Kremlin-Supported Fantasy Novel Posits a World in Which Top Leaders have Been Killed, Putin is Recovering from Wounds, and Moscow has Reassembled the Empire

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 20 – Taking advantage of widespread Russian interest in fantasy novels about the future, the Kremlin has supported some with prizes and other kinds of backing to ensure that its preferred image of “a bright future” for Russia reaches a large audience, according to Anastasiya Zhigulina.

            The Bumaga journalist says that instead of simply taking books off shelves by means of censorship, the Russian authorities are sponsoring books about the war and the future, the kind of fantasies that polls suggest as many as a third of all Russians currently want to read (paperpaper.io/z-fantastika-kak-obraz-svetlogo-budush/).

            Zhigulina gives a number of examples of such books. Perhaps the most intriguing is one by Moscow IT specialist Olga Uskova entitled The Studies of Cherny. It centers on the fallout from a terrorist act that kills the leaders of the Big Seven who are replaced by underlings. In it, Putin is recovering from his injuries.

            But working with artificial intelligence, and and his government succeed in forcing other countries to replace leaders hostile to Russia with others who want to cooperate with it. That, Uskova says, allows Moscow to fight those with an LGBT agenda and lead a war against opponents of Christianity. Uskova says she sold 50,000 copies in four months.

Almost equally interesting is a second called The Church that Vrubel Painted by Kaluga writer Timur Suvorkin who last year won a major prize (300,000 rubles) in a competition Moscow supported in which novelists were asked to describe Russia 20 to 25 years from now. His novel also begins with the victory of Russia over Ukraine and the formation of a new Union of Fraternal Peoples on the model of the former Soviet Union.

Commenting on these and other such political fantasies, Zhigulina says that Russians really are interested in fantasy literature but not in this particular kind. Many Russians in fact say they can see right through such fiction and aren’t prepared to allow themselves to be led by the nose through it.

Ethnic and Regional Identities in Sakha Intensifying among Ethnic Sakha and Ethnic Russians Living in That Republic, Sociological Survey Shows

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 20 – The Moscow Institute of Sociology posted on its Facebook page yesterday a summary of an article that appeared in its journal last year showing that ethnic and regional identities are on the rise in Sakha among both ethnic Sakha and ethnic Russians and that both groups favor greater autonomy from Moscow.

            Ekaterina Arutyunova’s article, “Ethnicity and regionality in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia): the significance and content of identities under external pressure” [in Russian], Vestnik instituta sotsiologii, 16: 1 (2025): pp. 13-29, is summarized on Facebook at facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0ekV6xf5GJNm4nYgXspCzaN3oKrTfnFYpkKsEZKaokk8KXauJKNqBgJccKFGfSnVXl&id=100064692787010. The full text is available at vestnik-isras.ru/files/File/Vestnik_2025_52/Arutyunova_13-29.pdf.

            Both the decision of the Institute to post information now about this article by one of its senior researchers and the findings Aryutyunova are important, suggesting that the ethnicization and regionalization of identities in Sakha and likely elsewhere in the Russian Federation are intensifying and that the Institute wants her work to gain more attention.

            Those with an interest in these topics should go back to the original article; but the summary the Institute has posted on Facebook now is fair and merits reporting as an indication of what that Academy of Sciences body is thinking and wants others to pay attention to at the present time.

            The summary of the article suggests that “the ethnic identity of the Sakha people (ethnic Yakuts) remains consistently high and subjectively significant” and that “among Russian Yakuts its level is rising as well.” For both groups, the most important component of identity is native language.”

            The article specifies that religion is an increasingly important component of ethnic identity in Sakha and notes that for ethnic Russians there, “the statehood and history” they share with ethnic Russians across the country is “significantly important,” not surprising given the intertwining of ethnic and civic identities for that group.

            According to Aryutyinova, “regional and local identities are also very significant for ethnic Yakuts;” and she adds that “high level of regional identity” was also part of the identity of ethnic Russians living in the republic.  Both Sakha and ethnic Russians say they believe that “all citizens of Russia should have equal rights.”

            But, the summary notes, “more than a third of the Sakha agree with the position that "representatives of the indigenous nationality should have more rights in their national republic than representatives of other nationalities." That position could lead to unequal treatment, but the article suggests it may reflect fears of losing their ethnic identity.

            Both groups overwhelmingly believe that “it would be good for the peoples of the republics to have more independence;” but at the same time, both say that “it is important to prevent the growth of influence of outside actors hostile to Russia” who are exploiting “the so-called anti-colonialist and anti-imperial agenda” of some.

Gas Crisis Forcing Many Russians to Turn to Problem-Plagued Public Transport

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 20 – Not surprisingly, Russians who are unable to get gas for their cars are turning to public transportation, only to discover that that system on which they generally had to rely is suffering from serious problems and that these problems which they had ignored because of their cars have seriously intensified since Putin launched his expanded war in Ukraine.

            That is the conclusion of an Important Stories investigation written up by the portal’s journalist Rina Nikolayeva who says there do not appear to be any quick fixes and that Russians without gas are often without bus service as well (istories.media/news/2026/07/20/v-35-regionakh-rossii-podnyali-tseni-na-proezd-ili-sokratili-marshruti/).

            In 25 federal subjects, she writes, public transportation operators, both private and governmental, have raised prices since the gas crisis began, a natural response given that they are having to pay more for fuel as well; and in 10 more regions and republics, these services have reduced the number of routes and the frequency of buses.

            “Public transport,” Nikolayeva continues, “can work normally only when the local authorities treat it as a vital infrastructure like sewage or water supply and allocate enough funds from the budget for its development and operation.” But a present, “the level of underfunding is catastrophic.” And Russians are increasing left with no transportation options.

            The gas shortage crisis is only one of the reasons for this, the Important Stories journalist says. There is also a serious shortage in the number of drivers, many of whom left that service to fight in Ukraine given the large bonuses the state offered for those who volunteered to do so. But as a result, there simply are no drivers for many buses.

            This isn’t a headline-grabbing kind of development, but it almost certainly plays a role in the rising anger Russians now feel about their situation and the declining approval they are giving to Vladimir Putin, the person whose policies including the expanded war in Ukraine is behind it.

Scholars in the Russian Far East Say They have Developed a Bio-Cement to Help Build and Maintain Roads and Other Infrastructure in the Far North

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 20 – In what could be a game changer for Russia and other countries seeking to build and maintain roads and other infrastructure in areas where permafrost is now melting, scholars at the Institute of World Oceans at the Far Eastern Federal University say they have developed a bio-cement that will allow roads and buildings to melting and refreezing.

            Reporting this development, Yulia Fursova of the Siberian Economist says that “building in the Arctic has always been a challenge. The soil constantly changes properties due to cyclical freezing and thawing which leads to the deformation of roads, buildings and pipelines (sibmix.com/?doc=22093).

            “Traditional methods of strengthening require the importation of large volumes of cement or chemical reagents,” steps that Fursova points out are not only “expensive” but “unsafe for the fragile nature of the Arctic.” Now, specialists at the Far Eastern Federal University have come up with an alternative approach one based on bacteria.

            Researchers there “isolated bacteria from coastal soils, capable of producing an enzyme that triggers a chemical reaction. When these microorganisms are added to the ground … they begin to produce calcium carbonate … and tiny calcite crystals fill the voids between the grains of sand and glue them, turning loose soil into a stone-like structure.”

“Unlike chemical reagents and cement, bacteria work gently and do not pollute the environment. Moreover, the process of bio-cement itself is involved in the binding of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere - just as it happens in nature in the formation of limestone rocks,” one of the researchers involved says.

            The developers say that the application of this technology is not limited to roads but can be used in dams, pipelines and other infrastructure elements. And they say that now they have completed laboratory research, they are ready for tests in the field. If these tests succeed, it could transform construction tasks in the north.

If Northern Caspian Disappears, Russia will Lose Its Caspian Flotilla and Much Else Besides, Mammadov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 20 – The northern segment of the Caspian is historically and geologically much shallower than the southern part, Rauf Mammadov says; and if as some environmental experts suggest the northern part will disappear and the southern silt up in the coming decades, Russia will lose a lot, beginning with its Caspian Flotilla and the bases that force uses.

            The Azerbaijani environmental expert who now works in Europe and the US says that such predictions about the future of the Caspian sea may be hyperbolic; but they call into question the insistence of Russian experts that Moscow should keep the water of the Volga rather than allow it to help keep the Caspian alive (caliber.az/post/ischeznet-li-kaspij).

            “If the five Caspian littoral states wish to preserve the Caspian Sea, they must act in concert, he says, suggesting that “this is especially true for Russia, given that the Volga River accounts for 85% of the water flowing into the Caspian." Unfortunately, many Russian officials and analysts say that Moscow can ignore the interests of the other states.

            It is true that Russia may benefit in the short term by taking more water out of the Volga and thus putting the Caspian at ever greater risk, the Azerbaijani environmental expert says; but over all, the shrinking of the Caspian will have a series of negative consequences no Russia should want to see happen.

            Falling water levels of the Caspian, Mammadov says, “will lead to a sharp decline in Russia’s maritime trade with other Caspian nations, potentially leading to the collapse of the Russian merchant fleet” and beyond any question harming the Russian fishing industry on that body of water.

            Moreover, he continues, the drying up of the Caspian will have “severe environmental implications for “the entire south of Russia,” with areas “as far as Voronezh and Volgograd and perhaps even further experiencing significantly higher temperatures” and an infestation of pests.

            In addition, Mammadov says, there will be the impact of sandstorms arising from the dried-up former seabed as well as the ecological and economic degradation affection entire coastal regions and cities, including Astrakhan, Kalmykia, Makhachkala, Derbent and all of Dagestan.”

            And at the same time, he points out, “Russia’s traditional Caspian Flotilla bases would disappear; building new ones would be costly, and there would simply be no suitable locations left for them.” Together with the other changes, “ Southern Russia would also suffer the consequences of internal migration.”

Moscow Patriarchate Asks Faithful to Pray for Defense of Russian-Occupied Crimea and for Protecting Russia against Internal Conflicts

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 18 – Reflecting the concern of many in Moscow over Ukraine’s recent military successes, the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church has asked its parishioners to pray for Russians defending occupied Crimea from “visible and invisible adversaries.”

            The prayer asks that the Mother of God ensure “an Orthodox presence in Crimea’ and grant “victory from heaven” and goes on to ask St. Fyodor Ushakov, identified in the prayer as the patron saint of the Russian navy and Sevastopol to intercede to ensure Russian control of the Ukrainian peninsula (ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/07/18/pobedi-navidimiya-inevidimiya-supostati-daruyai-sinod-rpts-utverdil-molitvu-vzaschitu-krima-a201174).

            The new prayer, approved at the latest meeting of the church’s Holy Synod, continues with a request for divine intervention to help the Russian military “in its defense of the Fatherland” and heavenly assistance to ensure that Russia itself will be “shielded from the invasion of foreign foes and internecine strife.”

            Such a prayer is likely intended to mobilize Russians in support of the war; but it is certain to raise concerns among Russians about just how serious the problems Moscow now faces in prosecuting the Putin’s war in Ukraine and even how much at risk Russia itself is because of its invasion of Ukraine.

            As a result, the Kremlin is certain to be anything but thrilled but this latest Patriarchal effort to show its loyalty, one that may backfire and reduce the loyalty of Russians to the author of this war and its illegal occupation of Ukraine’s Crimea and his policies in their own country that are already losing support.

Russia’s Regional Media Largely Continue to Operate Below Moscow’s Radar Screen, Kharatyan Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 18 – Most media outlets still open in the Russian capital operate under the close supervision of the Russian authorities, but those at the regional level in many cases continue to operate below Moscow’s radar screen largely because they do not make attempts to “independently cover” federal issues, Kirill Kharatyan says.

            “By focusing on local issues,” the media specialist at The Moscow Times says, “they aim to earn the trust of readers and satisfy the demand for objective local information, a need central publications by definition cannot meet” (ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/07/18/media-v-emigratsii-i-v-rossii-adaptatsiya-k-realnosti-vo-vremya-voini-a201173).

            Such media, he continues, “often function without registering as a legal entity or obtaining a formal media license. Frequently, they do not even register their telegram channels with the Moscow authorities. In this way, they strive to attract as little attention as possible from federal officials and politicians.

            In addition, these “outlets often enjoy the support of a loya and active readership that contributes in various ways, including financially;” and they often are provided with leads by readers. Their relationships with local elites are “unique.” Some regional elites are even supportive because they see such media as useful to themselves.

            But what is critical is that “most regional and local authorities turn a blind eye to the activities of regional media.” Whether this will continue is very much an open question; but as of now, regional outlets do provide the kind of news most central ones don’t, including on occasion coverage of issues that Moscow doesn’t allow Moscow outlets to produce.