Stories – IStories

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Stories

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

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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”

In 2022, 74 lieutenants graduated from the Donetsk Higher Combined Arms Command School. At least 17 of them died, more than half of them in the first year of the war

5 December

Aleksandr Atasuntsev

A Deadly Graduation: One in Four Cadets Killed in War

The maximum amount of payment including the federal part has reached 3 million rubles

2 December

The Average Regional Payment for Contracting with the Ministry of Defense Increased More Than 5 Times in a Year

Leonid Popov was kidnapped, tortured and held for a year and a half without charges. Now he faces up to 20 years in prison. He disappeared in April 2023, all this time the law enforcers denied that they were holding him

29 November

Rina Nikolaeva, Polina Uzhvak

The FSB Accused a Resident of Melitopol with Severe Mental Disorders of Espionage

It will not change the situation on the front, and the consequences could be catastrophic

28 November

5 Reasons Why Russia is Unlikely to Use Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine

Ephrem Yalike was a member of an organization to spread disinformation in Central African Republic. He managed to flee his country and tell the inside story of Russia’s campaign to influence public opinion in Africa

21 November

Irina Dolinina, Léa Peruchon

Former Wagner Group Employee Exposes Russian Propaganda Work in CAR

More than a thousand Russian servicemen of the 20th Motorized Rifle Division went AWOL, IStories found out. What happened to them?

19 November

Irina Dolinina, Polina Uzhvak

A Runaway Regiment

The devastating results of 2 years and 8 months of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine

18 November

1000 Days of War in Numbers

She is a St. Petersburg artist and co-owner of the channel. Her company was mentioned in the criminal case of the Deputy Defense Minister’s nephew

25 October

Roman Katin

IStories Reveal the Wife of Popular Pro-War Telegram Channel Rybar’s Founder

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The Case of Children Deportation from Ukraine to Russia

Oleshky Specialized Boarding School was one of the best institutions in Ukraine for children with special needs. It is still unknown what happened to some of its residents.

23 October

Katya Bonch-Osmolovskaya

How the War Destroyed the Orphanage in Oleshky

How Russia evades sanctions with a fake transit scheme and why it is difficult to fight it

17 October

Editors

Western Companies Supply Russia with Billions of Dollars Worth of Goods But They Do Not Realize It

Labor migrants are needed not less, but more, experts say

16 October

Russia is Launching a Campaign Against Migrants, But In Fact, They are Lacking

Russian authorities say banning childfreeness will help boost birth rates. Looking into whether this is true

24 September

A Holy War for the So-Called Traditional Values: Why Russia Is Fighting Against Childfree People

Since the beginning of the war with Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has been threatening the West with nuclear weapons and trying to make it part of the conflict. Nuclear policy experts explain to what extent he succeeds in that

20 September

“Nuclear Escalation Is a Two-Sided Game. It Is Not Being Played with Russia”

It appears, that Ukrainian forces are preparing to hold onto recently captured territories. Military experts explain what their chances are

20 August

Ukraine Has Been on the Offensive in the Kursk Region for Two Weeks Now. What Has It Achieved and What Will Happen Next?

With the federal contribution included, it has reached 1 million rubles (about $10,970)

20 August

Sonya Savina, Egor Feoktistov

Average Regional Payment for Russian Ministry of Defense Contracts Quadruples Since Start of Year

Explanations by political scientist, Z-propaganda researcher and military expert

16 August

Why Pro-Russian War Supporters Call It a “Deal”

There are Russian military personnel in Ukrainian captivity who are considered dead in their homeland. Their relatives have even managed to bury “remains” in closed coffins. The Russian Defense Ministry did not provide the DNA testing results to the relatives

6 August

Dead Russians Revived

The Russian army could recruit one and a half times fewer new contract soldiers than the Defense Ministry claims. Are Russians willingly going to war? A research by IStories and CIT

1 August

Katya Bonch-Osmolovskaya, Sonya Savina

More Soldiers at All Costs

How a “marathons of desire” participant and a Ukrainian physicist from a European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) project assemble drones for the Russian army

17 July

Egor Feoktistov

“Ideologically Powered to Fight for Russia”

The story of one of the most closed officials in Russia — the chief personnel officer of the Russian regime

9 July

Maria Zholobova, Roman Anin

Dmitry Mironov, A Putin’s “Sonny”

An investigation into how presidential administration employee, Sergey Novikov, became the chief censor of Russian culture

8 July

Svetlana Reiter, Maria Zholobova, Kristina Safonova, Andrey Pertsev

From Passion to Persecution: How the Kremlin Chief Censor’s Cultural Dream Became a Russian Nightmare

Dmitry Savelyev, one of Russia’s wealthiest senators, received millions of dollars from a company implicated in a scheme to embezzle money from the Russian budget. This scheme was previously uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky

27 June

The Shady Scheme of Russian Senator

Details of Russian investigation claims against Roman Anin and Ekaterina Fomina

17 June

Editors

Criminal Proceedings Initiated Against the IStories’ Editor-In-Chief and a Former Journalist of the Outlet

17 June

The Russian Interior Ministry Has Put the Editor-In-Chief of IStories Roman Anin and the Journalist Ekaterina Fomina on a Wanted List

How adoptees and their siblings live separated in Russia and abroad

15 June

“Detective Found My Family”

Russian weapons are being manufactured on foreign machinery — but why are they still running? An investigation by IStories

13 June

Anastasia Korotkova

“We Can Still Contact Technical Support in the West”

This includes organizing trips to Russia for young foreigners and trainings for foreign journalists on “debunking anti-Russian myths”

15 May

Kremlin Ramps up Spending on Foreign Youth and Journalists Programs to Promote Its Image Abroad

IStories has uncovered which Russian officials, deputies, state company chiefs and criminals have acquired real estate in Dubai. Presenting Dubai Unlocked, a six-month international investigation involving more than 70 media outlets from around the globe.

14 May

Editors, Dmitry Velikovsky, Misha Gagarin, Ekaterina Selivanova, Irina Dolinina, Alesya Marokhovskaya, Sonya Savina, Maria Zholobova, Anastasia Korotkova, Lizaveta Tsybulina

Dubai Unlocked: Secrets and Lies in the UAE