The Middle East war just dropped an unexpected financial gift on Moscow — but the real drama is unfolding inside Russia.

R.Politik Bulletin No. 6 (180) is out.

IN FOCUS
A major oil supply shock from the Iran conflict has narrowed Urals discounts and given the Kremlin short-term breathing room, helped by the temporary US waiver. Putin is treating it as temporary. The budget crisis isn’t.

Yet the domestic stories are even more striking:

• Moscow hit by sudden selective mobile blackouts where even the official whitelists failed to work, paralysing businesses, officials and daily life while testing new digital control tools.

• A prominent investor suddenly faces extremism charges and asset seizure after a bitter family dispute — a case with surprising reach into the highest levels of the hierarchy.

• The Defence Ministry is quietly recruiting university students into specialised units, creating growing tensions across the education system.

• Siberian farmers — traditionally a loyal base — are protesting serious administrative failures in veterinary services against the backdrop of sanctions, raising uncomfortable questions about political responsibility that could backfire later.

• And the most intriguing of all: well-known state propagandist Ilya Remeslo publicly turns against Putin, sparking feverish speculation about an elite split and powerful figures behind him… before quickly ending up in a psychiatric clinic.

These reports reveal the internal tensions, quiet experiments and elite dynamics you won’t see anywhere else.

The full bulletin is essential reading.