Evan Gershkovich
@evangershkovich
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Reporter for @WSJ covering Russia, Ukraine and more. Write me: [email protected]
Joined June 2012
protesters detained in Moscow tonight are reportedly getting drafted right at the police station.
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Kazakhstan announces that 98,000 (!) Russians have entered the country since Putin’s mobilization order.
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This is the story of Moscow police employee Sergei Klokov, who is facing 10 years in prison for condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine in private phone calls that were tapped by the authorities. “We think we are fighting fascism, but there isn’t fascism there”.
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nearly 1,000 people detained so far at anti-war demonstrations in 44 cities across Russia. these are brave people given protesters have received multiple years in prison for such serious acts of civil disobedience like tossing a plastic cup at a cop
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the images coming out of Kharkiv right now may be the most heartbreaking yet. civilians laying dead in the streets still holding the jugs of water and bags of food they had run out to get.
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A Russian missile killed at least 18 people overnight in the Odessa region. Meanwhile in Moscow I recently overheard this conversation at an upscale restaurant: ."I want to get to Odessa this summer"."You won't be able to . " ."Why?".
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has rattled its allies in Central Asia. Now the largest, Kazakhstan, is rethinking its ties. “If you are a friend of the bear—even if you are the best friend, even if he is in a good mood—always watch your back.”.
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I went to a Russian border city, where I spoke with soldiers who retreated from Ukraine and pro-Kremlin Ukrainians who fled. “It can’t be in vain that so many of our guys have died. It just can’t be that all of this was in vain.”
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Russian troops were losing Lyman when a call came in for the commanding officer on the front line. It was Putin, ordering them not to retreat. Our story on Putin at war and the power structure designed to deliver him the information he wants to hear.
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Russia’s crackdown on dissent on the front page today
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Kremlin readout says Putin told Macron Russia is not threatening civilians. That phone call came just a couple hours after dozens died and hundreds more were wounded in strikes on Kharkiv.
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Our story on Ukraine’s stunning advance. “It’s a complete collapse. In the battle of Donbas the Russians probably had more troops deployed there than anywhere and now they seem to be unable to hold anything.”
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I tried to capture the mood in Moscow and St. Petersburg, where Russians are enjoying the summer and shutting out the war. “Of course you go drink and unwind because if you go out with a banner you won’t relax for another two years at least.”.
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Russian Consulate General in Edinburgh speaks out against the war in Ukraine (autotranslate) h/t @Alexey__Kovalev
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an early glimpse at Russian occupation: two people who were driving a car with a Ukrainian flag were shot and killed by a Russian patrol last week, @yarotrof and @marson_jr report. “It’s still there, on the roadside, and their bodies are still inside.”
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To understand what dissenting Russians are up against, just consider that Klokov’s initial court-appointed lawyer, who suggested he plead guilty, told me his client “had lost his mind” because of “all the information that had been pumped into him from Ukraine.”.
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Putin talking to top officials. Russia’s central bank chief and economy minister at the end of the table
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Russia won’t say how many of its soldiers have died in Ukraine, but judging from what I saw outside a hospital near the border in Belarus and what locals there told me, the toll is getting high. “There has been a constant flow.” My report, photos and video
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For this article I reviewed his case files and spoke with his family and lawyers. Klokov ran up against a state seeking to snuff out all dissent and friends who wanted to talk about rising food prices, which they didn’t link to war. “We shouldn’t have bombed Kyiv,” Klokov said.
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I interviewed Marina Ovsyannikova, who ran into a TV studio this week with an antiwar message. “The future of my country is being decided right now. Anyone interested in the bright future of this country needs to be here—even if for 15 years behind bars.”.
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Colleagues said they didn’t understand what had gotten into him. “He said that we did not have a right to attack and go to war with them, and while I tried to explain to him that there is no war, he didn’t listen to me. I can’t explain why he became so radical”.
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“More than 2,500 soldiers' corpses had already been shipped from the Homel region back to Russia by trains or by plane as of March 13, according to one employee of the Homel regional clinical hospital.”
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for more on the mood in Moscow, see my dispatch:
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Oleg Deripaska speaks out: "A hiked rate, the mandatory sale of foreign currency. this is the first test of who actually will be responsible for this banquet. I really want clarifications and intelligible comments on the economic policy of the next three months.".
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Kazakhstan has also learned from Ukraine’s resistance, a senior official said, and plans to reform its army to be more mobile and adept at combating hybrid warfare. It has upped its defense budget, deepened military cooperation with China and signed a deal with Turkey for drones.
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Kazakhstan says Russia will remains a key ally. But it has also promised to enforce Western sanctions against Moscow, said it would boost oil exports to Europe via routes that bypass Russia and hosted multiple U.S. and Chinese delegations.
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young patients at a Russian hospice herded outside for this
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While some in the West say Russia’s military has been exposed as a paper tiger, one senior official from a Central Asian country said that fear is only growing over Russia’s ambitions. “Imagine if they don’t have Ukraine to abuse. Are we going to be next?”.
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Russia has earned over $5 billion more per month from oil sales this year compared to 2021. “Russian oil will find its new way into India, China and other markets. And even sold at a discount it is more than enough to continue fueling the war.”
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Putin describes Ukraine’s government as “a gang of drug addicts” and calls on the country’s forces to surrender
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Several years ago Yekaterinburg saw mass protests save a park from being turned into a new Orthodox church. This is how people are treated now for sitting silently in support of arrested ex mayor Yevgeny Roizman.
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I went to Kazakhstan to find out how Russia’s largest ally in Central Asia is cautiously pulling away from Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine. “Imagine if they don’t have Ukraine to abuse. Are we going to be next?”
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You wouldn't believe it but Belarus says constitutional reform allowing nuclear weapons on its territory passes with 82% of the votes. Here's my report yesterday from Minsk, where people told me they skipped voting, voted no, or drew penises on the ballot
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From underground meetings to protests, I reported from Moscow on a beleaguered opposition movement and its window of opportunity. “This is a question of moral principle. What will my kids think of me if they find out I didn’t try to at least do something?”
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The Kremlin isn’t concerned yet, but eyebrows have been raised given their 4,750-mile long border and what a hostile Kazakhstan would represent. “But I think it won’t come to this. Kazakhstan’s elite has a greater instinct for self-preservation than their colleagues in Ukraine.”.
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“A U.S. official described as credible reports that the commander of the FSB intelligence agency’s unit responsible for Ukraine had been placed under house arrest.”
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cat’s out of the bag. i’ve joined @WSJ’s Moscow bureau as a reporter focused on business and the economy. jazzed to work with @AMSimmons1, @mjluxmoore and the rest of the gang. send me stories!.
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must-read long read by @Moskwitsch on Russia during wartime. "The Russia of hues and semitones has perished, once and for all."
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a traffic reporter with state TV warns Russians decorating their cars with the letter Z that “the likelihood of a heavy object landing on the car increases greatly.”
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the Ukrainian manager of FC Sheriff has returned home to fight in the war. Just a few months back he was living his fairytale in the Champions League as he put it
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An independent Russian journalist has been killed by Russian shelling while covering the war in Kyiv
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I spoke to Venediktov today, who told me Gorbachev condemned Putin’s war in Ukraine in private. “And whose life became better because of this?”Gorbachev told his friend before his death
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Russia now says it's planning on establishing full control over eastern and southern Ukraine to create a land corridor with Crimea. Putin when he launched the war of course said he had no plans of occupying Ukraine
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absolutely terrifying images of Russian attack helicopters just minutes from Kyiv
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Prigozhin has worn out the patience of much of the Kremlin establishment but maintains the backing of Yuri Kovalchuk, a close friend of Putin and a power broker in Moscow, people close to the Kremlin told us. Story w/ @tggrove and @benoitfaucon
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is Kadyrov wearing Prada.
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op-ed in Russian state media applauds Putin for working to solve the Ukrainian question. yes, that’s right. the Ukrainian question h/t @skazal_on
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“Sometimes, I wish I could put these bodies on a plane and drop them all onto Moscow, so they realize what is happening here.” Just the latest revealing report by @yarotrof, who keeps producing essential and brave work
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tonight’s protest on primetime state tv was one of the more astonishing acts of courage I’ve seen covering Russia. “It’s only in our power to stop this. Go to protests; don’t be scared. They can’t arrest us all.”
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We spoke to Russians fleeing mobilization and protesters who were handed notices after being detained during antiwar rallies last night. “The war stepped out of the television and reached the big cities. It’s a big change.”.
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Russian Gen. Dvornikov wrote in 2018 that in modern warfare, “the main task is not the physical destruction of the enemy, but the complete subordination of him to one’s will.” Our profile of the man now leading Russia's war in Ukraine. W/ @jmalsin
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Shut down by the Kremlin, Russian independent media have regrouped across Europe and are continuing to report. We visited @tvrain for its relaunch from Riga. “My job is for my work here to lead to the possibility that we can get home as soon as possible.”
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here’s the moment it happened. Russian FM Lavrov snarled at @mchancecnn yesterday telling him he had learned bad manners in Ukraine and that Putin had already said civilian targets wouldn’t be hit
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Haunting ending to this story about the actual common cause of what initially appear to be suspicious deaths of Russian men: heart attacks and suicide aided by heavy drinking prompted by depression. By @SMeichtry and @pokharelkrishna
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Our story on NATO's resurgence, from Brussels to the Baltics. “What we are doing now is putting in place a stronger deterrence, making sure there are enough signals to Russia that we are going to defend our territory.” W/ @DanMichaelsWSJ and @SuneEngel
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Russia has supplied Ukraine with 101 more tanks, 235 more infantry fighting vehicles and 152 more armored fighting vehicles than Kyiv's Western backers combined.
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lawyers have not been able to find Marina Ovsyannikova, the Channel One employee who protested on live TV last night, for over 12 hours. TASS reports that investigators are probing whether she should face up to 15 years in prison for spreading fake news about the Russian military.
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Our story on how the letter Z became a symbol for pro-war Russians—and something different for everyone else. “I see it as representing our zombified army and the zombified part of the population that watches state television and supports the operation.”
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I spoke with relatives of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine who still back the war but say their loved ones died because Putin is protecting civilians. “I would use something stronger — other than nuclear, of course. So many guys are dying for no reason.”
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Three weeks before invading Ukraine, Putin ordered Kadyrov’s troops to assassinate Zelensky. The failed hit job augured a broader challenge for Kadyrov. Our story on his role in the war and how he has tried to prove his worth to Putin, with @tggrove
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as this was published, Russia announced its first official toll: 498 dead soldiers. Ukraine earlier today claimed that over 5,800 Russian soldiers have been killed. If Ukraine is exaggerating and Russia is playing them down, that is still an insane number of people in one week.
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Russians don’t want war, are skeptical it’ll happen and say the West is pushing it. “I have a feeling that someone is trying to provoke Russia. I don’t understand who this would be good for, I feel like it would be good for America.” Story w/ @mjluxmoore
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strong reporting by @RFERL on Russia hiding it’s true toll by shipping soldiers’ bodies to Belarus. There were already streams of them coming in when I visited in early March
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This story was a big team effort, with @tggrove, @drewhinshaw, @JoeWSJ, @AlanCullison, @vmsalama and @KeithZhai.
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the images of a Mariupol “liberated” by Chechens reminded me of this @Tom_deWaal op-ed on the 25th anniversary of Russia’s war in Chechnya: “Moscow started by wanting to make Chechnya part of Russia, but has ended up with Russia becoming part of Chechnya.”
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behind closed doors, Ukraine has asked the U.S. to stop saying Russia is about to invade
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We spoke to a dozen Donbas residents, who feel abandoned by all sides. The proxy leader “can shove his decrees in his pocket,” a coal miner said. “People don’t want to live in tents. We’re better off hiding in cellars.” Story w/ @marson_jr
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reporting on Russia is now also a regular practice of watching people you know get locked away for years.
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Russian stand-up comedians say they are getting threats for speaking out against the war. This caller, who introduced himself as working for Wagner, says: "there is a bounty on your head".
С утра имел такой телефонный разговор. Представились сотрудниками «Вагнера» и угрожали «дать пизды за высказывания по войне на Украине». Буду благодарен за советы.
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this was a school in a Ukrainian city.
Утром 4 марта российские войска нанесли ракетный удар по школе №25 в городе Житомире – учебное заведение разрушено .(Зеркало:
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eight elderly people arrested sunday for simply for holding posters saying "no to war," six more people arrested today.
No one on the streets of Moscow protesting against a criminal war. Has a society ever lived more deeply in darkness?.
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AFP has been doing incredible work from the front lines in Donbas. "If you move a step, you die." By @dmitryzaksAFP and @ArisMessinis .
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shoutout to @moscowtimes for this deep dive on the Novosibirsk zoo election scandal, especially the top caption on the orangutan's stolen victory: "Batu was unable to comment on his rise to fame."
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while all eyes are on Russia’s military build-up around Ukraine, Navalny goes on trial today at a makeshift courtroom at his penal colony outside of Moscow. He faces another 10 years in prison on fraud charges
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there are two kinds of news stories in Russia these days: someone's been arrested, something's been shutdown.
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amid all the chat of Russia invading Ukraine next year, the head of Kiev’s national security and defense council tells AFP he doesn’t really see it
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you really do get the sense the Kremlin thought Ukrainians would just lay down and welcome them in.
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luckily for him IT professionals have been excluded from the draft.
BREAKING - PUTIN GRANTS FORMER NSA CONTRACTOR EDWARD SNOWDEN RUSSIAN CITIZENSHIP -PRESIDENTIAL DECREE.
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2 days, 1 hour, 55 minutes and 7 seconds until Vladimir Vladimirovich’s annual press conference
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Our story on how the Kremlin moved to rein in Prigozhin, even as he leads Russia’s siege of Bakhmut. “They’ve decided that Prigozhin poses too great a threat and it’s time to clamp down on Wagner.” W/ @tggrove and @benoitfaucon
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In Pskov, home of the paratroopers who occupied Bucha, expanding cemeteries haven’t prompted questions for many over the war. “War’s in our blood. If the motherland orders it, then you have to take a weapon in your hands and go.” W/ pics by @HeitmannNanna
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For over a week, a statue to a Ukrainian poet in Moscow has drawn hundreds of Russians mourning Ukrainians killed in the war, and given a glimpse of how hopeless many here feel in terms of being able to effect change. “We weep together with you every day.”
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riveting, detailed tick-tock of the fight for Hostomel Airport outside Kyiv, by @marson_jr. “It was like turning up with a knife to a gunfight.”
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incredible story by @IsabelColes about Ukrainian who somehow survived execution. “If this was the end, he thought, at least he would be with his brothers. Yevgen wasn’t moving and he heard Dymytro heave a last breath. Then everything was still.”
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Ukrainians know how to riot. One jumped on a Russian armored vehicle at protests in occupied Kherson. Video from @nexta_tv
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AP confirms Russian diplomat’s resignation over Ukraine invasion. “It is intolerable what my government is doing now,” Bondarev told the AP. “As a civil servant, I have to carry a share of responsibility for that, and I don’t want to do that.”.
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grim for Russia that some of its best journalists are emigrating in the wake of this year’s crackdown, but good to see @sotnikov_d and his pup are staying upbeat
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someone's gunning for the Russian Embassy New Year's party invite.
Memorial International, an NGO infiltrated by Western intelligence agencies to stir up trouble in #Russia has been ordered to shut down by the country's Supreme Court. @rusemberitrea #Eritrea #Ethiopia #NoMore.
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already 150 people detained in anti-war demonstrations across Russia this evening in what look like the first significant protests since Navalny's arrest over a year ago. we'll see these numbers tick up much higher by the end of the night
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The Russian military says this will also allow for "another way out to Transnistria, where there are also instances of oppression of the Russian-speaking population" 👀.
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Five people with knowledge of the Kremlin’s preparations said war planners around Putin believed that, aided by these agents, Russia would require only a small military force and a few days to force Zelenskiy’s administration to quit, flee or capitulate
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it was also remarkable to see hundreds of people protesting the war despite the retribution they know they can face. “Lukashenko is under Putin’s control, under his pressure, under his authority. Putin is trying to re-create the Soviet Union and he is using our country for this.”.
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