The Gatchina District Court has resumed hearings in the case of Dmitry Bogmut, a technician at the Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute named after B.P. Konstantinov (part of the Kurchatov Institute). After the onset of the war in Ukraine, Bogmut posted anti-war videos in a private thread on a forum with only a dozen users. He has been held in a pre-trial detention center for a year and a half and faces up to ten years in prison. Court hearings are regularly attended by a crowd of men in camouflage, seemingly organized as “extras”, identified as “Donbas volunteers.” Meanwhile, the names of activists supporting Bogmut have been publicly disclosed by state news agencies, leading to threats against them.

The push to have the International Baccalaureate (IB) designated as an “undesirable organization” was orchestrated by Anna Kuznetsova, Deputy Speaker of the State Duma (Russia’s lower house of parliament), and, likely, the family of Konstantin Malofeev and Maria Lvova-Belova. It was Kuznetsova who requested for inspections of IB schools by prosecutors and the education oversight authority Rosobrnadzor, leading to administrative cases against teachers and administrators. The “monarchist-patriotic faction” convinced the enforcement agencies that IB schools foster “global citizens” and “emphasize the protection of LGBTQ+ rights.” Within a day, most schools erased any mention of IB and submitted statements to withdraw from the organization.

Following the invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of Western brands exited Russia. Over the past three-plus years, amid official rhetoric about import substitution, a parallel logistics system has taken shape — one that keeps Russian store shelves stocked with foreign goods and supplies drones and other military equipment with critical components. As the country adapts to a long-term life under sanctions, this parallel economy demands new expertise. Russian universities and other players in the education market have ramped up the production of specialists trained in the fine art of sanctions circumvention.

On July 11, the Pereslavl District Court announced the verdict for Sergei Abramov, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). The court found the scientist guilty of funding extremist activities (Part 1, Article 282.3 of the Russian Criminal Code) and imposed a fine of 150,000 rubles (approximately $1,500). The charges stemmed from seven donations totaling 7,000 rubles (~$70) to the FBK (the transliterated Russian acronym for Fond Borby s Korruptsiyey — the Anti-Corruption Foundation founded by Alexey Navalny). While the legal ordeal has concluded, Abramov’s return to an active professional life remains a distant prospect. In an interview with T-invariant prior to the verdict, Sergei Abramov described how his presence on the “extremists and terrorists” list has led to what he calls, if not a “civil death,” then severe civil disability.