MEDUZA/EN/VHF

On August 24, Ukraine celebrated the 30th anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union. To mark the occasion, President Volodymyr Zelensky gave a speech at a parade of troops in downtown Kyiv. In his address, Zelensky reflected on Ukraine's recent and historical achievements and announced plans to introduce a new holiday, the Day of Ukrainian Statehood. He also emphasized that Ukraine is fighting for its people in Crimea and the eastern Donbas region and promised the return of these territories. Meduza summarizes Zelensky's speech, in a nutshell.

More than 20 years ago, when Russia still had public politics and the Putin administration faced scandals that weren't only international, customs inspectors tied a contraband scheme involving several furniture companies to senior officials in the Federal Security Service (FSB). Though the Three Whales Case, as it became known, pitted various "clans" within Russia's national security apparatus against each other, it ended with just a few minor convictions despite evidence of bribery and obstruction of justice. President Putin took direct control of the investigation, but it was State Duma deputy and journalist Yuri Shchekochikhin who pursued the case most aggressively. In July 2003, shortly before he was scheduled to visit the United States to share case materials with the FBI, Shchekochikhin fell ill and soon died. Officially, he succumbed to a rare allergic reaction, but friends and colleagues suspect that Shchekochikhin was poisoned. iStories correspondent Roman Shleinov was one of those longtime coworkers. In a new investigative report, Shleinov says he's finally pieced together evidence from the Three Whales Case that ties the investigation's suspects to members of Vladimir Putin's inner circle. Meduza summarizes these findings.

From August 19 to 21, the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod celebrated its much anticipated 800-year jubilee. President Vladimir Putin paid a special visit for the occasion, attending a gala with performances by famous Russian rappers and rock stars and getting a grand tour of the ongoing renovations in the city's historic center. In the lead up to the celebrations, the Russian government allocated more than 32 billion rubles ($434 million) to the city renewal project. But local residents aren't necessarily pleased with the refurbishments. Meduza looks into how the anniversary preparations changed Nizhny Novgorod's streets and local politics.

During his daily press briefing on August 25, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov fielded a number of questions about the enforcement of Russia's "foreign agents" law. Pointing to the Russian Justice Ministry's recent decision to designate the independent television channel Dozhd (TV Rain) as a "foreign agent" due to funding from the EU, Meduza's correspondent asked Peskov why state-controlled publications that have also received foreign funding haven't been blacklisted. Here's what Peskov had to say.

On August 25, Moscow's Preobrazhensky District Court sentenced municipal deputy and Pussy Riot activist Lyusya Shtein to one year of "restrictions on freedom." This is the latest parole-like sentence handed down to a defendant in the so-called "Sanitary Case." The court prohibited Shtein from leaving her home between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., attending and participating in mass gatherings, and traveling outside of Moscow without permission from the authorities. Shtein is also obliged to report to a probation office twice a month. Meduza shares a full English-language translation of Lyusya Shtein's final courtroom remarks here.

In the 2019 Moscow City Duma elections, pro-government candidates lost in 20 out of 45 single-mandate constituencies. Now, officials in the capital are hoping to make a comeback in the State Duma elections slated for September 2021. Their goal is to win in all of the city's 15 districts, which determines the deputies of the federal parliament's lower house. Meduza special correspondent Andrey Pertsev has learned that Moscow City Hall currently considers three of the 15 districts "problematic." At the same time, they're counting on infighting among opposition figures to lead to a victory for pro-government candidates. Here's what we know about the Moscow government's goals for the upcoming elections - and how they plan to achieve them.

The Journalists' and Media Workers' Union has notified the Moscow Mayor's Office that it plans to hold a protest rally opposing Russia's "foreign agents" law. The demonstration is scheduled for September 4, 2021, and will take place on Moscow's Pushkin Square.

Mobile operators and Internet providers in Russia have started blocking Alexey Navalny's mobile app. According to the project GlobalCheck, which monitors Russia's Internet blocking system, the app is currently unavailable in the country.

A new media ownership bill put forward by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party is stoking concerns about press freedom in Poland. The parliament's lower house, the Sejm, passed the draft law in a scandalous vote on August 11. The law aims to impose restrictions on foreign ownership of Polish broadcasters, but critics argue that it targets one media holding in particular, whose television channels have taken a critical stance towards the current government. Members of the PiS insist the bill is a necessary safeguard against "third-country attacks" (apparently from the likes of Russia and China). That said, the legislation is in line with the ruling party's long-running drive to take control of the media in Poland - a policy it's pursuing at great risk. Indeed, disputes over the media ownership bill have already wreaked havoc with the ruling coalition. In a special report for Meduza, journalist Stanislav Kuvaldin explains why this contentious bill is a fraught endeavor for the Polish government.

In the summer of 1991, my friends and I were 20-year-old college students who had no intention of participating in our country's politics in any way, shape, or form. But on the morning of August 19, politics came to us - in the form of radio broadcasts and tanks on the streets of Moscow. It was a real shock, even in 1991, when the Soviet system was coming apart before our eyes.