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Nataliya Vasilyeva

@nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social
1.7K followers 375 following 72 posts

Freelance reporter @nytimes.com Past: Jerusalem and Moscow, ex-Telegraph, AP survivor. Shortlisted for 2024 UK Press Awards Foreign Correspondent of the Year.

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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Tatyana Kim and her husband built Wildberries from scratch: back in the early 2000s it was a scrappy website, now the marketplace platform accounts for 10 percent of all retail sales in Russia. Their business is now threatened by Russia's war in Ukraine: www.nytimes.com/2026/08/08/w...
nytimes.com
As Ukraine Strikes Wildberries, Russia’s Richest Businesswoman Faces Her Biggest Test Yet
As Ukraine repeatedly strikes warehouses of the e-commerce site Wildberries, Tatyana Kim, its billionaire co-founder, faces her biggest test yet.
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Dry faucets, shuttered storefronts, pitch-black homes and residents camping outside City Hall to charge their devices. Crimea is facing a severe blackout - and the Kremlin is not even talking about it. My piece: www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/w...
nytimes.com
Ukrainian Attacks in Crimea Deprive Towns of Power and Water
Ukraine’s campaign to bring the war home to ordinary Russians is meant to pressure the Kremlin to negotiate. Moscow has acted as if there were no crisis.
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Our piece on Ukraine's unprecedented campaign against Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/w...
nytimes.com
Ukraine Pounds Russian Ships in Its Campaign to Cut Off Crimea
After striking roads and railways, Kyiv is now focusing on sea routes as it tries to disrupt fuel supplies and pressure Russia to end the war.
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Russia, the world's third largest oil producer, is grappling with gasoline shortages after Ukrainian drone knocked out a third of Russia's production. I talked to people in Russia to find out how they're coping. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/03/w...
nytimes.com
Long Lines for Gas Shatter the Illusion of Normalcy in Wartime Russia
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Crimea has been largely insulated from the war. Tables have turned now. Gas shortages, canceled holidays and a growing anxiety. My latest: www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/w...
nytimes.com
Sending Fuel Trucks Up in Flames, Ukraine Tries to Cut Off Crimea
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Russia’s political class was initially skeptical that Mr. Putin’s call in 2024 would elevate war veterans to significant positions of power. Since then, though, more war veterans have been climbing up the ladder in the Russian government. My quick piece: www.nytimes.com/2026/05/22/w...
nytimes.com
From General to Governor: Putin Pushes a ‘New Elite’ of War Veterans
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
My story with Alina Lobzina on how Ukraine has brought the war into Russia big time, with rare voices from Tuapse. "People started to say that things are going nowhere, that we’re not going to reach any goals in the war and maybe no one needs it." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/w...
nytimes.com
As Ukraine Hits Oil Refineries, Russians Pay a Heavy Environmental Toll
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Finally out: my piece about Russia-occupied Mariupol where locals face homelessness due to Russian "laws". Incredibly challenging story to report. So grateful to the Mariupol residents who trusted me with their stories. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/w...
nytimes.com
Threat of Evictions Darkens Russia’s Rosy Picture of Occupied Ukraine
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Four years since Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine, it's been harder for the Kremlin to pretend everything's going according to the plan. This winter, Russia saw several major power blackouts and heating cut-offs, from Vladivostok to Murmansk. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/w...
nytimes.com
Russians Shiver as War Worsens Underfunding of Heat and Power Systems
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Just a few years ago, rivals would kill to get a piece of Domodedovo, Russia's biggest privately owned airport. But after the war decimated the aviation industry, no one wanted to buy it at what seemed to be a fair market price. I tried to explain what happened: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/29/w...
nytimes.com
Moscow Airport Sells for Half Off, a Sign of Russia’s Global Isolation
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
The NYT got hold of thousands of official complaints filed by relatives of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine. My colleagues and I spent a whole two months going through them and, later, contacting over 200 people. Dozens of them spoke to us. 1/6 www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
How Russia’s War Machine Brutalizes and Exploits Its Own Soldiers
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
My piece on the growing water crisis in occupied eastern Ukraine. Completely man-made and not solvable until the war ends. “Dams have been destroyed, and there is no canal: It’s just not there. You will have to build it all from scratch.” www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/w...
nytimes.com
With Canal and Dams Wrecked, a Russian-Occupied City’s Taps Run Dry
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
I got to sit down with the Tikhanovskys in Vilnius last month to talk about the future of Belarus and a stunning role reversal that his couple is now having to navigate. "I’m teaching him to be more careful about the words you say." www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/w...
nytimes.com
He Left a Belarus Prison 132 Pounds Lighter, but Just as Outspoken
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
My deep condolences to Derk's family. He was such a towering presence in Russian media - and a helping hand to many newsrooms.
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
In Russia, the war in Ukraine has claimed an unlikely casualty: mobile internet networks. Piece by me and Alina Lobzina on how Russians from big cities are getting used to navigate a life without apps, online maps and contactless pay. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/w...
nytimes.com
Russia Counters Ukrainian Drones by Turning Off Russians’ Mobile Internet
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
“It’s utterly surreal to see adult men with veritable military distinctions give reports to and grovel in front of a child.” There's a looming issue for the Kremlin that doesn't get as much attention as it deserves. My piece on succession plans for Chechnya: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/03/w...
nytimes.com
Once Russia’s Most Volatile Region, Chechnya Is Bracing for Succession
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 25/05/2025
My piece on Kaskad, an obscure Russian army unit that offers officials, pro-Kremlin youth activists and various regime "Mitläufer"s a chance to get the badge of war veteran and come back home safe and sound after a short deployment in Ukraine: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/25/w...
nytimes.com
Selfies From the Front: Inside the ‘V.I.P.’ Brigade for Ambitious Russian Officials
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
Landmark case, even by today's Russian standards: Melkonyants is Russia's preeminent election expert and co-chairman of Golos which has provided unrivaled expertise and training to elex monitors who went on to expose widespread fraud. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/w...
nytimes.com
Russia Sentences Prominent Election Expert to 5 Years in Prison
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
"You constantly have to play cat-and-mouse with the school." Grateful to the brave teachers and parents who were willing to share their experience battling propaganda at school: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/w...
nytimes.com
With Acts of Subversion, Some Russians Fight Propaganda in Schools
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Russian independent newsrooms in exile have been essential for our understanding of the Kremlin's crackdown on civil society in Russia: A lot of what we know about the closed-door trial of four journalists in Moscow is thanks to the excellent Mediazona: zona.media/online/2025/...
zona.media
Журналистов судят по делу ФБК. Приговор
Антонину Фаворскую, Сергея Карелина, Константина Габова и Артема Кригера приговорили к 5,5 годам колонии каждого
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Strong story by NYT colleagues @paulsonne.bsky.social Alina Lobzina, Milana Mazaeva on what Eastern Europe and Central Asia stand to lose if RFE/RL shuts down following Trump's executive order: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/w...
nytimes.com
Its Journalism Challenged Autocrats. Trump Wants to Silence It.
Journalists at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty who have been imprisoned for their work are dismayed by the effort to close the outlet.
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Donald Trump may very well believe Vladimir Putin's word to stick to any peace deal they might negotiate. Hundreds of thousands of Russians who fled the country in the aftermath of the invasion are not that gullible. My Sunday piece: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/06/w...
nytimes.com
Peace in Ukraine Will Not Mean a Return Home, Russian Émigrés Say
Hundreds of thousands fled Russia after the Ukraine invasion, fearing the draft and widening repression. Talks toward a possible truce have done little to allay their fears.
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
With the war in Ukraine and war-related repression expanding in Russia, it's easy to overlook a major transformation in Russia right now: thanks to a new 'extremism' designation, gay people are virtually outlawed in Russia. My piece with Alina Lobzina: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/01/w...
nytimes.com
A Prison Death Highlights Russia’s LGBTQ Crackdown
The Russian government has unleashed a wave of repression against L.G.B.T.Q. people, with the police raiding gay night clubs and investigators targeting people they suspect of being gay.
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Three years into the war and exile, Russian independent media are feeing the squeeze: The editor-in-chief of the excellent @en.zona.media is making an urgent appeal for donations - he has taken himself off the payroll to avoid more cuts. en.zona.media/article/2025...
en.zona.media
Mediazona on the brink. We need 5,000 monthly subscribers to survive
Mediazona is running out of money. We’ve had to cut staff and slash salaries. Editor-in-chief Sergey Smirnov and editor Dmitry Treshchanin will now be working without pay. If thing...
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Curious stats from Russia's Federal Treasury this morning: The federal budget last year sent some $2 billion (176 billion rubles) to Crimea in budget subsidies. Putin claimed in 2014 that the Crimean annexation would be profitable for Russia. www.rbc.ru/economics/04...
rbc.ru
Крым вышел на первое место по объему внешней поддержки бюджета
Республика Крым по итогам 2024 года заняла первое место по общему объему так называемых безвозмездных перечислений в ее бюджет — из федерального центра и других источников. По этому показателю регион ...
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Reposted by Nataliya Vasilyeva
Todd Tucker @toddntucker.com · 23/02/2025
LSE researchers have "identified more than 200 Russian court rulings to nationalize private companies since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022," for violating privatization laws, per @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/w...
nytimes.com
Emboldened Kremlin Steps Up Efforts to Seize Businesses in Russia
The legal onslaught on Moscow’s second-largest airport has been seen as part of the Kremlin’s wartime drive to seize control of key assets still in private hands.
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Three years ago today Russia launched the invasion of Ukraine that killed tens of thousands and erased entire cities from the face of the earth. 1/2
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
My story on the aftermath of the Kerch oil spill: www.nytimes.com/2025/01/26/w... "Two weeks into the new year, and four weeks after the spill, President Vladimir V. Putin acknowledged the extent of the disaster and dispatched senior officials to deal with Russia’s largest oil spill in years."
nytimes.com
A Storm, a Spill and a Disaster for the Black Sea’s Beaches
Vast stretches of Russian coast have been tarred by heavy fuel oil from two freighters that foundered in a storm.
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
This Sunday’s presidential election in Belarus couldn’t be more different from the heady days of the 2020 election campaign. My preview: www.nytimes.com/2025/01/25/w...
nytimes.com
His Opponents Sidelined, Lukashenko Is Set for a 7th Term in Belarus
President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, a close ally of Russia’s leader, Vladimir V. Putin, has been making signs of reaching out to the West. He is all but certain to win an election on Sunday.
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
This story took several weeks and over a dozen interviews to report. My deep-dive into the fascinating saga of Wildberries where a battle over a multi-billion business got mixed with a family drama: www.economist.com/1843/2025/01... For @economist.com
economist.com
The warlord, the oligarch and the unravelling of Russia’s Amazon.com
Before the Ukraine war, Wildberries was a giant of e-commerce. Now it’s caught up in a medieval blood feud
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
This is becoming a sub-genre: a public figure from the West shows up at a neighborhood store in Russia to admire the variety of goods. This time, it's Slovak politician Andrej Danko who is psyched that butter at an Auchan in Moscow costs between 1.30€ and 2,80€ www.instagram.com/p/DExgQv2qsW...
instagram.com
Login • Instagram
Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
More overtures from Lukashenko to the West. This time, they parade former presidential hopeful Viktor Babaryka who seems to look reasonably well. t.me/sprava_by/12...
t.me
SPRAVA || Роман Протасевич
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
My story on the ongoing wave of presidential pardons in Belarus in recent months. “Lukashenko has over the years shown his willingness to release his sworn enemies as long as he saw he was getting something worthy in return." www.nytimes.com/2024/12/24/w...
nytimes.com
Is a Putin Ally in Belarus Making a Cautious Overture to the West?
President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus keeps arresting political opponents, but analysts wonder if a string of unusual pardons is a bid to get sanctions eased.
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
Great digest of Russian state TV's week of turnout in the aftermath of the demise of the Syrian regime (RUS) The current propaganda line: Nothing to see here, we can do without Syria (9 years and billion of rubles worth of military involvement later) www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lr1...
youtube.com
📺 ЗОМБОЯЩИК | Переобувание года: Сирия больше не нужна! | Шаман спасает карьеру в объятьях мужчины
YouTube video by Популярная политика
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
Strong words from Alexei Gorinov, a Moscow councillor in prison for an anti-war statement, now on trial for talking against the war in prison: "As a citizen of my country I'm guilty for letting that war happen and failing to stop it. Please make a note of it in your verdict."
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Russia's Channel One said in a live broadcast earlier this morning Germany has ordered them to shut down their Berlin bureau and leave the country. No confirmation from Germany yet. Russia's foreign ministry has promised a swift response.
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Meanwhile, in Israel:
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Больно смотреть как российские СМИ освещают палестино-израильский конфликт. Последняя агитка novayagazeta.eu/articles/202...
novayagazeta.eu
В окружении стен. Репортаж из единственного в Израиле лагеря палестинских беженцев — Новая газета Европа
Иерусалим — это знаменитый город трех религий, где в непосредственной близости друг от друга сосуществуют христианство, ислам и иудаизм. Но есть и другой Иерусалим — тот, который скрыт от туристически...
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Apathy, resignation, gallows humor - and more war-mongering in Russia in the aftermath of Putin’s missile threats: www.nytimes.com/2024/11/23/w... With Valerie Hopkins
nytimes.com
With Memes and in State Media, Many Russians Cheer on Putin’s Threats
While support for Vladimir V. Putin’s threats resounded in pro-war venues, some Russians reacted with worry, gallows humor and apathy to the suggestions of striking the West and using nuclear weapons.
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
Russian media are running a press digest of Putin's missile address (citing frontpage stories in the US, Europe and Latin America) as a top story this morning: It may sound like the whole point of the nuclear threats was to generate headlines.
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Interesting to see this pithy piece mocking Russian officials for urging women to have more babies in Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russia's Kremlin-friendly tabloid, not some opposition-minded rag: www.kp.ru/daily/27663/...
kp.ru
Женщины должны рожать, пока «рожалка работает»: Депутаты и чиновники предлагают россиянам срочно начать плодиться
Депутат Госдумы Ильтяков объяснил свои слова о рожалке
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Just getting started on a Turkey list here in case helpful: bsky.app/profile/did:...
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
How the temp US embassy closure is seen from Kyiv:
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
I've just tried this migration/scanner tool and it seems to be at least partially functional: It detected 58 people for me.
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Nataliya Vasilyeva @nataliyavasilyeva.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Currently mourning my Twitter lists for Israel/Gaza and Turkey. Any hacks to move them to here? (For Russia and Ukraine, I never had one and doubt I can make one).
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