Life in Russia

[Bill Ryan]

https://t.me/DDGeopolitics/190789

Ergaki National Park, Krasnoyarsk region.

[Ravenlocke]

RTRussia

Fishermen catch an OVER 2-METER TUNA in the Russian Far East

This is a RECORD for Peter the Great Gulf, where the giant fish was caught

Video: Primorsky Region Fishing Sports Federation

https://x.com/RT_Russia_/status/2086686928393703913

[Ravenlocke]

Brian McDonald

More than 100 depopulated settlements have been formally abolished across Russia this year, with populations ranging from zero to just 64 people, SHOT reports.

The abandoned villages were identified in more than 10 regions. Kostroma is again among the hardest hit, with 21 settlements already removed from the map this year after 144 were abolished there in 2025, while Novgorod is also near the top of the list.

Among them was Kakvinskiye Pechi in Sverdlovsk Oblast, a century-old settlement once home to charcoal burners supplying a local plant, but repeated road washouts gradually cut it off and residents were resettled and the houses demolished.

https://x.com/BrianMcDonaldIE/status...14732510503036

[Ravenlocke]

RTRussia

41-yo Moscow mom just delivered her 15th child — 10 daughters and 5 sons so far

All 15 births were natural, no epidural. Her husband was there for every one

'God gives children, and they come,' she said. 'With each one, He gives more strength and love'

https://x.com/RT_Russia_/status/2086755075767083269

[Ravenlocke]

Brian McDonald
@
JUST IN: Russia’s Supreme Court has removed the pro-Western liberal Yabloko party from next month's State Duma election, granting a lawsuit brought by the ultra-nationalist Rodina party.

The court found that Yabloko had violated intellectual-property rules in campaign material. According to the Central Election Commission, an interview with party co-founder Grigory Yavlinsky titled “how to vote for a ceasefire” counted as election campaigning, and the party failed to prove it had permission to use lyrics from the song Let There Always Be Sunshine, political party emblems, images of Dmitry Medvedev and Viktoria Bonya, and footage from Sergei Bondarchuk’s War and Peace.

Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov called the decision a blow to Russia’s political system and parliamentary elections, saying the party intended to remain in Russia and continue defending its position, per Kommersant.

https://x.com/BrianMcDonaldIE/status...58420229931389

[Ravenlocke]

😁😁😁

Margarita Simonyan

Aug 10

The BBC's resident Russia "expert" Steve Rosenberg decided to go out into the street and ask the Russian people what they think.

I believe things did not go as he expected.

https://x.com/M_Simonyan/status/2086864491870888098

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Posted by Ravenlocke (here)
Rescue efforts for Natalia Nagovitsyna, stranded for 10 days at 7,150m on Pobeda Peak, were called off today as winds intensified and snow closed in.

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Posted by Ravenlocke (here)
The rescuers have almost reached the 5,000 m mark. The evacuation of the injured woman will take at least 6–8 days.

With fortune on their side, they may well reach her by the end of tomorrow. If it's humanly possible, they will do it.

But sadly, it was not humanly possible. The weather turned treacherous, and the rescue team had to retreat.

So Natasha has certainly died, all alone in her tent. It's an almost Shakespearean tale. The whole tragedy has been huge news all over Russia, the reason why the escalating drama has been shared on this thread.

The terrible irony was that in 2021, high on Khan Tengri, she had flatly refused to leave her dying husband when everyone at base camp was imploring her to abandon him and save herself. She endured two exposed nights on the mountain, without shelter, food or drink, just holding his hand until very near the end. It was selfless heroism of the very highest order.

So the karmic laws, whatever they are, in the end betrayed her. After all she had done for her dying husband, she had no-one there to hold her hand or comfort her as she lay freezing with a broken leg, knowing she would likely now die herself. It was this that compelled me to follow the story so closely, and I confess it affected me a very great deal.

A small update, nearly a year later. Some readers may remember that I followed this drama day by day, after Russian climber Natalia Nagovitsyna broke her leg high on Peak Pobeda and had no other option than to sit in her tent, with a small amount of food, hoping against hope for some kind of a rescue.

Teams of strong climbers tried to reach her. But the weather intervened, and rescue proved impossible. It's not known on what day she passed away in her tent — though the consensus is that she may have survived for a two full weeks or even a little longer.

There have been discussions about whether it might be possible to retrieve her body, but everyone agrees it would be a superhuman, near-impossible feat to do so.

However, it's now believed that after a week or more and realizing she was sure to die, she would have left a final farewell message.

She could have recorded it on her phone or possibly even on video. There are two recent Russian articles about that, translated into English here and here.

The 2026 good-weather window for climbers to return to Peak Pobeda is nearly here. Mountaineers who knew her well will certainly be able to get to what's left of her tent, which is very probably still there. They expect to find her body in her sleeping bag... and they will be looking for her phone.



Below is by far the best English language video about the whole thing, from Thom Pollard, himself an Everest veteran and an extremely good man. He talks about her extraordinary selflessness in flatly refusing to leave her dying husband back in 2021 when they were both stranded high on Khan Tengri, and the cruelest heartbreak four years later when it proved completely impossible to reach her when it was her turn to need help.

The video opens with actual drone footage showing her waving from her tent, telling the remote camera she was still alive. Commendably, there's not a scrap of AI in the detailed and very moving 20 minute video.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=vG_tHBh2wRg

~~~

Another update. From a new report, translated here:

Climbers fail to reach Nagovitsyna's body at Pobeda Peak

The climbing season on Pobeda Peak in Kyrgyzstan has ended due to very bad weather. None of the three groups of climbers attempting to reach the body of Russian mountaineer Natalia Nagovitsyna succeeded, according to Dmitry Grekov, head of the South Inylchek Base Camp.

"The climbing season on Pobeda is over. Even at base camp, the snow is already half a meter deep. Only one group managed to reach 6,500 meters," Grekov said, as quoted by TASS.

A plaque in memory of Natalia will be installed at the foot of the peak.

[Ravenlocke]

Margarita Simonyan

Translated from Russian
Luna Fenner is now without the 'Batman mask'

American doctors nearly butchered a child — they scheduled about 80 surgeries under anesthesia for a girl who was just one and a half years old back then. Thank God the parents had the sense to turn to our doctors.

And they made a little American girl's dream come true — they gave her a new face and a new life. And a Cheburashka too

https://x.com/M_Simonyan/status/2087572988224741446

Background story,

InfodefenseFRANCE

Aug 10
Translated from French
🇷🇺 How Russian doctors removed the "Batman mask" from little Luna's face

🔸In 2019, a little girl named Luna Fenner was born in the United States. Her face was almost entirely covered by a massive black birthmark — a congenital melanocytic nevus, which internet users nicknamed the
"Batman mask." The danger wasn't just cosmetic: this mark could turn into a deadly melanoma at any moment.

🔸American doctors proposed about 80 surgeries under general anesthesia over five years to the family. The treatment cost was estimated at $500 million, and insurance refused to cover it. The family hit a dead end.

🔸That's when doctors from Krasnodar, Russia, led by surgeon-oncologist Pavel Popov, heard about Luna's story. They offered an innovative method — laser photodynamic therapy under local anesthesia. Instead of dozens of general anesthetics, just a few much less traumatic sessions. The family decided to come to Russia when the little girl was just seven months old.

🔸In spring 2021, after six procedures, the "Batman mask" had completely disappeared. The melanoma threat was gone. But in its place, scars covered nearly 60% of her face. Luna needed reconstruction.

🔸In 2024, surgeons from Saint Petersburg, led by plastic surgeon Olga Filippova, took over. They used the tissue expander technique — a kind of "balloon" implanted under the skin to stretch healthy areas and cover the scars. The first stage eliminated 40% of the defects.

🔸In July 2025, a second surgery took place in Saint Petersburg. It lasted more than six hours. The doctors covered 80 to 85% of the face with healthy skin and restored eyelid closure. Luna's eyes could close again.

🔸In May 2026, during a follow-up exam, the Russian doctors discovered a potentially dangerous tumor in the girl. An urgent biopsy was ordered. Despite the concern, the surgeons decided not to delay the reconstruction and to combine both procedures.

🔸In July 2026, the Saint Petersburg team performed the final surgery to remove the last scars from Luna's face. The girl now has healthy skin on 85% of her face, and the "Batman mask" has been permanently removed. The most delicate part of the treatment is complete.

🔸Each trip costs the family about $25,000, including around $11,000 for the surgery itself.
The funds came from multiple sources: part was paid by the family, another portion was raised through U.S. charitable platforms, but many American funds refused to help because the treatment was taking place in Russia.

🔸One platform even returned the already collected donations. The main support came from Russian donors — through collections by "Rusfond," a Russian charitable fund, which covered one of the key stages of the surgeries.

🔸Luna still has final stages ahead: removing the last scars, restoring the eyebrows and hairline.
The little girl, according to her mother, has grown so attached to Saint Petersburg that she says: "I want to stay here forever."

https://x.com/InfodefenseFR/status/2087063968749609263

https://x.com/JnglJourney/status/2087199809706873032

[Ravenlocke]

DD Geopolitics

🇷🇺🇯🇵 JAPANESE AMBASSADOR LASTS 25 MINUTES INSIDE RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY AFTER BEING CALLED OUT BY LAVROV

Japan’s Ambassador to Russia Akira Muto has left the Russian Foreign Ministry after being summoned over Tokyo’s protests regarding President Putin’s visit to Iturup in the Kuril Islands.

The meeting lasted roughly 25 minutes.

Muto ran away without making any comments to reporters.

The ambassador had initially failed to appear after being summoned and said he wasn’t feeling well. Maria Zakharova joked yesterday that following Lavrov’s public remarks, Muto had “suddenly felt much better.” 🤭🤭

https://x.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/2089628745921409107

[Ravenlocke]

RT

Aug 17
Russian gymnasts struck gold in the team competition at their first World Championship after a five-year break

For the gymnasts, it was their Worlds debut

The Russian Gymnastics Federation called it a fresh start — not the finish, but a new chapter on the world stage

https://x.com/RT_com/status/2089323259183419564

Jungle Journey

Russia’s gymnasts just came home from Zagreb with more gold medals than the rest of Europe combined

Three senior titles. Five junior titles.

All while competing without a flag or anthem, and with half the team blocked by Croatian visas.

https://x.com/JnglJourney/status/2089525227395133838

Chay Bowes

Aug 17
No anthem, no flag, but the spirit is indeed alive

Russia’s athlete Angelina Melnikova, despite winning gold at the European Gymnastics Championships in Croatia, was not allowed to celebrate under her country’s flag or anthem

She simply couldn’t hide her emotions

https://x.com/BowesChay/status/2089361544073138596

Rémi Philiponet 🇨🇵

Translated from French
The Russian world champion in artistic gymnastics is deprived of her country's national anthem.
Here is the national anthem sung by the people to celebrate this umpteenth gold medal.

https://x.com/remi_philiponet/status...77882710794319

[Jaak]

Posted by Ravenlocke (here)
Brian McDonald

More than 100 depopulated settlements have been formally abolished across Russia this year, with populations ranging from zero to just 64 people, SHOT reports.

The abandoned villages were identified in more than 10 regions. Kostroma is again among the hardest hit, with 21 settlements already removed from the map this year after 144 were abolished there in 2025, while Novgorod is also near the top of the list.

Among them was Kakvinskiye Pechi in Sverdlovsk Oblast, a century-old settlement once home to charcoal burners supplying a local plant, but repeated road washouts gradually cut it off and residents were resettled and the houses demolished.

https://x.com/BrianMcDonaldIE/status...14732510503036

Reminded me this video that got uploaded couple days ago but was filmed 3 years ago . I suspect he did not upload it earlier because he did not want to get in trouble (looting other peoples property) .
Maybe that village where he took things are now also formally abolished by the government and you wont get some looting charges put on you ... Just my speculation but timing seems interesting .

Some of his other videos are also quite nice . Some show life in rural area of Russia but most are outdoor/survival videos .

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=M2TsqSex22o

[Ravenlocke]

Brian McDonald

If you're afraid of heights, look away now. Skydiver Sergei Boytsov has set a world record by jumping from a hot-air balloon at an altitude of 11,551 metres over Russia’s Altai region, per Izvestia.

Boytsov surpassed the previous record of approximately 10,060 metres, set by Polish parachutists, as during the jump, he spent two minutes and 30 seconds in free fall and reached a maximum speed of 501 km/h before opening his parachute at 1,565 metres. The temperature outside the balloon was around −59°C.

The project took six months to prepare and involved about 100 engineers, pilots, parachutists and technical specialists.

https://x.com/BrianMcDonaldIE/status...33375109050719

[Ravenlocke]

Camille Moscow 🇷🇺 🌿 ☦️

Translated from French
🇷🇺🪂 11,551 METERS. –59°C. 500 KM/H. AND NO HESITATION.

Russian Sergei Boitsov has just pushed the limits of skydiving by jumping directly from the stratosphere.

Before hurling himself into the void, he simply says: “I’m returning to my homeland.”

What follows is nearly 2 minutes 30 of freefall, at a speed reaching up to 500 km/h, before the parachute opens at 1,565 meters.

⏱️ Total flight duration: 7 min 19 s.
Temperature: –59°C.
Landing: Altai region.
🏆 The result: a new world record, dethroning the previous one set at about 10,000 meters

https://x.com/camille_moscow/status/2091161119498833962

[Bill Ryan]

Three years ago, in May 2023, I posted this on the WW3/Ukraine thread:

~~~

Here's a 4 minute video with a powerful music track, a tribute to Olga Kachura, more of whom below.

It's been scrubbed from YouTube, but it's preserved in the Avalon Library here:

https://avalonlibrary.net/Ukraine/2022_Russian_invasion_%28Operation-Z%29/Olga_Kachura_%28b.1970%20-%20d.2022%29/Olga_%27Korsa%27_Kachura_Tribute.MP4



Col. Olga Kachura was a legendary Russian artillery commander. Her call sign was 'Korsa'. She was also known as the 'she-wolf', respected and revered by all the men under her command. The video is a powerful tribute to her, backed by.a striking track from Louna, called Storming Heaven.

There's no English translation to the video, but none is needed. The small amount of makeup that she uses every day was because she felt that as a leader, whatever the situation, she always needed to look presentable to the men under her command.

Tragically and ironically, she was killed by a Ukrainian missile 3 weeks after the video was made. She was posthumously made a Hero of the Russian Federation, and there's a statue of her now in the Alley of Heroes in Donetsk.



Here she is when she was a little younger:



I also found a terrific interview of her which I posted here. In it, she says:

“I’ll be a great grandmother: I'll teach my grandchildren how to climb fences, shoot from a slingshot — everything that I can do myself,” laughs Olga Kachura, commander of the rocket artillery division of the Armed Forces of the DPR. "And I probably will have something to tell them when we sit together in the kitchen.”

The video shows the terrifying brutality of artillery warfare, and as I commented in my post,

The is about the humanity of some of the great wartime leaders. And this is the great paradox.

~~~

Here's a new RT interview with her daughter, Alyona Karabet:



https://avalonlibrary.net/Ukraine/20..._interview.mp4