Otter pelts, Orthodox priests and a $7.2m bargain: how Russia sold Alaska to the US

Wat een prachtige column van @pjotrsauer.bsky.social over zijn vader, Derk Sauer.

Heel veel sterkte voor je moeder, je broers en jou en iedereen die Derk in diens hart draagt ✨

www.parool.nl/columns-opin...

Och Derk!
Zo’n begeesterd mens, zo’n lieve man. Ik maakte hem mee in het bestuur van IDFA, en vooral toen hij na de inval in Oekraine gedwongen werd hier weer een bestaan op te bouwen. Hij verloor zijn liefde voor Rusland nooit. Maar meer nog hield hij van het vrije woord en van rechtvaardigheid.

Outstanding reporting by @pjotrsauer.bsky.social and @shaunwalker7.bsky.social on the Russian plot to blow up European airliners etc using bombs in parcels and sex toys.

The executors of the scheme were common criminals, exactly what MI5 head Ken McCallum warned of last year.

Greyzone aggression.

We obtained what a source involved in the scheme described as a photograph of the order before dispatch. The image shows four massage pillows, along with cosmetic tubes and sex toys, laid out on a mattress. The items were believed to be improvised explosive devices.

NEW: Our exclusive deep dive into a suspected Russian-led cell behind the parcel bomb plots with the first interviews with those directly involved, revealing how the sabotage campaign unfolded on the ground With @shaunwalker7.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

In a sign of deepening ties, North Korea is now treating Russia’s wounded soldiers. I spoke to one who expected a Black Sea sanatorium but ended up on North Korea's east coast
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

“Putin remained patient and didn’t bend. Instead, he waited for the world to change around him.” My piece on the Trump-Putin phone call, which has sparked unmistakable glee in Moscow
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

‘Many teachers don’t want to do this, but they’re trapped’: film shows extent of Putin indoctrination in Russian schools by @pjotrsauer.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

“If they [Russia] can secure their bases and reach an agreement with Turkey, they could be reasonably satisfied [...]It all depends on whether Erdogan can really control” the rebels, notes RUSI's Antonio Giustozzi to @nytimes.com.

A vibe shift in Moscow. As key Russian military bases in Syria come under threat, the Kremlin is changing its tune. Russian officials are now actively pursuing a flurry of diplomatic efforts with rebels they had branded as terrorists just days earlier.
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...

First Bluesky post...

Spent some time, with @pjotrsauer.bsky.social speaking to people in Kyiv, Moscow and Washington about Trump's plans for peace and how "negotiations" might look: www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...

New: Seizure of Aleppo threatens Moscow’s foothold in Syria – and the wider region
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...

We always eschewed op-eds, thinking that our reporting speaks for itself, and Mediazona’s very existence, opposed to all forms of power abuse—from local violations to war—is statement enough. If you value real journalism from and about Russia, keep reading: en.zona.media

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welcome, @pjotrsauer.bsky.social !!