Leonid Rybakov News Today

To hear Russian officials tell it, the country is in the grips of a daunting wave of extremism. It’s not, critics say: The spike in extremism prosecutions is part of a Kremlin-driven crackdown on dissent, often combined with a dose of revenge on the local level.

A homemade body bag in Ukraine's blue-and-yellow colors in Novgorod. A Ukrainian flag hanging on a balcony in Tomsk. Protesting the war in Russia could mean fines, jail, or prison. "The risks are…small compared to the chance to clear one's conscience at least a bit," one protester said.