News and newsletters
Meduza – one of the best Russian/English-language resources of Russian news; make sure you subscribe to their newsletter and podcasts
The Moscow Times – another great English-language resource of Russian news with podcasts on politics, language and culture; a Russian-language edition now also exists.
Faridaily – reports and commentary by Farida Rustamova
Bear Market Brief – essential newsletter and podcast focusing on Russia and the former USSR
The Bell – news and newsletter (together with the Russian edition of the Moscow Times) on Russia
Novaya Gazeta – Russia’s Nobel-laureate daily with a weekly English-language newsletter and investigations (for more investigative reports see below)
Mediazona – news site focusing on law, law enforcement and the regions, now with an English-language edition.
SOTA – news focused on the state of human rights and activism
Kedr – journalism project focusing on politics’s impact on the environment
Dozhd TV
Ekho (formerly known as Ekho Moskvy)
Zhivoy Gvozd (also formerly known as Ekho Moskvy)
Current Time – produced by RFE/RL and VOA; follow them for their live reports
The political independence of Russia’s leading business papers has suffered, but it’s worth following them for economic analysis: RBC and Kommersant. It is equally worth looking at the Central Bank’s monthly “Regional Economics” papers, or the analysis issued by the (government affiliated) TsMAKP, as well as the Gaidar Institute and the Finexpertiza consultancy. For more granular data, see (among others) regional institutions and industry papers.
Analysis
Riddle Russia – leading experts on Russian issues
Carnegie Moscow Center – in-depth analysis of Russian politics
Re:Russia – analytic platform primarily for Russian scholars, led by Kirill Rogov
Russia.Post – “humanities corridor” for news analysis and longer analytical pieces
Levada Center – Russia’s last remaining independent public opinion pollster
Russia Watcher – daily tracker of Russian public opinion, by Princeton scholars
Republic.ru – analysis from some of the leading voices in Russian journalism (paywalled)
Posle – Russian left-wing, anti-war analytical and commentary platform
Institute of Modern Russia – a now-defunct collection of articles on Russia for the American public; archive still available
The Last Pioneer – stories from behind the curtain of Russian politics by political analyst Mikhail Zygar
Postsocialism – Jeremy Morris on how Russia has changed since 1991
Sean’s Russia Blog – Sean Guillory about Russia yesterday, today, tomorrow, with a great weekly podcast
In Moscow’s Shadows – blog and podcast by Mark Galeotti on Russia
OGs and OFZs – in-depth analysis of Russia’s political economy by Nick Birman-Trickett
Eastern Radar – Fabrice Deprez collects and comments on news from the wider Eurasian region; recently focused on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
TL;DRussia – Sam Greene of Kings College and CEPA on Russia and what to read
The Russia Guy – Meduza editor Kevin Rothrock talks to people in Russia-focused journalism, academia and activism
Havli – Not Russia, but close: a Central Asia-focused newsletter edited by Peter Leonard, the former editor of Eurasianet
Serious Telegram analysis: Tatyana Stanovaya and R.Politik (domestic and elite politics); Ekaterina Schulmann (domestic politics); Alexander Kynev (regional politics); Mikhail Komin (domestic politics); Max Trudolyubov (economics and culture); Sergey Vakulenko (oil industry); Natalya Zubarevich (regional economics)
Investigative journalism
Agentstvo – the new project of the former Proekt investigative site
IStories – investigative reports
The Insider – investigative reports, Bellingcat’s Russian partner
Vyorstka – reports and investigations about social issues
Navalny’s YouTube channel
News and reports from the regions
Chernovik – Dagestan and the North Caucasus
Caucasian Knot – news and analysis from Southern Russia and the Caucasus
Sibirsky Express – news from and about Siberia
Holod – in-depth reports and stories from Northern Russia
Fontanka – St. Petersburg
7×7 – news primarily from Western and Northwestern Russia
Novaya Vkladka – post-invasion news project from the regions
Vesma – news from the Russian Far East
Rusnews – Siberia-based independent news site
Krym.Realii – Crimea under occupation, RFE/RL affiliated
Sever.Realii – Northern Russia, RFE/RL affiliated
Sibir.Realii – Siberia, RFE/RL affiliated
For people to follow on Twitter (and perhaps now also on other platforms), Kevin Rothrock’s Russia list and Russian media list are good places to start.
Disclaimer: the above list is not exhaustive. I certainly forgot about people and publications worth following. If this angers, bothers or frustrates you, please leave a comment or DM me on Twitter.