MEDUZA/EN/VHF

The Russian State Duma's seventh convocation is coming to the end of its five-year term. And according to a new report from IStories and Znak.com, dozens of its deputies haven't said a word in a parliamentary session since they were elected in 2016. Others haven't put forward a single bill. Be that as it may, this hasn't stopped these lawmakers from collecting high salaries and planning to put their names on the ballot for the State Duma election coming up in September.

Yaroslav Kuzminov, the longtime head of Moscow's Higher School of Economics (HSE), has resigned, the news outlet RBC reported on Thursday. Sources told the news agency TASS that Kuzminov planned for some time to step down and recently informed the school's academic council about his decision, saying that he wants to focus on his own research. After nearly three decades on the job, Kuzminov leaves behind a legacy tainted by political controversy in recent years. Meduza breaks down how one of Russia's most prominent scholars ended his role at the nation's top-ranked university.

In June, Russians started receiving the CoviVac vaccine, the third COVID-19 vaccine registered in the country, which was developed by researchers at the Chumakov Research Center. CoviVac uses tried-and-true vaccine technology - it consists of an inactivated ("dead") virus and an immune stimulant. At the moment, doses are still hard to come by, but manufacturers promise to put a million doses into circulation by the end of June - and five to six million by the end of the year. To learn more about CoviVac, Meduza correspondents Svetlana Reiter and Alexander Yershov spoke to several Chumakov Research Center employees: Deputy Director for Quality and Innovation Alexandra Sinyugina, Deputy Director for Regulatory Issues Yekaterina Korduban, Innovative Biotechnical Medications Department Head Ilya Gordeichuk, and Department of Current and Newly Emerging Infections with Pandemic Potential Lyubov Kozlovskaya. Why did it take so long for CoviVac to reach the market? How does it differ from other COVID-19 vaccines? How sure are we that the virus in the vaccine is really "dead" and can't hurt people? And why do its developers think mandatory vaccinations are a good idea?

LGBTQ+ activists from Tbilisi Pride were forced to cancel a march planned for the evening of Monday, July 5, following violent attacks by counter demonstrators in the Georgian capital. In addition to physically assaulting journalists who had gathered ahead of the "March for Dignity," the anti-Pride demonstrators broke into the Tbilisi Pride office and set fire to a rainbow flag. In its statement canceling the march, Tbilisi Pride condemned both the violence and the inaction of the authorities, accusing the government and the Georgian Patriarchate of backing a "huge wave of hate." Eighteen Western Embassies also issued a joint statement condemning the attacks in Tbilisi, as well as the failure of government and religious leaders to speak out against this violence.