Wikileaks and Julian Assange may grab all the headlines, but Russia’s swelling numbers of bold, brave, and sometimes mysterious whistleblowers are a phenomenon worth watching.  We have of course the high-profile leaks of police officers like Alexei Dymovsky, Alexei Navalny’s quest against graft at state-owned corporations, and several new websites that brings forward more anonymous heroes.  Even high level business scandals including Magnitsky, Chichvarkin, and Khodorkovsky (with the recent leak of Natalia Vasilieva) can be considered whistleblowing events.

Writing in TIME, journalist Simon Shuster has an interesting breakdown over whether or not the spate of leaks is driven by new found openness or political jostling in the tandemocracy.