This was Russia today Thursday, October 30, 2025

Howdy, folks. In the mailing below, we look at an article from 2011 by scholar Alena Ledeneva on how Russians navigate informal practices. Let us know if you’re enjoying the newsletter’s new format, why don’t you.

How to read Russia’s ‘open secrets and knowing smiles’ 

On October 27, Dara Massicot, a Russian military specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, commented on reports that several Z-bloggers were challenging General Valery Gerasimov’s supposedly inflated claims to Putin about Russia’s military progress in Ukraine. “But these folks aren’t independent actors; they get [Defense Ministry] access now. Some faction is telling them to swat down Gerasimov, and only a few outrank Gerasimov or have the krisha [protection/patronage] to do it,” Massicot explained. When a reader remarked on the role that lying plays in Russian society, Massicot recommended an article by scholar Alena Ledeneva on a related subject: Open Secrets and Knowing Smiles. It appeared in East European Politics and Societies, many centuries ago, back in 2011. The text is dense with academic jargon, but it’s a good read. Here’s the gist:

“Unwritten rules exist in all societies but predominate (and even become indispensable) in conditions of overregulation and underenforcement of formal rules,” Ledeneva writes. Russia is fertile ground for forms of knowledge “excluded from formal or official discourse” — in other words, open secrets. Ledeneva argues that certain late Soviet movies (yours truly is especially fond of Osennii Maraphon) often addressed “informal practices” related to the USSR’s open secrets, but she does not view this as genuine satire. In fact, Ledeneva describes these films, along with commentary that appeared in the magazine Krokodil, as tools the Soviet Union used to shift responsibility from the system to individuals. This “inverted the role that satire has in other societies,” Ledeneva says, tasking it with “demoralizing people” and “making them complicit in the failures of the regime.”

And what about “knowing smiles”? Weren’t we promised a decoder ring for Russians’ mysterious facial twitches? Ledeneva cautions that non-specialists should refrain from trying to decipher a person’s “less routine signals.” Still, “where the emotional content is minimal,” she’s ready to speculate. In her fieldwork in Russia, she found that “a knowing smile of belonging” is the most common. This version of the smile reveals a shared “negative identity,” indicating “secret pleasure from cooperation between us against them.” A similar knowing smile, Ledeneva argues, derives from “the pleasure of crossing boundaries” in an over-regulated society.

However, not everyone in Russia who smirks at society’s “gray areas” does so out of insider expertise or unspoken knowledge of how to “switch fluidly” between the country’s maze of formal rules and informal codes. Ledeneva writes that mastery of unwritten rules varies widely, and that smiling can sometimes reflect “ignorance, apathy, or acceptance.” “Often, the knowing smile is a way of disguising ignorance and erroneous associations” — a “cover for not understanding” and an “escape route” from thinking seriously about Russia’s social paradoxes. Another “negative knowing smile” is associated with “containment of embarrassment, shame, or guilt.” Ledeneva links these smiles to people who “misrecognize” and rationalize their complicity in illicit transactions as “nonselfish” acts.

In 2011, before Putin returned to the presidency and led Russia back onto a rigidly authoritarian path, Ledeneva still felt the need to prove the relevance of research on “the legitimacy of informal practices” in Russia. In what would prove to be a prescient example, she noted that younger Russians believed draft evasion was justified. 

The Archive Collection: Nothing can stop Meduza from releasing anniversary merch — even if we have to make it ourselves. Check out our latest drop now!

We have a new tradition here at Meduza: every year on our birthday, we update the merch in our online store, Magaz. In 2025, we turned 11 — and despite the considerable challenges we’ve faced this year, we’ve found a pretty original way to bring you a new collection. Here’s a look at the latest clothing and accessories you can buy to rep Meduza and support our work.

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Today’s reporting from Meduza

🕊️ It’s October 30, 2025. Here are three stories worth your attention.

Donald Trump has ordered the first U.S. nuclear weapons test in 33 years, reviving Cold War–style brinkmanship after Russia’s trials of its Poseidon and Burevestnik systems; at the same time, Vladimir Putin has invited foreign journalists to Pokrovsk and even proposed a short ceasefire to reinforce Moscow’s claims of encircling Ukrainian troops there; and new U.S. sanctions have forced Lukoil to sell most of its foreign assets to Gunvor while Germany considers nationalizing Rosneft Deutschland, underscoring the widening global fallout from Trump’s pressure on Russia’s energy sector.

🧕 ‘Clothing has nothing to do with public safety’: Chechen officials plan to ‘educate’ women who go out without headscarves

Chechen authorities plan to summon women who appear in public without headscarves for “informational talks,” claiming the initiative will promote modesty and respect for local traditions. Critics, however, say it’s an intimidation campaign that infringes on women’s rights and uses cultural values as a pretext for tighter social control.

🧠 Grokipedia vs. Ruwiki: Elon Musk’s Wikipedia rival uses AI to push its creator’s views — something Moscow already tried. Meduza compares the results.

Meduza compares Elon Musk’s new AI-driven encyclopedia Grokipedia to Russia’s Ruwiki, noting that both use artificial intelligence to advance their creators’ political views under the guise of neutrality. While Grokipedia promotes Musk’s right-leaning narratives and false balance, Ruwiki openly mirrors Kremlin propaganda, showing how AI-powered “knowledge” platforms can become tools of ideological control.

🍏 One bad apple: Meduza explains why the Kremlin is cracking down on Russia’s Yabloko party and its floundering campaign for peace

The Kremlin is intensifying pressure on Russia’s liberal Yabloko party — arresting its leaders, spreading scandals, and labeling members as extremists — as the party continues to challenge the war in Ukraine ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections. Officials reportedly fear Yabloko’s anti-war message could resonate with disillusioned voters and unite remaining moderate opposition figures inside Russia.

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