After the war began, memorial plaques bearing the names of victims of repression started being torn down far more often than before. The Last Address project didn’t have the resources to keep up with the vandalism. A group of activists stepped in: they began making temporary cardboard plaques and set out to track down those responsible.

After February 24, 2022, Russian authorities began tightening reproductive policies. In several regions, access to abortion on request has become nearly impossible, forcing women to travel across the country. Pressure on medical professionals is increasing: bureaucracy is intensifying, pro-life organizations are inspecting hospitals, access to emergency contraception is being restricted, and overt propaganda is appearing in medical institutions. At the same time, the state encourages early pregnancies, promising financial support to pregnant schoolgirls and students. These developments are interpreted in different ways: some see them as a de facto restriction on abortion, others as local excesses, while some call for even stricter measures and a complete ban. Journalist, editor, and feminist activist Anastasia Polozkova, who has lived in Istanbul for several years, sets out to investigate what is happening. Geographical distance allows her to view the situation from the outside, but also raises the question of whether emigration affects the expertise of those who have left and the reliability of their perspectives. Over the course of a single day, she speaks with activists and researchers both in Russia and in exile, as well as with Turkish and Kurdish feminists, comparing practices of control over women’s bodies across different contexts. The film by the independent studio raz/rez documents Anastasia’s attempt to answer key questions by analyzing the perspectives of pro-life and pro-choice activists, doctors, officials, and researchers: will abortion in Russia be banned de jure or de facto? Can the decision to have or not have children still be considered a real choice? And how does this decision become a political act?

Since 2020, the organizers of “Returning the Names” have increasingly faced refusals to hold the memorial action. In Moscow, the central readings are effectively banned — formally due to ongoing COVID restrictions. In 2022, Russia’s Supreme Court ordered the final liquidation of Memorial International. Amid growing state pressure on initiatives dealing with historical memory, and the practical impossibility of mass gatherings, activists are searching for new ways to hold the event legally. “Returning the Names” is an annual commemorative action during which participants read aloud the names of those executed during the Great Terror. Since 2007, on the eve of the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repression, thousands of people have taken part across Russia and abroad. In Moscow, participants traditionally gather at the Solovetsky Stone on Lubyanka Square, opposite the building that has housed the state security services for over a century. This year, in Moscow — where access to Lubyanka has for several years been limited largely to foreign diplomats — the readings take place on different days and in various locations: during historical walking tours or in forests at mass graves of the repressed. Despite minimal publicity, fear, anxiety, and the risk of prosecution, dozens of residents continue to take part, and their number is slowly but steadily growing each year. Documentarians from the independent studio raz/rez present a chronicle of the 2025 “Returning the Names” action in Moscow.

In December 2024, one of the largest environmental disasters in the region’s history occurred. After the sinking of the tankers *Volgoneft*, the coastline from the Kerch Strait to Anapa was covered with a toxic film, causing massive bird deaths. Authorities were unable to manage the situation. The tankers and at least 5,000 tons of fuel oil still remain in the water, continuing to pollute the coast and surrounding waters. At the beginning of this summer, EMERCOM forces shifted toward Anapa, leaving 30 kilometers of coastline—from the strait to the Bugaz Spit—in the hands of just 13 volunteers.

In the village of Ilkino near Murom, local residents report that there are almost no men of draft age left—they have all been mobilized. The men have been at the front for a year and a half, with no plans for their return. Now, all aspects of daily life depend on the women.

Buryatia has become the first region to legalize the killing of stray animals. This documentary follows the efforts of animal rights activists who save these animals by registering them in their own names and sending them to other regions of Russia. However, Buryatia is not the only region to adopt such measures. Last July, Vladimir Putin signed a law granting local authorities the right to decide how to control stray dog populations. Unclaimed dogs are returned from shelters to temporary holding facilities (depending on capacity), where they are 'euthanized by humane methods.'

On March 1, Alexei Navalny's funeral took place in Moscow, with thousands gathering to bid farewell to the politician. The day before, Moscow police erected metal fence corridors in the Maryino district and deployed hundreds of security forces and paddy wagons. The funeral service, held at the Church of the 'Assuage My Sorrows' icon, lasted less than 20 minutes. Only family members were permitted to approach the coffin. After the body was lowered into the ground, police allowed the public to say their final goodbyes to the opposition leader. Lines leading to the church and Borisovskoye Cemetery stretched for several hundred meters, and participants in the farewell procession walked through Maryino, chanting slogans such as 'Freedom for political prisoners,' 'No to war,' and 'Navalny is a hero of Russia.' Mediazona accompanied the crowd along the entire route.

In 2014-2015, Andrey Kurshin fought against Ukraine on the side of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic under the call sign "Moscow." Over time, he adopted a more moderate position, and after February 24, 2022, he began criticizing the Ministry of Defense and the actions of the Russian army, including for the civilian casualties. Kurshin wrote about the war on his Telegram channel, Moscow Calling. His posts caused a strong backlash in pro-Z channels, and he faced denunciations and threats of physical harm. On August 31, 2023, Kurshin was detained at Moscow's Leningradsky railway station, accused of spreading "fake news" about the Russian army. On August 7, a court in Moscow sentenced Kurshin to 6.5 years in a general-regime penal colony. After the sentencing, when he was already in custody, Kurshin told journalists that he was now "considering the possibility" of returning to the front if he could find a "suitable position" aligned with his experience. In its documentary, Mediazona recounts the story of Andrey Kurshin, who spent half of the last year and a half under house arrest.

After three teenagers died of an overdose, artist and activist Katrin Nenasheva organized a self-help group called "Teens and Cats". In it, teenagers share their difficulties and support each other. Initially, at the meetings of the group, they talked about how to cope with drug addiction, later to this was added a discussion of mental illnesses, bullying, violence, selfharma.

A young entrepreneur, Ilya, is trying to launch the production of inexpensive but high-quality coffins and establish a legal client-oriented approach in his small funeral company in the Kaluga region, despite the corruption and criminality of this market area.

The life of the heroes goes on as usual until they receive a message: “Attention! Volunteers needed!" Wherever Liza Alert volunteers are, they go in search, especially when the life of a lost child depends on it. The film, created by students of the Moscow Film School in 360 format, takes the viewer to the center of the events of the search operation, showing the path that each of the characters goes through to achieve one important task, so that everyone else receives the message “Found. Alive!".