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This was Russia today Tuesday, November 4, 2025

Source: Meduza

Howdy, folks. In the mailing below, we direct your attention to an excerpt from a forthcoming book by journalist Andrey Zakharov about the dysfunctions of data surveillance and digital control in Russia. Let us know if you’re enjoying the newsletter’s new format, why don’t you.

Andrey Zakharov’s new book exposes how surveillance, greed, and defiance collide in Russia’s black market for personal data

The independent news outlet Mediazona published an excerpt from “Russian Cyberpunk: How Putin’s State Strives to Control Everyone’s Data — And Why It Fails,” a forthcoming book by journalist Andrey Zakharov. According to the publisher, Russian Cyberpunk describes how pervasive corruption puts the state’s massive data collection “Gulag” at the disposal of “everyone from criminals to journalists.” In the excerpt shared on Mediazona, Zakharov writes about a data broker named “Ruslan,” known on the black market as “Redadmin.” Ruslan helped investigative journalist Christo Grozev track down the FSB agents who poisoned opposition politician Alexey Navalny.

According to Zakharov, Ruslan attended his first protest in his hometown of Cheboksary in 2017, years before he started trading in personal data. He was one of tens of thousands of Russians enraged by then-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s obscene private wealth, exposed by Team Navalny. While following Bellingcat’s research into Russia’s responsibility for the downing of MH17 over the Donbas, Ruslan realized that the group’s lead investigator, Christo Grozev, was one of his clients. Ruslan told Zakharov that he revealed this discovery to Grozev in their Telegram conversations: “Good afternoon, Christo! That was an impressive investigation.” Grozev offered to help if their connection had created safety concerns, but Ruslan declined. 

Grozev’s kindness would later prove a crucial lifeline.

After Team Navalny and Bellingcat released their investigation showing the FSB’s poisoning operation, the Russian authorities immediately began hunting for whoever sold the personal data used to identify the federal agents. This work proved “ridiculously easy,” Zakharov explained. Officials could plainly see which police officers had downloaded the FSB agents’ records, and payments for that data — made through the Russia-based QIWI payment service — were also available to law enforcement. Investigators tracked down two police officers connected to the initial leak, as well as Ruslan’s accomplice — a man Zakharov calls “Alexander.” After the authorities identified the three suspects, they demonstrated “reluctance to dig deeper into the case,” Zakharov writes. In fact, the charges against the men were for bribery, and Navalny’s name was entirely absent from the case materials.

The authorities initially released Alexander. Between January and March 2021, he and Ruslan even managed to attend a local pro-Navalny demonstration. One night, however, Ruslan visited Alexander’s home and was abducted by two masked men. Ruslan believes they were either FSB officers or special police from Chechnya. The men blindfolded him with tape and shoved a potato in his mouth. They later abandoned him by the roadside without any money, several miles outside town. Alexander fared far worse: the men brought him to a ditch in the woods and fired gunshots into the air, threatening to shoot the next bullet into his head if he didn’t cooperate.

In the end, Alexander was sentenced to three years in prison, and the two police officers implicated in the case received prison terms of four and a half and eight years, respectively. Ruslan rushed to contact Grozev, who encouraged him to leave the country immediately. That spring, Ruslan made his way to Kyiv via Moscow and Yerevan with his elderly mother, his adult sister, and his younger brother. Grozev has since helped the family resettle elsewhere in Europe. Today, Grozev calls Ruslan “an absolutely inspiring example,” praising his willingness to keep aiding Bellingcat’s work, even after realizing the stakes.

Now living abroad, Ruslan continues illicitly trading personal data collected in Russia, working with Grozev and exiled independent news outlets. In an open letter he shared with Zakharov but never published, Ruslan defended his involvement in this black market as the result of missing opportunities for “self-realization” and living wages in Cheboksary. He said he never wanted to hurt anyone. He even abandoned an idea for a special Telegram bot that could search leaked databases, lest the tool fall into the hands of scammers.

Further reading from Meduza on this subject:

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.

We got The Beet. Don’t miss Meduza’s monthly newsletter (separate from the one you’re reading here)!

Today’s reporting from Meduza

🪖 How many soldiers have Russia and Ukraine lost? And how do their armies compare? Meduza’s military analysts answer readers’ biggest questions about the war (part 3)

By mid-2025, Meduza estimates that Russia has lost between 200,000 and 220,000 soldiers in the war against Ukraine, with total irrecoverable losses — including the severely wounded — rising as high as 650,000. Ukraine’s overall losses are harder to verify, but analysts believe they’re roughly comparable, while Russia still fields a larger fighting force — outnumbering Ukrainian troops near the front by about one-third.

🇱🇻 ‘Cynical and completely reckless’: Latvia has the highest femicide rate in Europe — including Russia. Its parliament just voted to exit a treaty protecting women from violence.

In an interview with Meduza, women’s rights advocate Beata Jonite condemns Latvia’s decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention — an international treaty protecting women from violence — calling it a cynical political move that endangers lives and undermines years of progress. She warns that the move sends a message that women’s safety is expendable in political games, even as Latvia has the highest femicide rate in Europe.

✊ How Putin beat Russia’s nationalists at their own game Also, RFE/RL finds new evidence that the Kremlin lies about the president’s office work.

After the 2014 annexation of Crimea, the Kremlin co-opted Russia’s nationalist movement, turning a former source of anti-government opposition into a tool of state propaganda, while new findings from RFE/RL’s Systema project reveal that the Kremlin often releases pre-recorded videos of Vladimir Putin’s meetings to create the illusion that he is constantly working.

No country can be free without independent media. In January 2023, the Russian authorities outlawed Meduza, banning our work in the country our colleagues call home. Just supporting Meduza carries the risk of criminal prosecution for Russian nationals, which is why we’re turning to our international audience for help. Your assistance makes it possible for thousands of people in Russia to read Meduza and stay informed. Consider a small but recurring contribution to provide the most effective support. Donate here.