Aleksandar Djokic (Александар Джокич)
@polidemitolog
Political analyst. Former assistant professor at RUDN Moscow. PhD in political science. Bylines in Euronews, Bloomberg, Novaya Gazeta and Radar. Views my own.
You can find all my threads on Russia here (updated regularly)
Azerbaijan’s General Prosecutor Kamran Aliyev stated that Baku sent Russia’s Investigative Committee evidence that several Azerbaijanis died from torture in Yekaterinburg detentions, per Report. Aliyev said Russia is probing the violence, hoping for results, but noted Moscow’s…
The US Department of Defense awarded BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP a $9 million contract for inspections and repairs to ensure Bradley Fighting Vehicles are combat-ready, funded through the 2025 Security Assistance Initiative budget, likely the Ukraine Security Assistance…
Russia’s oil and gas budget revenues are projected to drop by 37% in July compared to last year, reaching 680 billion rubles, due to falling oil prices and a stronger ruble, according to Reuters calculations. These revenues, vital for the Kremlin, make up a quarter of the federal…
US NATO Ambassador Matthew Whitaker stated on Fox Business that China must be held accountable for subsidizing the Russia-Ukraine war, claiming Beijing uses Russia as a proxy to distract the US and allies from other strategic challenges. He dismissed China’s strategy as a…
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt supported creating deportation centers outside the EU, calling it an innovative, necessary approach at a European ministers’ meeting, per DW. He urged agreements with countries near migrants’ origins to accept rejected asylum seekers.…
The US State Department approved the sale of HAWK Phase III missile systems to Ukraine for $172 million, including related equipment, and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles with spare parts and equipment for about $150 million. The deals aim to enhance Ukraine’s defense…
Russian propagandists celebrate footage of Kyiv protests, failing to see that these demonstrations contradict their own narratives. Such protests against, for instance, Russia’s extremist materials law would be unthinkable in Moscow, where they’d face swift crackdowns. In…
The Netherlands is prepared to make a significant contribution to supplying Ukraine with additional Patriot air defense systems, Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans announced during a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting. Emphasizing the need to counter Russia’s air terror…
The Social Democratic Party (SPD), part of Germany’s ruling coalition, urged an end to arms exports to Israel, citing Germany’s responsibility for Israel’s security, international law, and Palestinian civilian protection, per faction leader Matthias Miersch. He called for Germany…
The State Duma’s defense committee head and his deputy Andrei Krasov, following a confidential directive from Vladimir Putin, introduced amendments to conscription laws, allowing year-round military drafts from January 1 to December 31, replacing the current spring and fall…
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte claimed Russia produces three times more munitions in three months than NATO does annually, suggesting a 12-fold advantage, but a Radio Free Europe and Conflict Intelligence Team analysis challenges this. Russia produced 1.3 million 152-mm shells…
A Hague court lifted the seizure of Gazprom’s shares in Wintershall Noordzee and Gazprom International Projects B.V., previously frozen due to lawsuits by Ukrainian companies Slavutich-Invest and Zhnyva seeking damages from Russia’s actions in Ukraine, per Babel. The Dutch court…
Russian Olympic gymnastics champion Angelina Melnikova withdrew her candidacy for Voronezh’s city duma to avoid a ban from international competitions, sources told Verstka. The International Gymnastics Federation prohibits mixing sports with political roles. Melnikova, who won…
Germany is intensifying refugee deportations, with a second flight in a week departing Leipzig for Baghdad, carrying Iraqi citizens, though the exact number is unclear, per dpa. A Turkish airline chartered the plane, and the Interior Ministry has not yet commented. On July 18, a…
In Khabarovsk, a children’s library faces a protocol for participating in a “undesirable” organization’s activities due to a book featuring the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) logo, reported Mediazona. The book, “Specially Protected Areas of Khabarovsk Krai,” was on the…
Authorities in North Ossetia suspended mass public events due to intelligence received by the operational headquarters about a planned unauthorized rally in Vladikavkaz, threatening the lives of Russian military personnel and their families, according to RIA Novosti.…
The Russian book service “Yandex Books,” formerly Bookmate, removed at least 110 e-books on feminism, LGBT issues, and sexual education, according to Verstka. These deletions, visible in user-curated public “shelves,” included 82 books on feminism and sexuality, such as Lundy…
Russian cultural spaces are flooded with state-funded, pro-war patriotic art, including the Bolshoi Theatre’s opera “Semen Kotko” with anti-Ukrainian themes, the high-budget film “Not on the Lists” that flopped commercially, Z-poets’ low-circulation books, and Shaman’s poorly…