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Stories
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Sovcombank Co-owner Sergey Khotimsky Invested Millions of Dollars in U.S. Real Estate, and It Avoided Sanctions
An investigation by The Post and Courier, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and IStories
28 September
Irina Dolinina
,
John Dell'Osso
Stories
Three Years of Mobilization: What One Region — and the Whole Russia — Has Endured
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
Stories
Russian Troops Once Again Used an Underground Pipe. Is This Tactic Really Effective?
Passages through pipes have little impact on the course of combat operations, according to military experts
18 September
Stories
“My Father is a Highly Respected Person”
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
Роман Катин
Stories
Kremlin Has Increased Spending on Expanding Its Network of Loyal Young Leaders, Journalists, and Bloggers Abroad by 1.5 Times
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
Rina Nikolaeva
Stories
“If You Can Handle It — You Can Handle It, If Not — We’ll Bury You.” How Alexander Khinshtein is Calming Kursk Oblast
Kursk Oblast will soon hold another gubernatorial election, the second in just over a year — the previous governor, Alexey Smirnov, was arrested on suspicion of fraud. Khinshtein has no real competitors; his main task is to get re-elected and not end up in prison himself
10 September
Olga Ivanova
Stories
The Russian Army is Losing Way Less Equipment Now. What’s the Reason?
There is little equipment left, and it is too vulnerable. Russian army may be stockpiling it for a major offensive, experts say
9 September
Stories
Patriotic Talks in Kindergartens, National Messenger on Every Phone, Paramedics Instead of Doctors
How life in Russia will change from September 2025
28 August
Stories
From Fashion to Titanium
How the owner of a modeling agency joined the board of directors of the Russian titanium giant VSMPO-Avisma
20 August
Roman Katin
Stories
In 2025, Nearly 3,000 Russian Troops Who Had Fought in Ukraine, and Their Children, Were Admitted to Top Russian Universities Through Quotas. That’s One and a Half Times More Than Last Year
83% of them were enrolled without taking exams or would not have been admitted without a quota because their scores were below the passing threshold
5 August
Polina Uzhvak
,
Rina Nikolaeva
,
Sonya Savina
Stories
Gennady Timchenko’s Ex-Managers Provided Services to the Shadow Fleet in the Russian Sea Ports
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
Stories
The Chief of the Past
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
Stories
A Mysterious Trader of Russian Oil Links Associates of Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s friends
An investigation by IStories
7 July
Roman Katin
Stories
Prospective Foster Parents Now Required to Provide Certificate of “No Sex Change”
This practice is being implemented in at least one region of Russia. Lawyers say it is illegal
27 June
Polina Uzhvak
,
Sonya Savina
Stories
“They Told Me: Deripaska Is the Client. Don’t You Want To Sell Your Virginity?”
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
Stories
Telegram, the FSB, and the Man in the Middle
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
Stories
Up to 407 Thousand Russians Signed Contracts with the Defense Ministry in 2024
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
Stories
Deportation From the Occupation
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
Stories
Russian Sports in Their Fourth Year of Isolation — How Has This Hit Athletes?
They lost both money and fame. The state compensates the money, but not the fame
22 May
Editors
Stories
Under the Weight of Cargo 500
How many people have deserted the Russian army during the war — an investigation by IStories
20 May
Egor Feoktistov
Stories
Ghost Detainees. The Story of Viktoriia Roshchyna
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
Stories
“He Was Forging His Own Hero’s Journey When He Was Tragically Killed in Eastern Europe”
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
Stories
/
How Russia Imports Foreign Components and Machinery
How an Apple and Samsung Supplier Helps the Russian Military Industry
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
Stories
Mercenaries From at Least 48 Countries Are Participating in the War on Russia’s Side
IStories identified 1,500 of them and found out how the recruitment of foreigners works in Moscow
23 April
Sonya Savina
,
Egor Feoktistov
Stories
How and for What Russians Are Judged in 2024
The Judicial Department at the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has published new data on the number and composition of convicted individuals. The IStories data team explains what has become known from this data
18 April
Sonya Savina
,
Polina Uzhvak
,
Rina Nikolaeva
,
Egor Feoktistov
Stories
Belgrade Syndicate
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
Stories
“We Will Imprison This One and Buy That One.” Why Are Scientists Being Persecuted in Russia
The main task of the special services is to intimidate and divide the scientific community. They do not care about anything else
10 April
Stories
“To Show That Russian Special Services Have Long Arms Also Regarding Telegram”
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
Alina Danilina
Stories
Who and How Involves Russian Startups in Defense Order Work
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
Stories
“Russians and Americans Are Clapping Their Hands”
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
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