IStories

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Russian programmer Alexander Okunev set himself on fire on the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion. No one heard

6 May

Maria Zholobova, Filipp Gorenshtein, Holger Roonemaa, Indrė Makaraitytė, Ilya Ber

He Burned Himself Alive to Protest Russia's War in Ukraine. The State Tried to Erase Him

4 May

Vladimir Putin fears an assassination attempt and a coup, tensions among security services are rising, an EU intelligence agency says

Roman Anin, founder of Important Stories, on where the emerging war among Russia’s “siloviki“ clans could lead

4 May

“Russia Has Two Paths Left”

Roskomnadzor Demands Removal of IStories App From App Store and Google Play

The state censoring agency believes that the app “destabilizes the socio-political situation” in Russia

Roskomnadzor Demands Removal of IStories App From App Store and Google Play

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated Russia is once again attempting to drag Belarus into the war. Is it possible? How could it look and how would it affect Ukraine?

22 April

Editors

Might Belarus Join Russia in the War?

Essentially, only the state-run internet will remain in the whole country

14 April

Editors

New Reforms Will Leave Some Areas of Russia without Internet, Internet Providers Warn

Mathew Dubron wrote a book on the two opposing sides volunteers’ perspectives on war and told IStories about what he saw in both countries

6 April

Sonya Savina, Egor Feoktistov

US Citizen Went to Army Recruitment Offices in Both Moscow and Kyiv

Leaked transaction data reveals how a major refinery in Ireland owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska feeds into the aluminum supply chain of Russia’s weapons manufacturers. An investigation by IStories, OCCRP, The Irish Times, and partners

24 March

Maria Savitskaya, Eli Moskowitz, Misha Gagarin, Ingrid Gercama, Conor Gallagher

From Irish Alumina to Russian Rockets

IStories tells the story of Lana Pozhidaeva — an MGIMO graduate, model, and daughter of career intelligence officers — who for many years was involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s network and recruited women for him from the former Soviet Union

21 March

Nikita Kondratyev, Egor Feoktistov

How the Daughter of a Russian Intelligence Officer Became a Recruiter for Epstein’s Trafficking Network

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How Russia Imports Foreign Components and Machinery

Russia has received more than 8 million artillery rounds from the DPRK. An investigation by IStories and the Open Source Centre

16 March

Egor Feoktistov

Inside the Pipeline: How North Korea Armed Russia

What we know about the student recruitment campaign and how to avoid it

3 March

Polina Uzhvak, Lena Lemyasova

Students Recruited to War in Universities and Colleges All Over Russia

Who makes money off videos of brutal war executions published on Telegram channels

17 March

Irina Dolinina, Aleksandr Atasuntsev

The Russian War Snuff Videos Industry: “Welcome to the Real Murders Channel”

A new leak unveils the scale of Wagner Group’s ex-staffers’ work in Africa and Latin America as well as Russian intelligence connections

14 February

“The Central African Republic Supports Trump”

The successor will be the one who can guarantee the Kadyrov family’s security and keep Chechnya under Kremlin control

23 January

Roman Anin, Olga Churakova, Nikita Kondratyev, Editors

How Chechnya and the Kremlin Are Preparing for the Death of Ramzan Kadyrov

Over the past three years, Russia has almost completed the development of a digital registry that can be used for a new and more effective war mobilization campaign, storing data on 25 million citizens who can potentially be drafted. IStories examined the data shared by the hackers who attacked the registry key developer

22 December

Polina Uzhvak, Sonya Savina, Egor Feoktistov, Rina Nikolaeva

What We Learned from a Hacker Attack on the Russian Military Registry Developer

Important News

Exclusive

Alleged Magnitsky Case Fraud Mastermind Tried in Absentia in France

This is the first investigation on Dmitry Klyuev’s activity to reach the trial stage

Alleged Magnitsky Case Fraud Mastermind Tried in Absentia in France

Exclusive

Russia Aims to Recruit 80,000 Contract Soldiers for Unmanned Systems Forces by Year’s End

The campaign includes recruiting students and conscripts

Russia Aims to Recruit 80,000 Contract Soldiers for Unmanned Systems Forces by Year’s End

Exclusive

Russia Restricts “Friendly” Countries Mercenary Recruitment

About 40 countries could have been stoplisted to recruit from

Russia Restricts “Friendly” Countries Mercenary Recruitment

IStories Now Has Its Own App

Install it and share with people who need it!

IStories Now Has Its Own App

In France, Prosecutors Seized Assets Belonging to the Head of Gazprombank and His Deputy Totaling More Than €100 Million — Le Monde

The head of Gazprombank had four villas seized, while his deputy lost one

In France, Prosecutors Seized Assets Belonging to the Head of Gazprombank and His Deputy Totaling More Than €100 Million — Le Monde

IStories Founder Roman Anin Stripped of Russian Citizenship

The decision is linked to the publication of an investigation by Ekaterina Fomina about the mass shootings of civilians in Ukraine’s Bucha

IStories Founder Roman Anin Stripped of Russian Citizenship

Authorities Evict Chechen Alternative for Germany Party Member Murad Dadaev From His Villa in Hanover Following Investigation by IStories and CORRECTIV

The article established Dadaev’s connections with Kadyrov’s people in Europe

Authorities Evict Chechen Alternative for Germany Party Member Murad Dadaev From His Villa in Hanover Following Investigation by IStories and CORRECTIV

Exclusive

Hackers Breach Infrastructure of Key Unified Military Registry Developer

They gained access to data on the development of the registry

Hackers Breach Infrastructure of Key Unified Military Registry Developer

A Monument to the Son of CIA Deputy Director Michael Gloss, Killed in the War in Ukraine, Erected in Donetsk

It was installed at the school that was previously named after Gloss

A Monument to the Son of CIA Deputy Director Michael Gloss, Killed in the War in Ukraine, Erected in Donetsk

Putin Approves Preparations for Full-scale Nuclear Weapons Tests in Response to Possible U.S. Tests

Earlier, U.S. President Trump also instructed the Pentagon to resume such tests

Exclusive

In 2024, Almost a Thousand Women Were Killed in Acts of Domestic Violence in Russia

This represents 47% of all women intentionally murdered in Russia, which is the highest ratio in the last 15 years

In 2024, Almost a Thousand Women Were Killed in Acts of Domestic Violence in Russia

How did a Grozny native whose brother participated in the assassination of Ramzan Kadyrov’s opponent become a prominent figure in the Alternative for Germany party and gather German far-rightists around him?

9 December

Leonid Troevidov

The First Chechen of German Nationalism

Companies in Russia and the United Arab Emirates are involved in secretive exports of oil products to North Korea — in violation of U.N. sanctions that Moscow itself supported.

20 November

Editors

Leaked Russian Records Reveal Obscure Firms Helping Bust North Korean Oil Sanctions

Here is what we know from sources close to the Kremlin and law enforcement agencies

19 November

Olga Churakova, Roman Anin

How Sergey Kiriyenko Is Battling the Siloviki

Russian cadets at military universities and academies say they are being deprived of the right to resign. At the same time, their military contracts are now permanent under Putin’s 2022 mobilization decree

29 October

Irina Dolinina, Aleksandr Atasuntsev

“They Aren’t Letting Us Go.” Russian Cadets Lured into Military Service with No Way Out

What else can we learn from the Russian court rulings data from the first half of 2025?

21 October

Sonya Savina, Rina Nikolaeva, Polina Uzhvak

Russia Breaks “Treason” Sentences Record, Publishes Data on How Many Criminals Escaped Punishment by Going to War

There are deserters who flee the war right from the frontlines. Some of them, like corporal Pavlov, manage to do so twice. He told us his story

15 October

Aleksandr Atasuntsev

“Dumb Way to Fight�”

Important Documentaries

How a network for selling sex with teenagers was built in Russia — and which of its influential clients managed to escape responsibility. An investigation by IStories and Verstka

19 June

Olesya Gerasimenko, Ivan Zhadaev, Rina Richter, Aleksandr Kabanov, Maria Zholobova, Dmitry Velikovsky

“They Told Me: Deripaska Is the Client. Don’t You Want To Sell Your Virginity?”

A documentary by IStories

21 December

Wives of Mobilized Men on the War, Putin and the Future of Russia

How adoptees and their siblings live separated in Russia and abroad

15 June

“Detective Found My Family”

Stories of those missing in action and survivors’ accounts

18 January

Irina Dolinina, Rina Nikolaeva

Hell for the Mobilized Near Svatove

IStories looked into the life stories of the convicted criminals who died in Ukraine and were recruited by Russia’s infamous paramilitary organization Wagner PMC, talked to the victims of their crimes, relatives and friends

3 May

Alesya Marokhovskaya, Ekaterina Fomina

Faces of Wagner

True crime from modern-day Russia

21 October

“Putin Pardoned the Murderers of Our Children.” A Film by IStories

IStories found military officers who fled Russia — they told us about the war crimes they have witnessed and why it is almost impossible to leave the Russian army

15 August

Ekaterina Fomina

How the Russian Servicemen Are Deserting and Escaping Russia so as Not to Kill in the War

How the kidnapping, torture and terror is organized in the center of Ukrainian guerrilla resistance — Russian-occupied Melitopol

3 October

Polina Uzhvak, Rina Nikolaeva

“You Will Die and No One Will Know”

Buryatia’s losses in the war — what will the mobilization result in? A documentary by IStories

24 September

“Guys Die for Nothing”

The phone of a local resident who survived a mass shooting was found in Bucha. The occupiers used this phone to call home. IStories found them

27 June

Ekaterina Fomina

Eight Pskov Paratroopers in Bucha

How they lose, escape, and help during the war

27 May

Irina Dolinina, Ekaterina Fomina

Refugees 2022. A Documentary by IStories

The month of Putin’s war in Ukraine is being told by the voices of people on both front lines in the IStories’ film

29 March

The Voices of the War in Ukraine

20 million Russians may not be able to wait for an ambulance to arrive when their lives are at stake. A research and reportage by IStories

26 July

Sonya Savina, Editors

“They Have Been Re-optimized to the Point That Soon No One Will Be Able to Get Sick at All”

In Russia, one baby dies during labour or pregnancy every minute — an IStories investigation

1 June

Sonya Savina, Editors

“I’m Never Going Back to That Hell. I Don’t Want to Give Birth in This Country Anymore”

A documentary by IStories

2 November

What the Post-war Future Holds for Russia: Drawing on the Case of Post-nazi Germany

Journalists from IStories and Meduza found more than 140 “regular” witnesses who testified in Moscow courts in the so called “drug” trials. They are the acquaintances of the policemen or those who are dependent from them. Despite gross violations of the law, the judges sent hundreds of people to jail

18 February

Alesya Marokhovskaya

“I’m a Witness!” Who Helps the Police to Fabricate Drug Related Cases

Thousands of emails sent and received by Kirill Shamalov — Vladimir Putin’s former son-in-law — showcase the fantastic wealth and personal power that come with access to Russia’s first family

7 December

Roman Anin, Alesya Marokhovskaya, Irina Dolinina, Dmitry Velikovsky, Sonya Savina, Editors

Love, Offshores, and Administrative Resources: How Marrying Putin’s Daughter Gave Kirill Shamalov a World of Opportunity

From July to September 2025, courts in Russia’s so-called new territories imposed sentences in this category of cases every three days. Teenagers, pensioners, women, and even entire families have fallen victim to the repression

13 October

Polina Uzhvak, Sonya Savina, Rina Nikolaeva

People Kidnapped and Sentenced with “Espionage” and “Treason” in Occupied Territories of Ukraine

According to the 2026 draft budget data

2 October

Editors, Boris Grozovski

Putin’s War Economy Reaches Limit

An investigation by The Post and Courier, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and IStories

28 September

Irina Dolinina, John Dell'Osso

Sovcombank Co-owner Sergey Khotimsky Invested Millions of Dollars in U.S. Real Estate, and It Avoided Sanctions

Important stories don’t tell themselves

Your ongoing support allows us to keep exposing the truth. Without you, we won’t be here.

A Russian-Spanish wine exporter whose family runs a chic tapas bar is under investigation for shipping sanctioned chemicals to Russia. She also owns a chemical company in Russia whose clients have included major state scientific agencies known for developing chemical weapons. An investigation by OCCRP, All Eyes On Wagner, Slidstvo.Info, Belarusian Investigative Center, and IStories

30 September

Maria Zholobova

Tapas and Toxins

One in four was killed, went missing, or was wounded. IStories analyzed the full list of those mobilized from Tomsk Oblast and reports on what three years of mobilization have looked like through the lens of a single Russian region

19 September

Sonya Savina, Egor Feoktistov, Polina Uzhvak

Three Years of Mobilization: What One Region — and the Whole Russia — Has Endured

Passages through pipes have little impact on the course of combat operations, according to military experts

18 September

Russian Troops Once Again Used an Underground Pipe. Is This Tactic Really Effective?

Spending on promoting the Russian language abroad has tripled. This is how Moscow seeks to expand its influence and impose a pro-Russian agenda in other countries, while continuing its military aggression

16 September

Kremlin Has Increased Spending on Expanding Its Network of Loyal Young Leaders, Journalists, and Bloggers Abroad by 1.5 Times

There is little equipment left, and it is too vulnerable. Russian army may be stockpiling it for a major offensive, experts say

9 September

The Russian Army is Losing Way Less Equipment Now. What’s the Reason?

How life in Russia will change from September 2025

28 August

Patriotic Talks in Kindergartens, National Messenger on Every Phone, Paramedics Instead of Doctors

How the owner of a modeling agency joined the board of directors of the Russian titanium giant VSMPO-Avisma

20 August

Roman Katin

From Fashion to Titanium

Despite the defense sector’s continued growth, warnings of an impending recession are getting louder

13 August

Editors

Russia’s Wartime Economy Pushes Companies Toward a Four-Day Workweek as Civilian Sector Declines

On the fourth year of Russian “war against the West” the son of the first deputy director of Rostec state corporation was detained in his villa in Spain in a money laundering probe. IStories got the video of his testimonies

17 September

Roman Katin

“My Father is a Highly Respected Person”

Putin’s close friend Timchenko was the biggest Russian oil trader before 2014 sanctions. In 2024, former executives of his companies provided services to more than 300 tankers, at least 170 ships belong to the shadow fleet

1 August

Roman Katin

Gennady Timchenko’s Ex-Managers Provided Services to the Shadow Fleet in the Russian Sea Ports

The Kremlin is shaping a new elite for whom the collapse of the regime would mean personal collapse, argues economist Andrei Yakovlev

29 July

Andrei Yakovlev

Why the Current Wave of Nationalization in Russia is More Than Just a Redistribution of Assets

How former PR man and minor official Vladimir Medinsky gained influence over Vladimir Putin and became the chief negotiator on Ukraine

22 July

Olga Churakova, Holger Roonemaa, Ilya Ber, Olga Ivleva, Anna Mironyuk, Mattias Carlsson

The Chief of the Past

How a network for selling sex with teenagers was built in Russia — and which of its influential clients managed to escape responsibility. An investigation by IStories and Verstka

19 June

Olesya Gerasimenko, Ivan Zhadaev, Rina Richter, Aleksandr Kabanov, Maria Zholobova, Dmitry Velikovsky

“They Told Me: Deripaska Is the Client. Don’t You Want To Sell Your Virginity?”

Vladimir Putin wanted to prove that the post-Soviet space is Russia’s sphere of influence, but the result was exactly the opposite

16 July

Vladimir Solovyov

How the War in Ukraine Changed the Attitude of CIS Countries Toward Russia

By the end of the year, the pace of contract enlistment has fallen and continues to decline. A research by IStories

30 May

Sonya Savina, Katya Bonch-Osmolovskaya

Up to 407 Thousand Russians Signed Contracts with the Defense Ministry in 2024

They lost both money and fame. The state compensates the money, but not the fame

22 May

Editors

Russian Sports in Their Fourth Year of Isolation — How Has This Hit Athletes?

The technical infrastructure that underpins Telegram is controlled by a man whose companies have collaborated with Russian intelligence services. An investigation by IStories

10 June

Roman Anin, Nikita Kondratyev

Telegram, the FSB, and the Man in the Middle

Vladimir Putin has ordered residents of the occupied territories to legalize their status by September 10, or else they will be deported. In reality, Ukrainians whom the occupation authorities have deemed a “security threat” have long been expelled from their homes and abandoned at the border with Georgia. Here are their stories

23 May

Rina Nikolaeva, Polina Uzhvak, Irina Dolinina

Deportation From the Occupation

How many people have deserted the Russian army during the war — an investigation by IStories

20 May

Egor Feoktistov

Under the Weight of Cargo 500

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Journalists from six countries have united to investigate the death of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna. In the summer of 2023, she organized a trip to the territories occupied by Russia to locate places where abducted Ukrainians were being held and disappeared herself. A year and a half later, her body was repatriated with signs of torture

29 April

Polina Uzhvak, Irina Dolinina, Rina Nikolaeva

Ghost Detainees. The Story of Viktoriia Roshchyna

How the son of a CIA deputy director set out to backpack around the world and to save the planet — but ended up in the Russian army and died in the war in Ukraine

25 April

Sonya Savina, Egor Feoktistov

“He Was Forging His Own Hero’s Journey When He Was Tragically Killed in Eastern Europe”

IStories identified 1,500 of them and found out how the recruitment of foreigners works in Moscow

23 April

Sonya Savina, Egor Feoktistov

Mercenaries From at Least 48 Countries Are Participating in the War on Russia’s Side

Russian elites are obtaining Serbian passports with visa-free access to the EU during the war. Among them are an FSB special forces member, a friend of Nikolay Patrushev, nuclear weapons manufacturers, a close associate of Ramzan Kadyrov, and dozens of others

16 April

Nikita Kondratyev, Editors

Belgrade Syndicate

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How Russia Imports Foreign Components and Machinery

Belarus-based Izovac captured a fifth of the global market in its field by 2020. We found its other clients as well — Russian military-industrial complex enterprises

24 April

Editors

How an Apple and Samsung Supplier Helps the Russian Military Industry

The main task of the special services is to intimidate and divide the scientific community. They do not care about anything else

10 April

“We Will Imprison This One and Buy That One.” Why Are Scientists Being Persecuted in Russia

VChK-OGPU, an opposition Telegram channel known for leaks, has been removed from Telegram, the largest platform for uncensored media. The messenger denies involvement, but what happened looks extremely strange and even dangerous

7 April

“To Show That Russian Special Services Have Long Arms Also Regarding Telegram”

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The Kremlin Propaganda Files

Meet the bloggers who criticize the West and lure foreigners to Russia — to enjoy “traditional values.” These bloggers are considered independent, but they are paid by the propaganda channel RT

13 March

Rina Nikolaeva, Anastasia Korotkova, Dmitry Velikovsky

Propaganda for Export

The National Technology Initiative was supposed to give young startups a chance and make Russia a global technology leader. Now, the companies it sponsors are working for the war effort and complaining that there is no other market in Russia

19 March

Kirill Aruzov

Who and How Involves Russian Startups in Defense Order Work

Here are three signs of such preparation

14 March

Roman Katin

Russia is Preparing to Restore the Nord Stream Gas Pipeline, IStories Source Reports

Moscow, Berlin, and Washington are discussing the resumption of raw material supplies to Germany at Rosneft’s refineries. This could be an argument for a ceasefire with Ukraine

13 March

Marcus Bensmann, Alexej Hock, David Schraven, Nikita Kondratyev

“Russians and Americans Are Clapping Their Hands”

The Charon Project. IStories Has Launched a Database of Deceased and Missing Russian Soldiers Based on Neural Networks

The database includes a search for individuals, casualty estimates by region, age, places of death and disappearance, and much more information

The Charon Project. IStories Has Launched a Database of Deceased and Missing Russian Soldiers Based on Neural Networks

Who is Kirill Dmitriev, the key Russian negotiator with the U.S.?

18 February

Putin’s Man From Stanford

Coal goes to Turkey and other countries, and money goes offshore

4 February

Maria Zholobova

Son of Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych Makes Billions Selling Coal From Occupied Territories

How a financier сlose to Putin’s friends bought an American company with access to the data of millions of air passengers in the US and Europe — and made the son of the FSB’s First Deputy Director a partner in a similar project in Russia

13 January

Roman Katin

American Startup for the FSB General’s Son

Founder of IStories, Roman Anin, assesses the chances of candidates to succeed the Russian dictator

4 February

Who is Putin’s Successor and What Will Happen to Russia?

How a well-known Russian “human rights activist” Maria Chashchilova falsified her biography and gained access to information that posed a threat to people persecuted by Russian authorities

31 January

“I Admit That I Deceived You”

They offloaded hundreds of thousands of tons of petroleum products onto vessels involved in exporting from Russia in circumvention of sanctions

28 January

At Least 11 Volgoneft Type Tankers Went to Sea With the Same Violations as Those That Sank in December

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The Case of Children Deportation from Ukraine to Russia

The story of the life and death of Oleksandr Yakushchenko, a teenager who was taken from Ukraine to Russia and committed suicide in his foster home

24 December

Katya Bonch-Osmolovskaya

“He Was Buried in a Day Like a Dog”

Leaked data on Dubai property owners shows that Ramzan Kadyrov’s cousin, Chechen official Shahruddi Edilgiriev, has become the owner of 4 luxury mansions worth more than $20 million

30 January

Graham Stack, Editors

Chechnya’s Unofficial Embassy in the UAE