Anna Artemyeva

15 years ago, our colleague, journalist Anna Politkovskaya, was killed. Today, for the first time, we are telling the whole story of the investigation that we have been conducting all these years.

By the beginning of the war in Chechnya, the legendary Major Izmailov worked in the military registration and enlistment office of the city of Zhukovsky. Having buried the first conscript who died during the storming of Grozny, he refused to send 18-year-old children to death and went to Chechnya himself to take out the prisoners. And he freed at least 174 people. The film uses a rare chronicle of the Chechen wars from the private archives of mothers who were looking for their sons in Chechnya, as well as negotiating officers from the working group on the exchange of prisoners. For the first time, the heroes of the film tell in detail what they had to go to to free people from captivity on both sides.

Russian media frequently highlights pardoned prisoners, emphasizing how they "atoned for their crime with blood." Surprisingly, now even orphans are being presented with a similar proposition involving shedding blood. These youngsters, who often have vague memories of their parents and lack significant adult guidance, might be even more vulnerable than prisoners. Authorities urge them, saying, "Go for six months. There will be a salary ohow can they decline? They are not afraid of encountering violence: life in an orphanage is full of it, it is familiar. This film serves as another endeavor to explore the reasons behind Russians' willingness to take up arms. This film is part of the documentary project «The Assignment» made by Novaya Gazeta journalists who remain in Russia and continue to work under war censorship and risks. Film editor – Kirill Sakharnov.

Siberia stands as Russia's most abundant macroregion in terms of natural resources, yet paradoxically, it grapples with significant disadvantages. Boasting 88% of the nation's natural gas reserves, only 16.8% of households have access to this vital resource—lower than anywhere else in the country. Historically, the state has extracted resources from local residents, and recently, this trend has escalated to include the relocation of residents themselves, sending them to Ukraine. As a compensation for fathers, husbands, and sons being sent to the front lines, their families receive firewood to endure the harsh winter of 2022-2023 without freezing. Correspondents from Novaya Gazeta traverse Siberia, engaging with ordinary residents, local officials, and the families of those mobilized, delving into their perspectives on poverty, the ongoing special operation, and the contentious necessity of sending their loved ones to the front lines.

This film tells the stories of five Russian families who have lost children, mothers, fathers, and grandchildren to shelling. What secret memories do they hold of their departed loved ones? Who do they hold responsible for these deaths? And how do they view the world now? These are the heartfelt monologues of people who have endured the unthinkable yet still retain their capacity for compassion. In this moment, nothing is more important than their words. Over the two years of military action in Ukraine, the UN estimates that more than 10,000 civilians have died—and the shells continue to claim lives every day. Novaya journalists are unable to access Ukrainian territory due to censorship and cannot fully tell the stories of what is happening there.

A film about the presidential campaign of Grigory Yavlinsky in the 2018 elections. Anna Artemyeva, a correspondent for Novaya Gazeta, spent a month at Yavlinsky's headquarters, accompanying him on his election trips. Much that the presidential candidate warned about then is coming true: the pension reform, the economic crisis, the change in the basic law, the irremovability of power ... In the 2018 elections, 77% of voters voted for Putin. For Yavlinsky - 1%. The film tells about the doomed attempt of a decent person to warn his country and fight for it in modern political realities.

Since February 2022, hundreds of thousands of Russians have passed through the front lines. They return home changed—shaped by experiences beyond imagination. They’ve seen shells tear their friends apart, dogs eat corpses. They’ve slept on dead bodies. And they’ve pulled the trigger themselves. How has this changed them? What do they think about the war? Can they find their place in peaceful life? We came to these men with questions that trouble us as well. Eighteen men speak about the terrifying events they took part in. About the choices they made. And how they now judge those choices. Their shared story as men is one of the greatest tragedies to have befallen our country in recent decades.