What has Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky been up to since the last round of peace talks? Rewriting history textbooks, praising Soviet censorship, and vacationing at a luxury resort.

Vladimir Medinsky — presidential aide and longtime chairman of the Russian Military Historical Society (RVIO) — once again led the Russian delegation at trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi. The previous round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, with U.S. participation, took place in February in Geneva; they were halted after war broke out in the Middle East. The negotiations resumed after Donald Trump once again spoke by phone with Vladimir Putin, and his negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to Kyiv and Moscow. Over the eight months between rounds of talks, Medinsky accomplished a great deal. Here’s what he did.Rewrote Russia’s history textbook againA new edition of Russia’s 11th-grade history textbook, credited to Medinsky and MGIMO rector Anatoly Torkunov, significantly revised the section on the United States. The textbook now describes the “positive role” of Donald Trump’s administration in settling the Russia–Ukraine war.Presented a social studies textbook edited by MedvedevRussia’s Security Council deputy chairman Dmitry Medvedev’s new social studies textbook was presented at a session of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum. Medinsky said Medvedev “personally edits the text by hand” and assured that it is “not propaganda at all,” but “a real account of a real society.”Proposed controlling the quality of films in production, as under Soviet censorshipIn an interview about modern film production, Medinsky recalled Soviet-era film censorship. “I’m not idealizing Soviet censorship, but it undeniably had artistic value: shoddy work wasn’t allowed into theaters. If you shot garbage, you redid it,” said the head of the Russian Military Historical Society (RVIO).Wrote a play about a general killed during the Decembrist uprisingThe Maly Theater has already staged Medinsky’s play Smuta. 1609–1611 “The Time of Troubles. 1609–1611.” The head of the RVIO has now written another one, about the Decembrists. Theater actor Vladimir Dubrovsky discussed it in summer 2026. “Its main character is Miloradovich, who was shot on Senate Square. There’s no explicit judgment there as to whether it was good or bad. But there was an act. The play is supposed to premiere at the Maly Theater next season,” he said.Was placed under EU sanctionsThe European Union approved its 21st package of sanctions against Russia in July, which the bloc’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, called the “biggest” in four years. The EU also placed Vladimir Medinsky under the restrictions.Was reelected chairman of the RVIO for another six yearsA congress of the RVIO unanimously reelected Medinsky as chairman for a six-year term in October 2026. He has held the post of RVIO chief for more than 13 years, since March 2013.Vacationed at the Manzherok resortThe Sberbank-owned Manzherok ski resort in the Altai region opened 13 luxury villas in 2025 and has since welcomed Russian officials, businessmen on the business magazine Forbes Russia’s list, hackers, and people connected to Russia’s Federal Security Service. Medinsky is among the visitors: he travels to the resort every year for the RVIO’s annual conference, “Altai — the Ancestral Homeland of the Turks.” The Presidential Property Management Department pays for lodging for Medinsky and other Kremlin staff.At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.