MEDUZA/EN/VHF

On March 11, a spokesperson for Meta -- the parent company behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp -- confirmed that the social media giant had temporarily altered its content moderation to allow some posts calling for violence against "Russian invaders." The response from the Russian authorities was harsh. Federal investigators launched a criminal case against Meta's staff and the Russian Attorney General's Office called for designating the company as an illegal "extremist organization." If the authorities go through with outlawing Meta, millions of Russians could be incriminated in "extremist activity" just for having profiles on Instagram and Facebook. What's more, the social networks' logos would be banned in Russia as "extremist symbols" (just like the swastika, for example). For answers to our questions about what this means for Meta -- and for Russia's Facebook and Instagram users -- Meduza turned to Pavel Chikov, the founder of the human rights group Agora.

In recent days (approximately from the 10th to 14th day of the war), the Russian incursion into the depths of Ukraine has stalled. The columns of advancing Russian battle groups are no longer moving any more than 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) a day. Meanwhile, the army continues to incur losses from Ukrainian counterattacks against the groups at the front as well as ambushes at the rear guard. Ukraine's successes are documented and posted online by journalists and regular citizens with cellphones.

On March 9, the Ukrainian authorities reported that Russian forces had bombed the maternity wing of Hospital No. 3 in Mariupol. Later, Kyiv stated that the airstrike killed three people (including a child) and injured 17 others. Photos of the aftermath captured by Evgeniy Maloletka -- a Ukrainian photographer working in the besieged city -- shocked audiences around the world when they appeared in the international press. The next day, however, an anonymous Telegram channel published claims that the images were "staged," alleging that the maternity hospital was actually "controlled by nationalists" from the far-right Azov Battalion. Pro-Kremlin media outlets then proceeded to spread these allegations far and wide. Ilya Ber -- the publisher and editor-in-chief of Provereno Media, which specializes in debunking fake news -- analyzes these attempts to cast doubt on what happened in Mariupol.

In February 2021, 17-year-old Ismail Isayev and 20-year-old Salekh Magamadov were kidnapped by the Chechen authorities and taken from Nizhny Novgorod to Chechnya. According to the two brothers, the authorities subjected them to violence and threats until they agreed to waive their right to legal counsel and confess to being involved in an illegal armed group; investigators accused the brothers of smuggling groceries to Chechen militant Rustam Borchashvili when he was in hiding. Isayev and Magamadov are slated to be sentenced later this week and are facing years behind bars. The brothers' lawyers insist the case is politically motivated. In fact, Isayev and Magamadov were previously detained on suspicion of running an opposition Telegram channel. What's more, one of the brothers is gay and the other is transgender, which puts them at even greater risk of persecution in Chechnya. A petition demanding their release has gathered more than 100,000 signatures so far. The boys' mother, Zara Magamadova, who is currently in hiding from both the Chechen and federal authorities, also maintains her sons' innocence. For Meduza, Zara Magamadova tells her family's harrowing story, in her own words.

International alarm over the Russian military buildup around Ukraine reached new heights over the weekend of February 12-13. More than 30 countries advised their citizens to leave Ukraine, and several embassies pledged to move West, relocating their staff from Kyiv to Lviv. Meanwhile, U.S. officials keep repeating claims that Russia could further invade Ukraine "at any time." To help make sense of the building tensions, Meduza turns to Russian International Affairs Council director-general Andrey Kortunov.

On Tuesday, February 15, Russian lawmakers will consider two draft resolutions appealing to President Vladimir Putin to recognize the self-proclaimed "people's republics" in eastern Ukraine, Interfax reports.

For St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov, 2022 didn't get off to a good start. The politician, who has faced near-constant criticism for his poor handling of the coronavirus epidemic, has now proven inept at resolving issues related to snow and garbage removal. What's more, it seems as though local residents aren't the only ones getting fed up with Beglov -- St. Petersburg's elites are losing patience with him, too. With Alexander Beglov under more pressure than ever, Meduza special correspondent Andrey Pertsev looks into whether his departure is imminent and who might take up his post.

In June 2021, the Moscow City Court declared Alexey Navalny's political movement and anti-corruption nonprofits "extremist organizations." Since then, the Russian authorities have been busy launching administrative cases against the Kremlin critic's supporters for "displaying banned symbols" -- including, but not limited to, logos associated with Team Navalny. Because Russia doesn't maintain a list of extremist symbols, these proceedings rely on assessments from expert witnesses. According to lawyers and human rights activists, Russian courts have recently been turning to one witness in particular -- 22-year-old Danila Mikheev, a purported forensic expert who has been denouncing opposition activists since his university days.

On Thursday, February 10, a Russian court handed down sentences for terrorism to three teenagers from the Siberian town of Kansk. The boys were arrested in the summer of 2020 for posting leaflets with political slogans on the local FSB building. After searching their phones and uncovering a "plot" to blow up an virtual rendering of an FSB building in the video game Minecraft, investigators charged the teens with making explosives and training to participate in terrorist activities. On Thursday, a military court in the Krasnoyarsk territory sentenced one of the defendants, 16-year-old Nikita Uvarov, to five years in prison. The two other defendants in the case received suspended sentences.

There will be no official delegation from Russia at this year's Munich Security Conference, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced during a briefing on Wednesday, February 9.