IStories Media
Independent newsroom focused on Russia.
Investigating Russian war crimes in Ukraine, corruption, and life in the country.
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- Ramzan Kadyrov’s health is deteriorating, and speculation has resurfaced over who could become Chechnya’s next leader. Here’s how Chechnya and the Kremlin are preparing for a change of power in the region after Kadyrov’s death 🔽 istories.media/en/stories/2...
- In France, prosecutors have seized assets belonging to the head of Gazprombank Andrey Akimov and his deputy totaling more than €100 million. IStories previously published a joint investigation with Le Monde about Akimov’s European assets 🔽 istories.media/en/news/2026...
- What we learned about Russia’s Unified Military Registry: how it was hacked, its security flaws, preparations for mobilization (and who is shielded from it), the key figures behind it, and the developers’ opinions. An investigation by IStories 🔽 istories.media/en/stories/2...
- ❗ Roman Anin, the publisher and former editor-in-chief of IStories, has been stripped of his Russian citizenship after a Russian court found him guilty of “spreading fake news” about the actions of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine 🔽 istories.media/en/news/2025...
- Authorities evict Chechen Alternative for Germany party member Murad Dadaev (Noah Krieger) from his villa in Hanover following investigation by IStories and @correctiv.org. The article established Dadaev’s connections with Ramzan Kadyrov’s people in Europe. istories.media/en/news/2025...
- How did a Grozny native whose brother participated in the assassination of Ramzan Kadyrov’s opponent become a prominent figure in the AfD party and gather German far-rightists around him — an investigation by @correctiv.org and IStories 🔽 istories.media/en/stories/2...
- Hackers breach the infrastructure of key Unified Military Register developer. They gained access to data on the development of the register. Soon we’ll reveal how the registry works and break down its main components. istories.media/en/news/2025...
- A monument to the son of CIA Deputy Director Michael Gloss, killed in the war in Ukraine, erected in Donetsk. It was installed at the school that was previously named after Gloss 🔽 www.istories.media/en/news/2025...
- Companies in Russia and the UAE are involved in secretive exports of oil products to North Korea — in violation of U.N. sanctions that Moscow itself supported. New from @istories.bsky.social, @occrp.org and @osc-london.bsky.social istories.media/en/stories/2...
- Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov proposed to Vladimir Putin to approve the immediate start of preparations for full-scale nuclear tests on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in response to possible U.S. tests. Putin has given his approval. istories.media/en/news/2025...
- According to the figures Russia provided to the UN, almost a thousand women were killed in acts of domestic violence in Russia last year. This represents 47% of all women intentionally murdered in Russia, which is the highest ratio in the last 15 years. istories.media/en/news/2025...
- Russian cadets at military universities and academies are being deprived of the right to resign, as one of them told IStories. At the same time, their military contracts are now permanent under Putin’s 2022 mobilization decree. istories.media/en/stories/2...
- IStories Media editor-in-chief Alesia Marokhovskaia was sentenced in absentia to 10 months of corrective labor. She was convicted of evading “foreign agent” reporting obligations.
- In Russia, the number of those sentenced for “treason” and “espionage” doubled, and 350 people avoided criminal punishment by taking part in the war. IStories data department reports on the Russian court rulings data from the first half of 2025 🔽 istories.media/en/stories/2...
- There are deserters who flee the war right from the frontlines. Some of them, like Russian army corporal Pavlov, manage to do so twice. He told us his story 🔽 istories.media/en/stories/2...
- in the occupied territories of Ukraine, people are kidnapped and tried as “spies” and “traitors” — with new sentences imposed every 3 days. Teenagers, pensioners, and entire families have fallen victim to the repression. Here is what we have learned 🔽 istories.media/en/stories/2...
- Behind every investigation is not only data and proof, but also journalists. Polina Uzhvak, one of the team members working on the data-driven investigation about mobilization in Russia, hosted #AskMeAnything on Reddit. Here are a few highlights from the conversation.
