In Petrozavodsk, Karelia, the conflict between Russia’s last independent mayor and the governor has turned nasty. The political fallout could reach the Kremlin.

Putin’s ‘personal chef' seems to have a finger in every Russian pie...  

In Russia the information war isn’t just being waged on television and in print. Well-funded Kremlin-linked organisations are waging a battle for hearts and minds in cyberspace.

When St Petersburg journalist Alexandra Garmazhapova attended a closed meeting in the local district administration, she became privy to a secret operation to maximize the vote for outgoing governor Valentina Matviyenko in Sunday’s municipal elections [which have themselves been designed to propel Matviyenko to a new job in the Senate]. Garmazhapova wrote what she saw and heard, and published it on the Russian website fontanka.ru. The story was taken down within four hours, and she resigned. We republish the article in full.