexander Nemenov/AFP

Moscow comfortably has more unisex toilets than any other city I’ve ever been to