This was Russia today Monday, December 8, 2025

Howdy, folks. Today, I walk you through Meduza’s latest piece by Andrey Pertsev, who unpacks the Kremlin’s reshuffling of political strategists ahead of Russia’s September parliamentary elections. Stick around for an update on Zelensky’s Europe-backed push to challenge the territorial provisions in the Trump administration’s Russia–Ukraine peace plan. Yours, Kevin.

The Kremlin is sending Russia’s freelance political strategists abroad to stop them from interfering with next year’s parliamentary elections

In a new report on early preparations for Russia’s September 2026 parliamentary elections, Meduza’s Andrey Pertsev describes how the country’s ruling party, United Russia, is scrambling to lift its sagging poll numbers. In late October, when polling showed the party’s approval rating hovering at 34 percent, the newspaper Vedomosti reported that the Kremlin expects United Russia to secure at least 55 percent of the vote, assuming turnout reaches the same level. Meduza’s sources say the Kremlin’s target for United Russia next fall is actually 60 percent.

In light of these goals, some political strategists have floated running on a platform that rolls back deeply unpopular fees on cars and electronics. The logic is straightforward but risky because tax relief depends on broader economic improvements that won’t be possible until the war in Ukraine ends. For now, that scenario remains “optimistic,” and strategists viewed as more pragmatic have reportedly seized on the idea of asking Vladimir Putin himself to lead United Russia’s party list — something he hasn’t done since 2007.

The Kremlin’s domestic policy team is also reportedly concerned about “nomadic political strategists” who wander from region to region rather than anchoring themselves in one jurisdiction. To ensure these operatives don’t cause any surprises in September — for instance, by deploying strategies that diverge from the administration’s priorities — the Kremlin has offered them jobs in what it calls Russia’s “external perimeter.” The goal is to eliminate surprises and ensure that every operative involved in the 2026 campaign answers to the Kremlin’s chain of command.

Moscow continues to expand its “external” capabilities. A new Kremlin office dedicated to strategic partnerships now oversees influence operations in foreign elections and post-Soviet politics — a portfolio once managed by Dmitry Kozak and now entrusted, like so much else these days, to first deputy chief of staff Sergey Kiriyenko. Strategists who take these jobs risk incurring Western sanctions, but the work offers more autonomy than the drudgery of politics back home, where the space for independent action has all but disappeared.

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.

News you don’t want to miss today

🕊️ Ukraine prepares updated peace plan for U.S. review 🇺🇸

President Volodymyr Zelensky will present a revised 20-point peace proposal to the White House on Tuesday after securing backing from British, French, and German leaders during talks in London.

• U.S. pressure mounts: The Trump administration is pushing Kyiv to move quickly toward a settlement built around a U.S.-drafted framework seen in Europe as overly favorable to Moscow.
• No territorial concessions: Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine will not cede land, even as negotiators struggle to find a compromise on territory.
• European coordination: E.U. and NATO leaders reaffirmed that any deal must protect Ukraine’s sovereignty, while several European states renewed calls to use frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv. | Reuters

🔍 ‘Violence for violence’s sake’: New report details Russia’s inhumane treatment of Ukrainian POWs and civilian detainees | A new investigation based on firsthand testimonies reveals a sprawling network of Russian-run facilities where Ukrainian captives are systematically subjected to beatings, torture, deprivation, and coerced confessions.

🇸🇾 One year after Assad’s fall, Meduza asks political scientist Hanna Notte about the state of Russian–Syrian relations | Notte explains how Moscow has preserved a limited but durable foothold in Syria by swiftly courting the country’s new rulers and positioning itself as an indispensable diplomatic hedge for regional powers.

⚖️ After 16 years in prison for the murders of a lawyer and a journalist, former Russian neo-Nazi activist Yevgeniya Khassis is free and talking | Khassis’s first public remarks since leaving prison dwell on her long-standing relationship with Nikita Tikhonov, her near-deployment to the war in Ukraine, and her conflicted remorse over the violence that defined her past.

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