The attack on the Wildberries office in Moscow is the first sign of a future trend in Russia. An attempt to forcefully enter the central office of the largest Russian marketplace with gunfire and fatalities 350 meters from the Kremlin. "At least two people were killed and
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seven were injured during an attempt by Wildberries co-founder Vladislav Bakalchuk, with the forceful support of MMA fighters close to the head of Chechnya, to enter the main office of the marketplace. The conflict in Moscow was caused by a clash of interests between Ramzan
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Kadyrov and Senator from Dagestan Suleiman Kerimov. The conflict between the divorcing Bakalchuk spouses went beyond the family and was divided into groups related to the North Caucasus: the so-called "Dagestani" group, sponsored by Kerimov, and the "Chechen" group,
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behind which stands Kadyrov. Around midday on September 18, Wildberries co-founder Vladislav Bakalchuk, accompanied by security guards and mixed martial artists, attempted to enter the company's Moscow office in the Romanov Dvor business center, but was stopped by security.
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The center itself is located 500 meters from the Kremlin. According to eyewitnesses cited by the Beware, Moscow channel, a group of men in civilian clothes who drove up to the building looked like ordinary visitors waiting for someone at the reception. At some point, they
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suddenly ran and began to break down the doors of the central entrance, after which shooting began, the beginning of which was captured on video. Everything lasted about three to four minutes. The marketplace employees barricaded themselves and hid under the tables at that
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time, and after the shooting died down, they began to get out through the back door," writes Kavkaz.Realii. Such showdowns in the style of the 90s will now happen more and more often in Russia. A depleting budget, a struggle for influence and power, and most importantly -
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a complete lack of a working law. Now the right of the strong has been elevated to the main policy of the country, and more and more people with weapons and experience are returning from the front. Even if only in filming TikTok videos, but to attack unarmed business
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competitors, you do not need to be a special forces soldier. The main thing in this attack is that this is not just a raid on someone's business, here the interests of members of power of two neighboring and very explosive republics of the North Caucasus collide. "Kerimov's
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political weight is quite comparable to Kadyrov's. But the main thing in Putin's eyes is different: Kerimov is doing his own thing, and Kadyrov is trying to climb into someone else's clearing. Kadyrov's Polyana, in the Kremlin's view, is Chechnya, all Chechens in Russia and
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abroad, and the supply of "meat" for the "SMO". No one appointed him as an arbitrator in commercial showdowns," expert Sergei Zhavoronkov points out. Kadyrov, said that he would "go to the end" in this conflict. Vladislav Bakalchuk was detained. Attacks
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like the one in Moscow will only happen more often. There is no law in Russia and the law of the strong decides everything. The same situation is in Chechnya. There are many people who are ready to do anything they are asked for money and who are ready for violence.
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The Russian economy is losing momentum. Sberbank chief German Gref warned that the country is entering a period of serious challenges. Speaking at the bank’s annual shareholders’ meeting, Gref pointed to military spending, inflation, and high interest rates as key factors
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that will continue to weigh on the economy through 2026. He noted that loan quality is declining, and more individuals and businesses are seeking to restructure their debts. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that senior bank executives see the risk of a banking crisis within
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the next 12 months. Unpaid loans are quietly piling up, though this has yet to show in official figures. The agency estimates that bad loans could hit 3.7 trillion rubles — about 20% of the banking sector’s capital. Much of this traces back to the war. Many soldiers received
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According to BILD, "Russia is expected to emerge stronger after the war in Ukraine, and the Kremlin is actively preparing for a potential invasion of NATO countries." While the Russian threat remains real, and it must not be dismissed — and we must indeed prepare for it — at
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this stage, nearly all statements about a potential Russian attack on NATO countries are nothing more than attempts to divert NATO’s attention and resources away from the war in Ukraine. Let’s look at the facts. The so-called “grand” summer offensive in the Sumy region
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stalled after just a month. Russia gathered 50,000 troops, but it has no more equipment. Its reserves are nearly depleted, while Ukraine’s arsenal is expanding — its range of weapons is growing, and its capabilities are increasing despite all the challenges with manpower.
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Ultimately, the main achievement of both Putin and Trump is that NATO has now committed to increasing annual defense spending to at least 5% of GDP by no later than 2035 — a level unseen since the Cold War. Previously, the target was just 2%. Some countries, like Estonia, 1/7
are already set to reach this threshold as early as next year. Spain opposed the move, but it is geographically the farthest from the main threat — Russia. At least, that’s how it seems to them. But one should not forget that Russia’s core strategy revolves around hybrid 2/7
threats, which have no borders. For major European countries — France, Germany, and others — the decisive factor was pressure from Trump. The war in Ukraine, ongoing since 2014, had not pushed Europe toward a more serious approach to security. While the Baltic states, Poland, 3/7
NATO suggests that Russia can sustain the war at its current pace until 2027. Of course, I may be accused of being sympathetic to Ukraine and having a biased opinion, but let’s look at the facts—what’s wrong with this statement? The Russian war machine currently relies on
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Soviet-era equipment reserves, a large number of soldiers, and the National Wealth Fund. Let’s start with the first point. Soviet equipment reserves are almost completely depleted. The offensive on Sumy is carried out mainly through infantry assaults, and the amount of
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destroyed Russian equipment in recent weeks is two to three times lower than during the same period in previous years. If Russia continues the war at the same pace, by 2027 almost all of its equipment will be gone—perhaps even the few donkeys they have. As for soldiers,
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The appointment of Robert Brovdi, known by his call sign "Madyar," as head of the Unmanned Systems Forces of Ukraine has already yielded noticeable results, according to Russian military bloggers. They report that Ukrainian drone strikes are now primarily aimed at eliminating
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Russian UAV operators. Madyar has openly declared his goal of building a "drone wall" along the entire front line and destroying up to 35,000 Russian soldiers per month—the estimated number that the Russian army can mobilize on a monthly basis. He advocates for establishing
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dedicated UAV units for each section of the front line, with operators who are intimately familiar with their own sector, rather than deploying UAV teams as a mobile reserve shuffled between hotspots. His concept is to create a continuous "kill zone" across the whole
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The war in Iran benefits Russia in the short term, but in the long run, the loss of Iran would be a major defeat for Moscow in the region, further weakening its already diminished position in the Middle East. The fall of Syria has significantly undermined Russia’s influence
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there, and Iran remains its last major ally in the region. Russia is trying to squeeze every possible advantage out of this unfavorable situation. The war in Iran distracts the West and its allies from the conflict in Ukraine, but the main gain for Russia is the rise in oil
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prices. Russia’s 2025 budget is under enormous strain because it was planned based on an oil price of $80 per barrel. However, since the summer of 2024, oil prices have been steadily falling, reaching around $50 per barrel for Urals crude in the spring of 2025. The war in
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