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Charles Maynes

The World

Charles is a reporter and producer based in Moscow.

Charles is a reporter and producer based in Moscow.

The monument to “Iron Felix” Dzerzhinsky, the founder and patron saint of the Soviet secret police.

In the removal of a Soviet symbol of oppression, Russians see lessons for the US

History

As debates in the US rage over the removal of Confederate and other monuments that celebrate a racist past, some in Russia have been thinking hard about how people there confront their own history. 

crew

From the USSR with love: A sailor’s 50-year-old message in a bottle makes it to Alaska

History
Shiyes police

Eco-protesters fight Moscow’s attempt to ‘trash’ Russia’s north

Protest
Two men sit at a desk and sign a paper

As landmark nuclear treaty fades, its Cold War authors ask ‘What next?’ 

Nuclear
The coat of arms of Russia is reflected in a laptop screen in this picture illustration

The trolls are winning, says Russian troll hunter

Victoria Lomasko is shown in this portrait photo with black coat standing in front of an illustrated wall.

Looking for stories of Russia beyond Putin? This artist has the answer.

Arts, Culture & Media

If you’re among those who feel press coverage of Russia has an unhealthy fascination with all things Vladimir Putin, then enter artist Victoria Lomasko’s “Other Russias” to the rescue. Lomasko is out to capture Russian stories that most of us never see.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 7, 2017.

As Trump-Putin summit looms, Russia eyes its return to global power status

How is the Kremlin viewing the upcoming summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin? It’s Russia’s symbolic return from international isolation to a global powerbroker and America needs to negotiate once more.

An activist with Reporter Without Borders, wearing a mask depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin, stands next to a giant portrait of imprisoned Russian journalist Alexei Kungurov on the Place de la Republique

Between Sochi and the World Cup, Putin built up a resistance to Western criticism over human rights

Global Politics

As Russia hosts the 2018 World Cup, it’s being condemned for many of the same human rights abuses it was criticized for in the lead-up to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. Now, President Vladimir Putin seems much more resistant to Western criticism.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends his fourth inauguration ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, May 7, 2018.

Putin’s fourth inauguration was a Russia-first extravaganza

Global Politics

Russian President Vladimir Putin was sworn in to a fourth term in office on Monday, extending his 18-year rule amid promises of continuity in foreign policy and renewed efforts toward building prosperity at home.

Silhouettes of mobile users are seen next to logos of social media apps Signal, Whatsapp and Telegram projected on a screen in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018.

Russian authorities want to ban Telegram in the country. But it’s not going as well as they had hoped.

Technology

The Russian government is moving to block the messaging app after the company refused to comply with a court order demanding access to user data. But so far, the ban hasn’t gone as smoothly as Russian authorities had hoped.