(C) Meduza This story was originally published by Meduza and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Real Russia. Today. Friday, June 7, 2024 — Meduza [1] [] Date: 2024-06-07 Russia and Ukraine This past February, after U.S. House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner issued a vague warning about a “serious national security threat,” U.S. media, citing intelligence sources, reported that he was referring to alleged Russian plans to place satellites equipped with nuclear weapons in orbit. According to The Wall Street Journal, Russia already has a satellite in orbit that’s being used to test components and systems for this new type of weapon. Half a century ago, the U.S. and the Soviet Union signed international treaties banning nuclear weapons and testing in space precisely because they both realized the destruction it could cause. Meduza explains the effect nuclear weapons actually have when detonated in orbit and why Russia might be interested in having space nukes at its disposal. The European Commission has recommended that the E.U. start formal negotiations this month with Ukraine and Moldova over their prospective membership in the bloc, the Financial Times reported on Friday. Hours after the news broke, Interfax Ukraine reported that Budapest was impeding consensus on the issue among member states by arguing that Ukraine has not taken sufficient measures to protect the country’s ethnic Hungarian minority. For the talks to begin, all E.U. countries must agree that Ukraine has implemented the reforms necessary to bring its legislation in line with E.U. standards. Ukraine’s supporters hope to begin the negotiations before Hungary takes over the bloc’s presidency next month. Two officials told the FT that a formal debate on whether to start the talks will be held next week. New joint reporting from the outlets Holod and Groza Media details how the Brotherhood of Academists, a political organization founded by ultraconservative media oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, has opened chapters in at least 20 Russian universities in recent years. The group’s student members, who refer to themselves as “Academists,” meet with and attend lectures from politicians and right-wing figures, participate in various projects to support Russian troops in Ukraine, write denunciations against public figures who oppose the invasion, and sometimes even join the war themselves. While these activities might all seem like ones that would fit on the agenda of Rosmolodezh, the federal agency that handles youth affairs in Russia, the Academists see their mission as distinct from that of state-sponsored organizations. The group’s ultimate goal is to help Russia fulfill its spiritual destiny of becoming a Christian Empire, and the top coordinator of its student chapters dismisses Kremlin initiatives as insufficiently “organic” to effect real change. Within 20 years, the Academists believe, Russia is capable of becoming a “world leader in scientific and technological development,” putting the 21st century on track to become a “golden age of Russian culture” and an “era of Russia’s ideological and cultural dominance in the world.” We got The Beet. Don’t miss Meduza’s weekly newsletter (separate from the one you’re reading here)! 🧳 Catch the latest issue → ‘Every country has its problems’: Why are Western tourists and expats returning to Russia? (14-min read) Human rights and the law Laurent Vinatier, a French citizen who was arrested in Moscow on Thursday, has pleaded guilty to charges of evading Russia’s “foreign agents” legislation, according to Russian state news agency TASS. Vinatier, a political scientist who works for a Swiss-based NGO dedicated to conflict resolution, stands accused of gathering information about Russia’s military activity without first registering as a “foreign agent.” He could face up to five years in prison if convicted. Speaking at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum on Friday, Russian Deputy Justice Minister Oleg Sviridenko said that LGBTQ+ people are “easily drawn into extremist activity” and are prone to becoming “carriers of gender extremism and gay nationalism.” Explaining the Justice Ministry’s request to ban the so-called “international LGBT movement,” which was granted by the Russian Supreme Court in November, Sviridenko said the ministry had determined that the “movement” began operating in Russia in 1984 and that it “threatened to cause democratic destruction in the country.” Sviridenko also spoke about the structure of the “LGBT movement,” claiming that before the ban, it had 40 “branches” in Russia and controlled 80 Internet resources that lacked the required age restriction labels. He alleged that these entities were funded by foreign NGOs as well as grant money from the U.S., Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Sweden. (At the time of the Supreme Court’s ban on the “LGBT movement,” there was no legal entity registered under that name in Russia.) A Russian adult film star named Matvey Volodin was arrested immediately upon being released from a previous 10-day sentence in Dagestan on Wednesday, the human rights group SK SOS reports. Volodin, who lives in Moscow, announced he was traveling to the North Caucasian republic in May and disappeared shortly after. According to his lawyer, Volodin was invited to Dagestan by people he’d met online, but his new acquaintances turned out to be law enforcement officers using fake identities. The officers reportedly beat Volodin, took his phone, and forced him to help them entrap other gay men by inviting them to an apartment and filming them. According to human rights advocates, the officers’ entrapment scheme lasted for about one week, after which they arrested Volodin for disorderly conduct. On June 5, when he was scheduled to be released, a relative and two lawyers were waiting to meet him outside the detention center. When he exited the facility, however, plainclothes officers shoved him into a vehicle and drove him away. On Thursday evening, SK SOS reported that he had been formally arrested on charges of producing and distributing pornography. No country can be free without independent media. In January 2023, the Russian authorities outlawed Meduza, banning our work in the country our colleagues call home. Just supporting Meduza carries the risk of criminal prosecution for Russian nationals, which is why we’re turning to our international audience for help. Your assistance makes it possible for thousands of people in Russia to read Meduza and stay informed. Consider a small but recurring contribution to provide the most effective support. Donate here. 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