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Matthew Luxmoore

Matthew Luxmoore is a Moscow-based journalist covering Russia and the former Soviet Union. He has reported for The New York Times in Moscow and has written for The Guardian, Politico, The New Republic, and Foreign Policy. He’s a graduate of Harvard’s Davis Center and a recipient of New York University's Reporting Award and the Fulbright Alistair Cooke Journalism Award.

MJLuxmoore@gmail.com

Also by Matthew Luxmoore

April 21, 2021
Over 1,700 Navalny Supporters Detained In Protests Across Russia

Russian police have detained more than 1,700 people across the country during protests demanding the release of jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, amid reports his health is failing as he enters the third week of a hunger strike.
April 20, 2021
In Urging A 'Final Battle' With The Kremlin, Navalny's Team Bets Against Apathy

Aleksei Navalny's backers have billed demonstrations planned for April 21 as the "final battle between good and neutrality," banking on a huge turnout that could protect protesters. But after a strong crackdown, fears of arrest and violence may outweigh any sense that the moment to act is now.
April 16, 2021
Navalny's Team Targets Putin With New Exposé Ahead Of Planned Protests

The team of imprisoned Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny has published details of what it alleges is a lavish residence belonging to President Vladimir Putin and kept from public view
April 15, 2021
'Criminal In A Cassock': Russian Clergy Quarrel Over Navalny After A Priest Speaks Out In His Support

After a Russian Orthodox priest criticized the treatment of hunger-striking opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, the reaction from church officials and affiliated media outlets exposed a division over the role of politics in church policy.
April 10, 2021
Above The Arctic Circle, A Soviet-Era Metropolis Battles A 'Drawn-Out Death'

Vorkuta was once the centre of a sprawling network of coal mines scattered around the Arctic city of 220,000 residents like the hour indicators on a vast clockface. Today, most of the settlements are ghost towns, and time is ticking away as a shrinking Vorkuta fights to avoid the same fate.
March 23, 2021
Claims Of Censorship As Moscow Book Fair Scraps Appearance By Navalny Aide

Kira Yarmysh has received praise for a debut novel that details life inside a grim Russian prison. Now her appearance at a major Moscow book fair has been scrapped by organizers who say it could endanger the future of the event.
March 23, 2021
In Russia's Provinces, Navalny's Besieged Movement Says It's 'Again Gathering Force'

Vladimir is less than two hours by train from Moscow but average wages in the city pale by comparison. It is in such places that jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny's beleaguered movement is working to highlight corruption and change mindsets despite unrelenting pressure from the Russian state.
March 16, 2021
Navalny's Selection For Prestigious Cinema Prize Provokes Rift In Russia's Film Community

Russia’s Guild of Film Critics has severed ties with the prestigious White Elephant cinema award after its expert panel awarded a prize to jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny for a series of documentaries revealing corruption among officials in President Vladimir Putin’s government.
March 12, 2021
Russia's Bungling, Late-Game Effort To Control The Web

While China was able to censor the Internet early on, Russia in many ways missed the boat. Now the Kremlin is forced to play catch-up as it works to narrow the space for discontent, and its task is made far trickier by the unwieldiness and complexity of the web today.
March 06, 2021
His Great-Grandfather Was Executed By Stalin's Secret Police. Now He's Being Sued.

A Siberian man has spent years gathering information on those he says played a role in the politically motivated murder of his great-grandfather during Stalin's Great Terror. Now the son of one of the men he named is suing for defamation.
March 01, 2021
Russia Targets Officers Accused Of Leaking Data On Navalny Poisoning

Russia's security services are overseeing investigations into law enforcement officers who allegedly sold flight records that jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny used to identify suspects in his August 20 poisoning. But the practice of selling such data in Russia is widespread.
February 26, 2021
'Sign On And Take Part In Something Real': Inside The Dark, Lucrative World Of Russian 'Trash-Streaming'

A murky, mostly unregulated online subculture where people perform lewd, alcohol-fueled challenges for viewer donations has gained fans and notoriety in Russia. But a spate of recent deaths and violent assaults on air has prompted Russian authorities to rein the practice in.
February 25, 2021
Navalny's Failure To Renounce His Nationalist Past May Be Straining His Support

An assassination attempt made Aleksei Navalny into a globally recognized dissident, a Russian opposition leader whom German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited in the hospital and who collaborated with leading Western news outlets in investigating the near-fatal poisoning he blames on the Kremlin.
February 15, 2021
With Flashlight Protests, Russian Opposition Circumvents Ongoing State Crackdown

Thousands shone flashlights in Russia's streets and courtyards on February 14, a show of solidarity with opposition leader Aleksei Navalny and a rebuke to the Kremlin at a time when authorities are brooking no dissent. But can the opposition maintain momentum without mass protests?
February 11, 2021
Russian Students Sue After University Expels Them For Joining Protests

Students in the southern Russian city of Astrakhan have sued their university for expelling them after they protested against corruption and the jailing of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny. Amid reports of similar expulsions across Russia, it suggests a new pushback from the student community.
February 08, 2021
These Pro-Putin Performances May Have Less To Do With Patriotism Than Pressure

“Factory hands, volunteers, athletes, staff of major enterprises and people who are simply not indifferent are recording video addresses to Vladimir Putin,” gushed Russia’s government newspaper. Though participants say many events were hardly voluntary.
February 05, 2021
Halt To Russia's Opposition Protests Prompts Criticism From 'Seething' Activists

After two weeks of nationwide protests and often brutal police repression, the team of jailed Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny has postponed street rallies until the summer, ahead of parliamentary elections that some hope could weaken the stranglehold of the ruling United Russia party.
February 03, 2021
Russia's Opposition Takes Stock After Navalny Jailing

After a Moscow court ordered Aleksei Navalny imprisoned for 2 years and 8 months, thousands of protesters took to the streets to protest his prosecution and face a violent police crackdown. But behind the scenes a more profound reckoning is taking place.
February 01, 2021
With Huge Show Of Force, Echoes Of Belarus In Russia's Protest Crackdown

Faced with the second consecutive weekend of protests, Russian authorities double down on police violence. The choice, analysts say, hints at a lesson learned from the crackdown in neighboring Belarus.
January 28, 2021
In Russia, Even Snowmen Can't Escape The Navalny Crackdown

Police briefly detained an activist in northern Russia with organizing an illegal protest against President Vladimir Putin featuring snowmen. Yelena Kalinina says police tore down all the signs attached to the snowmen, which carried slogans like "Down with the Tsar!”

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