The Gulag History Museum was the only major state-run institution commemorating Stalinist repression. And its replacement by a museum promoting a propagandistic interpretation of WWII vividly illustrates the dominance of the security services and their ultraconservative political allies.
Last week, it was announced that the Gulag History Museum will be shut down after nearly 20 years of commemorating the darkest page of Soviet history. And as if that weren't enough, in its place, a museum will be opened about the so-called “genocide of the Soviet people.”
In the fifth year of the war, this story may seem insignificant. But I wrote about it with anger and deep sadness. The last pockets of sanity are disappearing in Russia, and the security forces are taking over absolutely every sphere of life.
In wartime Russia, face-to-face meetings with the president are an extremely important political commodity—and they’re now easier to obtain.
Read the full story faridaily.substack.com/p/need-to-se...
Government ministers, heads of state-owned companies, and billionaires have all had to put their lives on hold and stay in specially designated isolation facilities if they wanted to meet the Russian leader. And these anti-COVID measures lasted for more than 5 (!) years.
Our sources told us that Putin has stopped demanding that all those he meets are quarantined in advance. Known to be careful with his health, Putin, 73, was the only head of state to impose such a strict coronavirus quarantine—and maintain it for so long.
🦠 Remember this hilarious picture of Putin and Macron at the longest table imagineable? Putin kept everyone who had not undergone quarantine before meeting him at a distance. But now – finally – the Kremlin scraps quarantine for Putin meetings.
PACE has obviously selected “celebrities” of the Russian opposition, who are already well known to Western politicians. As a result, there are some puzzling absences. The opaqueness of the selection process means legitimacy will be an ongoing problem. Read more faridaily.substack.com/p/europes-do...
European officials have often complained privately in recent years about the fragmentation, infighting, and competing agendas of Russia’s exiled opposition. In a bid to address this problem, PACE announced it had chosen 15 delegates for its “Platform for Dialogue with Russian Democratic Forces”.
This issue of our newsletter is unusual: we look at the Russian opposition rather than the Russian power faridaily.substack.com/p/europes-do...
Putin has made it clear he’s even ready to risk Russia’s alliances in the Global South, and publicly temper his trademark opposition to U.S. global hegemony.
Read more details here open.substack.com/pub/faridail...
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He will eventually have to comment more explicitly on events in Venezuela and Iran, particularly if there ends up being a change of regime in Tehran. However, his weeks of silence are yet another good indication of how his resources and attention remain fixed on the war in Ukraine.
Putin still believes that Trump’s presidency offers a rare opportunity to achieve what he wants in Ukraine, said another source, who is close to the Kremlin and familiar with the ongoing peace talks.
Indeed, in recent months, many of Putin’s decisions seem to have been taken with Trump in mind. We reported in Dec that his frequent appearances in uniform, as well as his regular participation in meetings about the war, were an attempt to convince Trump that a Russian victory was inevitable.
Putin is likely avoiding criticism of his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump because he still hopes Trump will help him conclude a peace deal in Ukraine that is favorable to Russia.
It’s true that Russian officials at the Foreign Ministry, and Russia’s representative to the United Nations, were wheeled out to condemn Washington’s actions in Venezuela. But they were relatively low-level officials, and their words mean little without Putin.
At a ceremony held for new ambassadors on Thursday—Putin’s first public appearance since Chirstmas—he made no mention of either 🇻🇪, or 🇮🇷. He did, though, state that, instead of dialogue, the world was seeing actions by “states that, by the right of the strong, believe they can dictate their will.”
Publicly distancing Putin from “negative” events—even outright ignoring them—is a long-standing Kremlin tactic. During Russia’s New Year holidays (which lasted from December 31 through January 11), Putin was only shown live on one occasion—attending a church service on January 7 (Orthodox Christmas)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has barely appeared in public since the New Year, and has notably refrained from commenting on Venezuela and Iran.
What Putin’s refusal to comment on events in Venezuela and Iran says about his strategy in Ukraine? 🧵
Putin has been silent about Maduro for almost six (!) days now
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🔺The first parliamentary elections since the start of the war
🔺A possible squeeze on non–oil-and-gas revenue
🔺The impact of soldiers returning from Ukraine
🔺The specter of declining living standards
🔺The risks of implementing “great internet firewall”
faridaily.substack.com/p/key-challe...
Realising that many are currently preoccupied with Venezuela, we would still like to talk about Russia’s rulers and the tough year 2026 ahead of them.
In our first newsletter of 2026, we look at five pressing issues they are facing 👇
To enjoy full access to our reporting throughout the year, please consider upgrading to premium.
Now is the perfect moment to sign up as our holiday discount is still available. However, it will expire on January 2—so don’t delay!
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3⃣Russia’s unprecedented internet crackdown goes far beyond censorship, threatening access to basic online services and driving a dramatic—and likely permanent—process of de-digitalization. faridaily.substack.com/p/putins-int...
2⃣In 2025, Russia saw an extraordinary event—the suicide of a government minister. We spoke to our high-level sources to gauge their response. faridaily.substack.com/p/ministers-...
1⃣Putin’s obsession with Russia’s fertility rate, as well as the growing influence of Orthodox and conservative values in the Kremlin, is likely to lead to anti-abortion legislation.
faridaily.substack.com/p/what-does-...
While things are still relatively calm and quiet, we’ve selected our top three most-read Russia stories from 2025 – and made them free to read 👇
And this is designed to strengthen the Kremlin’s negotiating position in ongoing peace talks. Above all, Putin seems to want to influence the thinking of U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration.
Read more open.substack.com/pub/faridail...
Being shown as more directly involved in the military effort is a tactic supposed to bolster Putin’s image as a successful commander-in-chief, and broadcast confidence that Russia is winning the war.
