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In Moscow, the carnage Russia inflicts on Ukraine feels far away. But in a village in the Samara region, all I talked to knew someone who had been mobilized or volunteered to fight, and died. Here, the family of one soldier grapples with what he died for. nytimes.com/2023/12/01/world…
Valerie Hopkins retweeted
I was at the Novaya Gazeta yesterday as its reporters and editors packed up and held their final editorial meeting at Potapovsky Pereulok. The newspaper survived so much, but it could not survive Russia's war in Ukraine.
One reader I talked to described the disappearance of the Novaya as a "spiral of silence," saying:
“When voices like these disappear from public life, it starts to feel like there are fewer and fewer people who think differently, like you’re alone in what you believe,” said a 21-year-old reader, Danila, a recent university graduate with a degree in computer programming. He asked that his last name not be published, to avoid trouble with the authorities.
“The less you hear people expressing views different from the official narrative,” he said, “the harder it gets to speak up yourself.”
nytimes.com/2026/11/10/world…
Valerie Hopkins retweeted
We're hiring an early-career journalist as a Fellow for the Visual Investigations team at the @nytimes. Come work with me!
You'll do OSINT reporting for a year with our team. Requires in-office work in NYC, authorization to work in the U.S. Pay is $82k.
job-boards.greenhouse.io/the…
I was at the Novaya Gazeta yesterday as its reporters and editors packed up and held their final editorial meeting at Potapovsky Pereulok. The newspaper survived so much, but it could not survive Russia's war in Ukraine.
One reader I talked to described the disappearance of the Novaya as a "spiral of silence," saying:
“When voices like these disappear from public life, it starts to feel like there are fewer and fewer people who think differently, like you’re alone in what you believe,” said a 21-year-old reader, Danila, a recent university graduate with a degree in computer programming. He asked that his last name not be published, to avoid trouble with the authorities.
“The less you hear people expressing views different from the official narrative,” he said, “the harder it gets to speak up yourself.”
nytimes.com/2026/11/10/world…
Valerie Hopkins retweeted
Do watch this interview with the deeply impressive Dmitry Muratov. Even Steve Rosenberg, always so calm and detached, looks really moved talking to him
“There are political repressions taking place. Now they’ve reached us.” Journalist and Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov tells me how the Russian authorities have “strangled” Russia’s most prominent independent newspaper. Novaya Gazeta is closing down. #ReadingRussia
Valerie Hopkins retweeted
The anatomy of rebellion in Serbia. As a student-led movement defeats Aleksandar Vučić, a look back at the early 2000s, when students in Serbia helped topple Slobodan Milošević, against the odds.
“This isn’t just our personal story,” the journalists said in their statement. “It’s the story of a country and a society that are being finished off in exactly the same way.”
Journalists at Novaya Gazeta, whose co-founder received the Nobel Peace Prize, said the government had orchestrated its demise: “They killed us.”
nytimes.com/2026/10/30/world… via @NYTimes
One of the most interesting things I’ve read all week: an account of what it was like to cover the Tiananmen massacre, and the ethical dilemmas arising in its aftermath. And a reminder that even when people have never known democracy, in the right conditions they are willing to risk their lives for it.
For the 175th anniversary of the @nytimes, I recall covering the Tiananmen massacre and share a secret of the time. A young Chinese who had helped us cover the protests escaped from prison and asked me for help fleeing China. So what to do? Gift link: nytimes.com/2026/10/30/world…
Valerie Hopkins retweeted
I'm awed by Russian journalists like those at Novaya Gazeta, whose founder won the Nobel Peace Prize. But Putin has crushed the Novaya Gazeta, and it is now closing. nytimes.com/2026/10/30/world… We US journalists can be inspired by the bravery of our Russian counterparts.
Valerie Hopkins retweeted
Journalists at Novaya Gazeta, whose co-founder received the Nobel Peace Prize, said the government had orchestrated its demise: “They killed us.”
nytimes.com/2026/10/30/world… via @NYTimes
Valerie Hopkins retweeted
💥Former Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán is singing and drinking rakija with his wife and Milorad Dodik at Dodik’s house in Banja Luka. Meanwhile, back home, three of Orbán’s former ministers have already been arrested on corruption charges.
Викторово @PM_ViktorOrban и моје пријатељство је трајно и искрено.
С таквим пријатељима је увијек угодно и весело.
Ukrainians Are Fighting Russians Inside Underground Gas Pipes. @MarichkaVareni1 Went in One:
"I experienced war’s subterranean future as drones dominate the skies. I didn’t like it."
nytimes.com/2026/10/30/world…
Journalists at Novaya Gazeta, whose co-founder received the Nobel Peace Prize, said the government had orchestrated its demise: “They killed us.”
nytimes.com/2026/10/30/world… via @NYTimes
Remarkable photo from the 3rd Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow, which was attended by leaders and government delegations from 48 countries. Putin had bilats with many of the 22 African leaders in attendance.
©Alexander Kazakov/Presidential Press Service/TASS
Valerie Hopkins retweeted
In an interview with @MilosTeodorovic from RFE/RL @RSE_Balkan, Ilija Srdanovic, the lead candidate for Serbia's Student List, which ousted longtime leader Aleksandar Vucic in the country's recent parliamentary elections, pledged to remain committed to EU integration.
He also said Serbia's stance on sanctions against Russia could be reconsidered through public debate.
Michael Martens analyzed the positions of the Student List in Serbia - apparently at least some of its reps plans to criminally prosecute the people who implement the agreements between Kosovo and Serbia through EU mediation?
4⃣The program says Serbia will “fight for Kosovo” to remain (as if it still was) part of Serbia, but leaves open how this “fight” is to be waged. Kosovo is referred to only as the "so-called republic", which is exactly the terminology Vučić and his party used: "We will consistently oppose the unilaterally declared independence of the so-called Republic of Kosovo and will not allow its accession to international organisations", the students say. The movement apparently wants to go back even on what has already been achieved. Referring to the previous government and the Serbia-Kosovo agreement on normalising relations between Belgrade and Pristina, concluded in 2023 under EU mediation, the programme states: "We will criminally prosecute all responsible representatives of the regime for any offences connected with the conclusion and implementation of unconstitutional agreements to Serbia's detriment."
Valerie Hopkins retweeted
It's Russian film week in Pyongyang this week, and Russian and North Korean filmmakers are negotiating joint projects and filming Russian films on North Korean soil. North Korean film week was held in Moscow earlier this month.
Seems like a good time to share my story on how Russia is embracing North Korea off the battlefield, too.
nytimes.com/2026/04/10/world…
It's Russian film week in Pyongyang this week, and Russian and North Korean filmmakers are negotiating joint projects and filming Russian films on North Korean soil. North Korean film week was held in Moscow earlier this month.
Seems like a good time to share my story on how Russia is embracing North Korea off the battlefield, too.
nytimes.com/2026/04/10/world…
"Sources from 3 countries confirm that the Trump Administration has advocated Viktor Orbán for the role of U.N. Secretary-General. The U.S. has encouraged the former Hungarian PM to enter the race, even bringing him the initial idea. The plan awaits a final decision."
@WSJ Editorial Board
wsj.com/opinion/viktor-orban…
Valerie Hopkins retweeted
In U.S. Gas Talks With Kremlin, Hidden Financing for Alaska Project Emerges / with @EricLiptonNYT nytimes.com/2026/10/23/us/po…
Valerie Hopkins retweeted
Elections in Serbia: The queue outside the Serbian Embassy in Vienna (home to one of the largest Serbian diaspora communities in the world, yet with only a single polling station open) stretches around three street corners. A Serbian friend just called. She has been waiting in line for almost four hours now and still can’t see the embassy. She’ll probably end up paying for this election with a flu. At least she is almost on the street where the embassy is located. The man in front of her just said: “I don’t care how long I have to wait. I want to vote.”
Waiting several hours in line is something most Western Europeans would be doing only when a a new Iphone comes out. Impressive.