Sania Yusupova is a correspondent for the Siberia.Realities desk of RFE/RL's Russian Service.
Moscow says it isn't "carrying out any unusual military activity." Analysts monitoring the buildup of forces on Russia's border with Ukraine disagree, saying the concentration of forces is "definitely not an exercise."
A man who described horrific conditions at a Siberian COVID-19 ward after donning scrubs to gain access and help his ailing grandmother has left Russia. In an interview from abroad, he says "reliable" sources advised that it would be "very dangerous" for him to remain in the country.
For three days last month, a Russian man dressed up as a medic to enter the "red zone" of a COVID hospital after he learned that his severely ill grandmother was not being treated properly. When he was discovered, he was kicked out and accused him of "discrediting the Health Ministry."
Former inmates in Siberian prisons and remand facilities that featured prominently in a recent leak of graphic torture videos told RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities how prisoners are "worked over" to secure false testimony.
Russian blogger and diver Yegor Lesnoi has been cleaning at least half a ton of tires from the bottom of Lake Baikal for several years now. He tells RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities how he became a volunteer, cleaning not only the legendary lake's bottom, but the shore as well.
When Siberia's wildfires first erupted in late June, Russia’s military sent heavy-lift transport planes to douse them. Now, volunteers fighting flames in a region known not for heat waves but for extreme cold are saying they’ve been left to fend for themselves amid minimal government help.
A Russian grocery chain's effort to highlight "real families" appears to have gotten a little too real after negative feedback forced an LGBT family to flee the country after appearing in one of the store's "Recipe For Happiness" adverts.
