Russia’s Z-Space and the Grassroots War Culture

Ivan Philippov, one of the leading analysts of Russian war propaganda, explores the chaotic network of pro-war Telegram channels, often run by soldiers and frontline volunteers, known as the Z-space

Putin’s Russia is a tightly controlled authoritarian state with near-total media censorship. Independent outlets have been forced into exile, dissent is criminalized, and Telegram — the country’s main uncensored platform — is monitored by security services. And yet, within this repressive ecosystem, a strange and revealing phenomenon has emerged: the Z-space.

Z-space is a sprawling, chaotic network of pro-war Telegram channels — many run by soldiers and frontline volunteers — that often publish brutally honest accounts of the war. These channels are not part of the Kremlin’s vertical. Nor are they aligned with the liberal opposition. They represent something unique: a grassroots ecosystem of military-minded Russians who support the war’s goals but are fiercely critical of how it is being fought.

These authors expose corruption, strategic failures, bureaucratic absurdities, and shocking losses. They analyze failed offensives, publish uncensored drone footage, and compile casualty reports the Ministry of Defense would never admit. Paradoxically, this space remains tolerated — perhaps because it is entangled with the vast volunteer supply network that keeps the Russian army operational.

This talk explores how the Z-space functions as both an informal military press and a self-organized civil society under authoritarian rule. It shows how, in a war that official media won’t cover truthfully, the most detailed and disturbing reporting comes from those who are ideologically loyal — but operationally disillusioned.

Z-channels offer rare, unfiltered insight into the Russian military machine — not just what it is, but why it fails. By analyzing their texts, we uncover the internal logic, fractures, and unspoken rules of a war that continues to reshape Russia — and challenge our assumptions about how control, loyalty, and truth work in authoritarian systems.

Ivan Philippov is a journalist, author, and creative executive with over 20 years of experience in Russian and international media. He began his career at Vedomosti, then a joint venture of The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times, where he covered the media industry and interviewed global executives. Since 2007, he has worked closely with Alexander Rodnyansky across CTC Media, Non-Stop Production, and AR Content, contributing to internationally acclaimed films such as Leviathan, Loveless, and Beanpole, and taking part in multiple Oscar and Golden Globe campaigns.

He is the co-author, alongside Rodnyansky, of three nonfiction books about film and television, including the recent Leviathan: A Brief History of Putin’s Russia in Nine Films (2024). As an independent writer, Philippov has published two novels, Shadow (2021) and Mouse (2023).

Mouse became a bestseller and the first novel in modern Russia to be officially banned by the Prosecutor General’s Office, drawing coverage from The Times, The Financial Times, and The Guardian.

Now based in Berlin, he is one of the leading analysts of Russian war propaganda. His Telegram channel All Is Quiet on a Western Front, which monitors hundreds of military channels, has over 100,000 subscribers and is widely cited by The Guardian, The Washington Post, Die Welt, Der Spiegel, and The Financial Times. In 2024, he was designated a “foreign agent” by the Russian Ministry of Justice.