Explainer is a collective of independent Russian journalists in exile who investigate the Russian state and report their findings to an international audience.
Our team includes investigative reporters and correspondents covering politics, the military, and foreign affairs, alongside analysts and producers of original programmes. Many of us worked inside Russia until authorities shut down the outlets we served or designated them "undesirable." We have continued our work from abroad, maintaining standard editorial practices: verification of facts, protection of sources, and attribution of reporting.
What we investigate
We document how officials, businesspeople, and others linked to the Kremlin sustain wealth and influence abroad despite sanctions. Our reporting traces the networks that move goods, money, and services to and from Russia; the legal and financial mechanisms used to preserve assets; and efforts by sanctioned individuals to lift or evade restrictions. We also examine the role of intermediaries and Western enablers who facilitate that movement.
Alongside those investigations, we record the human toll of the war: rights abuses, the experiences of soldiers' families, and the treatment of prisoners of war.
Our story
In the summer of 2021, after the outlet where some members of this group worked was shut down for security reasons, we launched the Telegram channel Mozhem Obyasnit (We Can Explain), which publishes daily coverage of the war and its wider consequences. Explainer is the platform we built for longer investigations, data-driven reporting, field reportage, and recorded interviews. Authors publish under their own names where it is safe to do so; where safety requires it, work continues under anonymity.
Join Explainer. If you have important information, email us at contact@explainer.one. We guarantee the confidentiality of our sources and use all necessary security measures.
