Kevin Rothrock
@kevinrothrock.me
Russia watcher supreme. @meduza.io English-language managing editor. Ugly American based in Portland, Oregon. Signal: @KevinRothrock.01 / Find all my junk here: https://linktr.ee/kevinrothrock
is it just me or is Stranger Things not very fun anymore
November 27, 2025 at 6:47 AM
is it just me or is Stranger Things not very fun anymore
In today's newsletter — the final one I'm writing before turkeys everywhere run for their lives — I look at a recent report on 3D-printing farms sprouting up in St. Petersburg that are possibly serving as a makeshift production line for the Russian military's trinket needs. meduza.io/en/brief/202...
This was Russia today Wednesday, November 26, 2025 — Meduza
meduza.io
November 27, 2025 at 12:48 AM
In today's newsletter — the final one I'm writing before turkeys everywhere run for their lives — I look at a recent report on 3D-printing farms sprouting up in St. Petersburg that are possibly serving as a makeshift production line for the Russian military's trinket needs. meduza.io/en/brief/202...
The West wants Russia to return to the 1990s, and Russia wants NATO to return to the 1990s. Truly everyone loves that decade.
November 27, 2025 at 12:01 AM
The West wants Russia to return to the 1990s, and Russia wants NATO to return to the 1990s. Truly everyone loves that decade.
Can some native speakers weigh in on these bits in the Dmitriev–Ushakov transcript? Bloomberg describes this as "the original Russian included for reference," but some of the phrasing here sounds unnatural and clunky in Russian, like it was translated from English.
November 26, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Can some native speakers weigh in on these bits in the Dmitriev–Ushakov transcript? Bloomberg describes this as "the original Russian included for reference," but some of the phrasing here sounds unnatural and clunky in Russian, like it was translated from English.
whenever i hear Hendrix’s superior cover of All Along the Watchtower (sorry, Dylanites), my first thought is to rage about how Battlestar Galactica used that wretched arrangement in season 3
November 26, 2025 at 10:35 PM
whenever i hear Hendrix’s superior cover of All Along the Watchtower (sorry, Dylanites), my first thought is to rage about how Battlestar Galactica used that wretched arrangement in season 3
cool, trump is bloviating about honduras and using the same "democracy is at stake" election rhetoric that the democrats employed so effectively against him in 2024
November 26, 2025 at 10:12 PM
cool, trump is bloviating about honduras and using the same "democracy is at stake" election rhetoric that the democrats employed so effectively against him in 2024
If this is the "real story," I declare this story to be extremely boring. Would not buy a ticket. Would not even stream at home. Not on an airplane. Not even on the toilet.
November 26, 2025 at 9:58 PM
If this is the "real story," I declare this story to be extremely boring. Would not buy a ticket. Would not even stream at home. Not on an airplane. Not even on the toilet.
Excellent stuff here from Tatiana Stanovaya. x.com/Stanovaya/st...
November 26, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Excellent stuff here from Tatiana Stanovaya. x.com/Stanovaya/st...
songs to needle-drop for various apocalypses:
*aliens arrive, death-ray charging: norman greenbaum, spirit in the sky
*doomsday machine triggered: vera lynn, we'll meet again
*zombies at the door: the specials, ghost town
*life turns out to be a simulation: beach boys, good vibrations
*aliens arrive, death-ray charging: norman greenbaum, spirit in the sky
*doomsday machine triggered: vera lynn, we'll meet again
*zombies at the door: the specials, ghost town
*life turns out to be a simulation: beach boys, good vibrations
November 26, 2025 at 5:34 PM
songs to needle-drop for various apocalypses:
*aliens arrive, death-ray charging: norman greenbaum, spirit in the sky
*doomsday machine triggered: vera lynn, we'll meet again
*zombies at the door: the specials, ghost town
*life turns out to be a simulation: beach boys, good vibrations
*aliens arrive, death-ray charging: norman greenbaum, spirit in the sky
*doomsday machine triggered: vera lynn, we'll meet again
*zombies at the door: the specials, ghost town
*life turns out to be a simulation: beach boys, good vibrations
name a 90s action movie with a better opening 90 seconds than Die Hard: With a Vengeance. that Lovin' Spoonful to explosion cut is an all-time favorite.
November 26, 2025 at 4:48 PM
name a 90s action movie with a better opening 90 seconds than Die Hard: With a Vengeance. that Lovin' Spoonful to explosion cut is an all-time favorite.
oh, little pigeon, we have laid eggs inside of your brain! you are no longer in control! we control you, and you are under our power! we know everything, little bird meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Russian neurotechnology company says it can steer pigeon flocks with implanted brain chips — Meduza
The Russian neurotechnology company Neiry claims to have begun field testing a flock of pigeons with chips implanted in their brains, allowing researchers to steer the birds from the laboratory into t...
meduza.io
November 26, 2025 at 4:40 PM
oh, little pigeon, we have laid eggs inside of your brain! you are no longer in control! we control you, and you are under our power! we know everything, little bird meduza.io/en/feature/2...
New state survey shows 66% of Kyiv schoolchildren speak Russian in class, & 82% do so during breaks. 1/4 Kyiv teachers uses Russian during lessons, & 40% switch to it during breaks. Nationwide, Ukrainian usage among Ukrainian children *fell* from 55% in 2023 to 49% in 2024.
November 26, 2025 at 3:52 PM
New state survey shows 66% of Kyiv schoolchildren speak Russian in class, & 82% do so during breaks. 1/4 Kyiv teachers uses Russian during lessons, & 40% switch to it during breaks. Nationwide, Ukrainian usage among Ukrainian children *fell* from 55% in 2023 to 49% in 2024.
poor rubio, surrounded on all sides
November 26, 2025 at 3:51 PM
poor rubio, surrounded on all sides
A Russian neurotechnology company claims to have created “remote-controlled pigeons” by implanting “neural interfaces” into their heads to guide their flight paths. In other words, they strapped solar panels to the birds’ backs and used electric shocks to their brains for steering.
В Москве испытали в полете голубей-биодронов с нейроинтерфейсами российской Neiry
Российская Neiry провела полеты-испытания первой стаи голубей-биодронов, в мозг которых имплантированы нейроинтерфейсы. От обычных дронов они отличаются длительным временем работы и дистанцией примене...
www.forbes.ru
November 26, 2025 at 3:10 PM
A Russian neurotechnology company claims to have created “remote-controlled pigeons” by implanting “neural interfaces” into their heads to guide their flight paths. In other words, they strapped solar panels to the birds’ backs and used electric shocks to their brains for steering.
Rustem Umerov, Zelensky's chief national security adviser, was questioned yesterday by NABU, Ukraine's anti-corruption bureau, in connection with the money laundering office at the heart of the Energoatom scandal. NABU's director has vowed to keep investigating despite "geopolitical issues."
Умеров дал показания НАБУ по "делу Миндича"
Секретаря Совета национальной безопасности и обороны Рустема Умерова опросили в Национальном антикоррупционном бюро в качестве свидетеля по делу о бэк-офисе, организованном Тимуром Миндичем.
www.pravda.com.ua
November 26, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Rustem Umerov, Zelensky's chief national security adviser, was questioned yesterday by NABU, Ukraine's anti-corruption bureau, in connection with the money laundering office at the heart of the Energoatom scandal. NABU's director has vowed to keep investigating despite "geopolitical issues."
there is no work more noble, more principled, and more pointless than the French and British task forces tasked with mapping out boots-on-the-ground plans for Ukraine that will never, ever, in a million years, happen
November 26, 2025 at 2:54 PM
there is no work more noble, more principled, and more pointless than the French and British task forces tasked with mapping out boots-on-the-ground plans for Ukraine that will never, ever, in a million years, happen
man I can't wait to peace out for Thanksgiving and leave the diplomacy mess for Monday morning toilet reading
November 26, 2025 at 2:26 PM
man I can't wait to peace out for Thanksgiving and leave the diplomacy mess for Monday morning toilet reading
Reposted by Kevin Rothrock
In today's newsletter, I look at Mediazona's publication of testimony from an accused “Ukrainian terrorist” who says his Russian captors subjected him to horrific torture for two months in a basement. He says women and even an 11-year-old boy were among his cellmates. meduza.io/en/brief/202...
This was Russia today Tuesday, November 25, 2025 — Meduza
meduza.io
November 26, 2025 at 7:31 AM
In today's newsletter, I look at Mediazona's publication of testimony from an accused “Ukrainian terrorist” who says his Russian captors subjected him to horrific torture for two months in a basement. He says women and even an 11-year-old boy were among his cellmates. meduza.io/en/brief/202...
In today's newsletter, I look at Mediazona's publication of testimony from an accused “Ukrainian terrorist” who says his Russian captors subjected him to horrific torture for two months in a basement. He says women and even an 11-year-old boy were among his cellmates. meduza.io/en/brief/202...
This was Russia today Tuesday, November 25, 2025 — Meduza
meduza.io
November 26, 2025 at 7:31 AM
In today's newsletter, I look at Mediazona's publication of testimony from an accused “Ukrainian terrorist” who says his Russian captors subjected him to horrific torture for two months in a basement. He says women and even an 11-year-old boy were among his cellmates. meduza.io/en/brief/202...
either there is only one photo of Dan Driscoll or he can make only one facial expression. one of these things must be true, or i am going insane.
November 26, 2025 at 6:06 AM
either there is only one photo of Dan Driscoll or he can make only one facial expression. one of these things must be true, or i am going insane.
"Joe Pera Reads You the Church Announcements" (the Baba O’Riley episode) and "Joe Pera Talks With You About the Weekly Trip to the Grocery Store" are two of the greatest moments in American television history, and I will rewatch them on repeat until the day I die.
November 26, 2025 at 6:01 AM
"Joe Pera Reads You the Church Announcements" (the Baba O’Riley episode) and "Joe Pera Talks With You About the Weekly Trip to the Grocery Store" are two of the greatest moments in American television history, and I will rewatch them on repeat until the day I die.
In a meeting with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv last week, U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll delivered a grim assessment: their troops face a dire situation on the battlefield and will suffer an imminent defeat against Russian forces, who can "fight on indefinitely." www.nbcnews.com/politics/whi...
U.S. Army secretary warned Ukraine of imminent defeat while pushing initial peace plan
The meeting last week was just the latest example of a long-running rift inside the Trump administration over how to end the war in Ukraine.
www.nbcnews.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:34 AM
In a meeting with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv last week, U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll delivered a grim assessment: their troops face a dire situation on the battlefield and will suffer an imminent defeat against Russian forces, who can "fight on indefinitely." www.nbcnews.com/politics/whi...
This is the United States of James Carter. I'm the president, I'm the emperor, I'm the king. I'm Michael Jackson, you Tito. Your ass belongs to me.
November 25, 2025 at 11:39 PM
This is the United States of James Carter. I'm the president, I'm the emperor, I'm the king. I'm Michael Jackson, you Tito. Your ass belongs to me.
A couple of weeks ago, amid a bonkers corruption scandal, it seemed that Zelensky would be forced to make major concessions in domestic politics, and then maybe in the war itself. So far, however, that ain't happened. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Why hasn’t the biggest corruption scandal of Zelensky’s presidency forced him into political or diplomatic concessions? — Meduza
Earlier this month, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) uncovered an embezzlement scheme at Energoatom, the state-owned operator of the country’s nuclear power plants. It is the most seri...
meduza.io
November 25, 2025 at 11:31 PM
A couple of weeks ago, amid a bonkers corruption scandal, it seemed that Zelensky would be forced to make major concessions in domestic politics, and then maybe in the war itself. So far, however, that ain't happened. meduza.io/en/feature/2...