MEDUZA/EN/VHF

City officials in Lisbon are coming under fire after a group of activists who organized a pro-Navalny rally outside of the Russian Embassy earlier this year discovered that their personal details were shared with the Russian authorities. The activists found out via an email chain sent to them by the Portuguese Health Ministry that Lisbon City Council had passed their information to both Russia's diplomatic mission in Portugal and police officials in Moscow. Lisbon City Council has since issued an official apology and reportedly halted its "common practice" of sharing the personal details of activists who organize protests near embassies with foreign diplomats.

On June 11, the Russian LGBT Network informed Meduza that a Chechen domestic violence victim by the name Khalimat Taramova has been forcibly returned to Chechnya along with her girlfriend, Perm native Anna Manylova. The two women were arrested in neighboring Dagestan after local and Chechen police raided a crisis shelter where they were hiding. Local journalist and human rights activist Svetlana Anokhina was in the shelter at the time and told journalists about the incident as it was happening, up until police officers forcibly arrested her, as well, together with several other women. Taramova had reached out to the Russian LGBT Network for help fleeing Chechnya after suffering domestic abuse due to her sexual orientation. Chechen opposition Telegram channels say she's allegedly the daughter of a senior official in the region.

On June 10, the Latvian parliament voted to strip opposition lawmaker Janis Adamsons of his legal immunity, clearing the way for his arrest on suspicion of spying for Russia. The politician reportedly stands accused of gathering classified information and passing it to a foreign state. Adamsons, who served as Latvia's interior minister in the 1990s, is currently a member of the Social Democratic Party "Harmony," which enjoys the support of Latvia's Russian-speaking population. Though Adamsons denies any wrongdoing, government officials maintain that there is "serious evidence" to support the allegations against him. In turn, opposition forces have expressed concerns that Adamsons is being persecuted due to his outspoken criticism of the Latvian security forces.

With Alexey Navalny rotting in a prison cell and his national anti-corruption movement now banned in Russia, political analysts have been busy penning obituaries for the country's civics as we know it. The authorities have hardly concealed their hostility toward Navalny and his supporters, but this recent escalation has nevertheless prompted questions about the Kremlin's timing and reasoning for such drastic repressions. In an essay for Meduza, sociologist Konstantin Gaaze argues that the crackdown on Navalny's movement is both a calculated campaign and a fit of rage against a political competitor who overcame incredible odds to outperform the Putin administration.

On June 10, Dagestani police forced their way into a women's shelter in Makhachkala in search of Khalimat Taramova, a 22-year-old woman who had fled Chechnya after suffering domestic abuse because of sexual orientation. The local police were accompanied by unidentified men dressed in civilian clothing and camouflage - who appeared to be members of the Chechen security forces. The police detained most of the women inside of the shelter, with the exception of Taramova and her partner, Anna Manylova. Rights activists later confirmed that Taramova was forcibly returned to Chechnya. At Meduza's request, journalist Vladimir Sevrinovsky spoke to the activists who were inside the crisis shelter at the time of the police raid.

Political emigration in Russia has become increasingly common. Most recently, former State Duma deputy Dmitry Gudkov left the country after two days in jail. He has suggested that police planned to pursue a felony case against him if he remained in Russia. More and more independent politicians, activists, and journalists are fleeing to evade arrest or worse. Meduza spoke to a handful of these emigres about the new exodus and how they are adapting to life abroad.

During his daily press briefing on June 15, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the news that the independent television channel Dozhd had been removed from the presidential press pool. In response to questions from journalists about how this decision was made, Peskov insisted that the presidential press service opted to kick Dozhd out because the television channel allegedly incited and organized unauthorized protests. Following Peskov's briefing, Dozhd released a statement underscoring that it has never acted as a protest organizer and that its coverage of unsanctioned rallies is guided by Russian legislation.

In late May, the Russian authorities designated three German nonprofits as "undesirable organizations." Among other things, these groups helped people with disabilities, ran exchange programs for students, and contributed to Russia's political discourse. However, according to the Russian Attorney General's Office, their work posed a "threat to the constitutional order and security of the Russian Federation." Meduza breaks down the work these organizations did in Russia, their reactions to the designation, and how the decision to ban them will impact Russian citizens.

In mid-March, Moscow's Basmanny District Court arrested International Olympic Committee Executive Board member Alexey Vlasenko based on testimony from two previously detained businessmen. Two months later, the same court arrested Russian Industry and Trade Ministry deputy head Olga Pokidisheva and former head Olga Kolotilova on suspicion of fraud. The common thread between these people is Pharma 2020, a federal targeted program designed to import new medical technology into Russia that has brought just four medications to market, so far. Meduza special correspondents Svetlana Reiter and Ivan Golunov explain what happened when the Russian government decided to play venture capitalist.

On June 9, the Russian State Duma adopted a package of laws on countering "the infiltration of undesirable organizations into the Russian Federation" in their third and final reading. One of the bills in particular aims to combat the use of intermediaries for obtaining funds for "undesirable organizations." To achieve this goal, the authors of the bill chose the simplest possible method - tasking banks and other credit institutions with monitoring every single money transfer received by Russian citizens and organizations from an as of yet unspecified list of foreign countries. Meduza looks into how this new legislation threatens both banks and Russian citizens alike.