Systema is RFE/RL's Russian-language investigative unit, launched in 2023. The team conducts in-depth investigative journalism, producing high-profile reports and videos in Russian.
An RFE/RL investigation has discovered that Russian President Vladimir Putin uses three nearly identical offices in different parts of Russia and that the Kremlin has repeatedly misled the public about the leader's whereabouts.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has three nearly identical offices in different parts of the country and the Kremlin has been dishonest about his location many times in recent years, Systema, RFE/RL’s Russian investigative unit, has discovered.
Thousands of Cubans have been recruited to travel to Russia—and many have ended up fighting in Ukraine, possibly under false pretenses. A 41-year-old, multi-lingual travel agent from Russian provincial city is among those involved in a shady recruitment network, Systema found.
What do Russia’s GRU, a neo-Nazi veteran of the Ukraine war, and former far-right soccer fans have in common? They’re linked to an ongoing campaign to recruit saboteurs in the US and Europe. RFE/RL’s investigative unit Systema documents those links for the first time.
Anastasia Ignatova, stepdaughter of the head of Russian conglomerate Rostec, was the only non-actor featured in the tire company Pirelli’s annual calendar in 2017. The EU says the improbable appearance is evidence that sanctions imposed on her over the war in Ukraine should say in place.
At least five times this year, the Kremlin has published previously recorded footage of President Vladimir Putin and passed it off as fresh, RFE/RL’s Russian investigative unit has found. The giveaway: A rearrangement of the Russian constitution and other tomes in a bookcase behind Putin’s desk.
The renowned Moscow theater has always been under the watchful eye of government authorities -- including the intelligence services.
Ilya Medvedev, the son of former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, has a job at an affiliate of Rostec, the giant state industrial conglomerate that makes many of the weapons Moscow uses in its war against Ukraine, RFE/RL’s Russian investigative unit, Systema, has found.
Russian conglomerate Rostec makes many of the weapons of the war against Ukraine. Sergei Chemezov, its CEO and a Putin ally since their KGB days in East Germany, vacations with heads of Rostec subsidiaries who are his neighbors at a luxury villa complex in Dubai, an RFE/RL investigation found.
Russia is conducting “neuroprofiling” tests on 10,000 children and teenagers to identify leaders and “anti-leaders,” part of an effort to promote patriotism amid the war against Ukraine. An independent educator calls it an “attempt by the authorities to control people and influence their decisions.”
With almost a million casualties and no end to the war on Ukraine in sight, Russia is using an array of approaches to keep the flow of soldiers to the front from slowing. An RFE/RL investigation reveals details about a new recruitment system that a lawmaker said provides “expendable manpower.”
The murk surrounding the death of Russia’s transport minister – allegedly tied to the theft of border defenses -- has captured the attention of the political elites. For many, it’s not a settled fact that he killed himself. Nor is it certain he was even alive at the time of his sacking by Putin.
Once a champion of reform, Dmitry Medvedev has morphed into a wildly belligerent critic of Ukraine and the West. In Russia, the change has saved him from oblivion. It may also be a source of riches: Foundations linked to Medvedev have amassed over $1 billion during the full-scale war, Systema found.
Edward Snowden, the former US National Security Agency whistleblower who has lived in Russia since his revelations rocked the US intelligence community in 2013, has a taxpayer identification number, Systema, RFE/RL’s Russian investigative unit found.
The Council of the European Union has prepared a new sanctions regulation that, for the first time, formally accuses Russia of using CS gas as a method of warfare on the front lines in Ukraine.
The Russian military intelligence agency oversaw the recruitment of prisoners into assault units known as “Storm Z”. It also funded the units and collected of information about casualties, RFE/RL's Systema reports in the documentary "The Slaughter Of Ghosts: How Russian Prisoners Fight In Ukraine."
Despite laws banning discriminatory hiring practices, Russian state entities are advertising jobs with the requirement that applicants be of “Slavic appearance,” an RFE/RL investigation has found.
A series of violent clashes in Syria points to both the lingering Russian and Iranian presence in the country, as well as the extreme risks to civilians. Through interviews and analysis of open-source data, RFE/RL can give a clearer picture of what's happening inside Syria.
Despite Western bans on exports to Russia, vehicles costing hundreds of thousands of dollars are still readily available to the super-rich. Is an agency responsible for guarding top-level officials involved in the trade?
A burgeoning market for Kyrgyz passports has sprouted in Russia, offering greater travel and other freedoms amid international sanctions and domestic repressions since President Vladimir Putin launched all-out war on Ukraine. Not everyone in the Central Asian nation is happy about it.
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