René Coignard

📮 P.O. Box Notice

To whom it may concern: as of the 19th, I'm no longer renting Postfach 11 03 in Wolfen. Please send any mail to my home address in Wolfen-Nord.

Twelve years of war.

Putin and anyone supporting him are brain-dead fucking morons who don't know a goddamn thing about war.

This is a horrifying, bloody meat grinder where living people have their limbs torn off daily on an industrial scale, simply because a bunch of fucking morons (namely: the Government of the Russian Federation, represented by Putin, his gang, and all those complicit) felt an overwhelming urge, as casually as taking a piss, to open a local branch of hell on earth.

These are primitive primates, proudly jerking off to Putin's geopolitical complexes in front of their TV screens. This is the Pax Russica rotting in trench mud, embodied in the nameless corpse of a Russian soldier. This is thousands of murdered Ukrainian children. Murdered for no reason whatsoever. This is a countless multitude of shattered lives, thrown into the grinding wheels of a war machine brutal in its senselessness.

Growing up, we used to put on school plays about the horrors of WWII under the guidance of our teachers. Now, to the thunderous applause of a bloodthirsty mob, Russian soldiers are bringing those horrors back to life. It's terrifying and, perhaps, impossible to fully grasp. Impossible — and yet necessary.

Fuck war.

Mikhail Podivilov @ podivilov.com
24 February 2026

🔐 Encryption Keys Updated

For those holding copies of my public keys, please take note of the following updates:

QES Expiration and Discontinuation

The Qualified Electronic Signature with ID 0523CA990001B2DD97419E4C260C358902 will expire on 17 November 2024.

As of this year, the use and re-issuance of this QES will be discontinued.

🔐 Encryption Keys Updated

For those holding copies of my public keys, please take note of the following updates:

1️⃣ PGP Key Validity Extended

The PGP key with ID 0802BDCD52656EE9 for UID:

• René Coignard, contact@renecoignard.com

has had its validity extended to 1 January 2027. The updated version of this key can be obtained using WKD.

The PGP key with ID 4435E28EDEADBEEF with UIDs:

• Mikhail Podivilov, mikhail@podivilov.com
• Михаил Подивилов, mikhail@podivilov.ru

has also had its validity extended to 1 January 2027. Its current version can be obtained using WKD.

2️⃣ New UIDs Added

The following UIDs have been added to the PGP key with ID 0802BDCD52656EE9:

• René Coignard, rene@coignard.org
• René von Wolfen-Nord, rene@wolfen-nord.social

Telegram No More

I’ve already given up on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram in the past, and now it’s time to say goodbye to Telegram as well. I won’t be deleting my account there just yet, because plenty of my friends still use it and aren’t planning to migrate anywhere else, but I’m no longer going to use the official Telegram clients. Instead, I’m now using the mautrix-telegram bridge, which lets me chat with my Telegram contacts through Matrix.

I really don’t like the direction Telegram’s development has taken: nowadays it looks like some sort of gambling app, seasoned with dodgy advertising. Speaking of which, I don’t get more spam from strangers anywhere else than I do on Telegram. And this is despite the fact that Telegram has no proper support, which means you can lose your account or channel over complete nonsense: for instance, with channels, some troublemaker can simply deploy bots and report you for fake engagement.

Originally, Telegram positioned itself as an app focused on privacy, but this was never actually true. Telegram’s only real advantage is its exceptionally good and polished UX/UI, but that’s where its benefits end. It doesn’t have two-factor authentication (only two-step verification), no open server implementation, no end-to-end encryption in group chats, and even in private chats it’s switched off by default. And what’s the story with the MTProto audit anyway?

In short, I’m shutting down all my Telegram channels, including this one and any others. You can continue reading my weblog on my website or through RSS, and you can reach me on Matrix or by email. My Matrix contact is in my profile description and is available to those who already have me in their contacts. While Matrix isn’t perfect, I’d rather use it than support the development of a platform whose privacy is based solely on the founder’s word of honour. Tschüss, Telegram!

Deutsch: Niveau A2

A couple of weeks ago, before I ended up in hospital, I successfully passed my telc Deutsch A2, and B1 awaits me in September. I have to say, I’m speaking with much more confidence now after being stuck in hospital for ages. Hardly anyone there spoke English, so I had to chat with everyone in German. After a while, I didn’t even need to say things like “Ich kann noch nicht fließend auf Deutsch sprechen” anymore. Being ill sucks, but having the chance to practice listening and speaking so much was brilliant.

I’ve Been Fixed

I was away for a bit due to some health problems — hope no one worried. Just so you know: I’m out of hospital and all good now.

Zgorzelec’s Manhattan

Today brought a completely spontaneous trip to Görlitz (and just across the river, the Polish town of Zgorzelec) with Anton, which we hastily planned yesterday evening and managed to pull off today. Yes, you know I love this sort of thing. We particularly wanted to visit the area in Zgorzelec called Manhattan, which consisted mainly of prefabricated panel buildings, similar to the ones where I live in Wolfen, but taller.

Well, what can I say, the trip didn’t disappoint. Manhattan certainly made an impression on us, I hadn’t seen such all-consuming bleakness in ages. But I love that sort of thing. Walking through the neighbourhood, we deliberately spoke German to each other, partly to show the locals that some Germans had turned up, and partly just for a laugh. It really did amuse us, and we kept it up throughout our entire wander around the town.

The grand finale was visiting a little kiosk selling local fish and chips, followed by a trip to a Żabka shop to buy some local beer to try. Since we’d been speaking German the whole time, we’d got so used to it that in the shop we confidently unleashed our entire vocabulary on the cashier. The cashier replied in German too, but very hesitantly, which amused us. We recognised our former selves in him, from when we were just starting to learn the language.

Back in Görlitz, we inevitably began comparing the German town with its Polish twin just next door. The temptation was too great. Of course, Zgorzelec has its own particular beauty, but in Görlitz we found the familiar eastern Germany we know, small, well-kept and empty, which we didn’t want to leave behind. At Görlitz station there was an amusing moment when a Deutsche Bahn employee asked if we were going to Dresden, and when we said yes, she smiled at us and disappeared.

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Fediverse

I’ve recently joined the Fediverse — think of it as a decentralised social network where different platforms can talk to each other through an open protocol called ActivityPub. I’m using Pleroma because it’s lightweight on resources and its functionality suits my needs perfectly well. You can now follow me using my username @rene@wolfen-nord.social. It’s very cool here — do join us!

Sächsische Schweiz

Today, Anton and I spontaneously decided to go hiking in Sächsische Schweiz, the German part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. To be precise, we wandered around the area near Königstein, and managed to climb the table mountain Pfaffenstein, from where breathtaking views opened up. I think the last time I enjoyed hiking and the views this much was in Mestia, in Georgia. In Garmisch-Partenkirchen it was also cool, and the mountains there were proper real ones, but apparently I prefer hiking in the company of one person rather than a group. Don’t get me wrong, the Alps were great too, it’s just a slightly different experience!

Although on the way to Königstein and back Deutsche Bahn kept trying to upset us, wie üblich, with their delays and broken air conditioning in unbearable heat, it didn’t really affect the impressions from the trip. On the contrary, it’s great when such a simple outing turns into a small adventure with corresponding complications. The photos turned out wonderful too, the weather was simply marvellous. Overall, I love such small towns with beautiful views of nature opening up, I love the emptiness of these towns, and I love their unhurried pace. I discovered Sächsische Schweiz only a little bit today, and I think I’ll have to return here again and again.

Der Wolfener

Exactly one year ago, I moved from my previous neighbourhood in Wolfen, Krondorf, to where I live now, Wolfen-Nord. What a year it’s been. So much has changed in just twelve months: the people around me, my work, what I expect from life, how I see myself, and of course, where I live. I’m living in the epicentre of Wolfen now, or at least what was once the epicentre of its life. Now it’s quite empty, and the area is gradually becoming deserted. I rarely meet other immigrants like myself here, which doesn’t surprise me: apart from the attractive rent prices, there’s literally nothing here.

This “nothing”, this emptiness that Wolfen-Nord has become immersed in, really weighed on me when I first got here. Total social isolation was quite uncomfortable, and the seemingly grey landscapes around me promised nothing but melancholy and gloom. However, over the year I managed to lift my spirits and found here not only decline and gradual fading of the town, but also a beauty that’s not obvious at first glance. Though I won’t stay here for long, I like it now. Wolfen-Nord is unusual in its emptiness. And now I can say that I am, in some way, Der Wolfener. It’s amusing that tomorrow Wolfen will be celebrating its 625th anniversary. What a coincidence.

Flickr

I’ve finally got round to sorting and publishing photographs of German towns that I took this year with my Nikon D7000. There are also a few shots that were taken, shall we say, with a little help from Agfa Optima 200, but still using the Nikon. If you want to see what life’s like in Germany beyond the major cities and where I’m currently living, I’d highly recommend checking out the “Wolfen-Nord” album. Either way, there are loads of other towns featured as well, including some completely unknown to foreign viewers, so do have a browse.

Browse photos »

Schönwalde-Siedlung

Nur als Hinweis: a quick note about a place I visited with Alexander on May 11th. It’s a small district of Schönwalde-Glien that houses an abandoned military settlement from DDR times. Since 1949, this spot sat right on the West Berlin border, and sadly some people lost their lives trying to escape here. It’s not just a few derelict buildings — I’m talking about a proper abandoned settlement: you’ll find shops, blocks of flats, even an aircraft hangar. Everything’s in better nick than I expected. Really cool, peaceful spot with gorgeous views and lovely countryside around it — definitely worth a visit.

Dresden-Neustadt

Yesterday I was in Dresden with Anton, where I went so he could show me around the city. We had been planning this trip since March, and I decided it was finally time to meet in person and wander through the city. I’m embarrassed to admit that in Dresden, I had essentially only explored the Altstadt, while the rest of the city remained unknown to me until now. The walk, by the way, turned out to be extremely productive, and we covered a total of 35 kilometres. This was despite the sky constantly threatening to unleash rain upon us. All in all, we got properly soaked at times, but as they say, was für ein Spaß!

We met at Dresden-Neustadt station, which is named after the district where it’s located. Naturally, our first destination was exploring Neustadt itself. I must admit, this was exactly the Dresden I had been waiting to see: lively and colourful, thoroughly plastered with stickers, generously sprinkled with attributes of the Soviet past. Combined with the overcast weather, it looked doubly otherworldly. Overall, such an energetic start to our walk set the pace, and afterwards we began to roam the city’s spaces almost non-stop, wherever we happened to find ourselves. That’s how we ended up on the banks of the River Elbe.

Visiting the riverbank revealed stunning natural views, and I took quite a number of photographs that I’m now very pleased with. We also noticed a kestrel hovering in the air: it looked as if the Matrix had glitched. The bird seemed to be frozen in place while flying. Speaking of birds: we also observed a whole gaggle of geese on the shore. How they got there isn’t entirely clear, but there were truly lots of them. Leaving the riverbank, we wandered towards the cemetery, which turned out to be surprisingly large and beautiful. The crematorium building alone is worth seeing. The prevailing silence was occasionally interrupted by the ghostly, prolonged horn of the “Gräfin Cosel” riverboat.

All day we were surrounded by various sounds that fit interestingly into the context of what was happening to us and created a particular atmosphere. First, the riverboat horn at the cemetery, then the equally ghostly whistles of the park railway in the Großen Garten, followed by the sound of bells during a thunderstorm. Because of this, sometimes there was a sense of unreality, a feeling of complete derealisation, as if we were in some kind of film. The emptiness in the city, sponsored by the weather conditions, intensified this feeling even more. The peak of this derealisation sensation was reached when we found ourselves in a district dotted with Soviet-style apartment blocks, a Russian shop, and Russian speech coming from all directions.

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Oschersleben

I always try to escape Wolfen at weekends to meet friends and explore new towns. I typically plan my weekends well in advance, and this Sunday was meant to be dedicated to a trip with Timofey to the Dessau-Wörlitzer Gartenreich, a landscape park created in the English style, located relatively close to where I live. Unfortunately, a combination of circumstances prevented us from visiting this time, but we’ll certainly go there sometime in the future. After all, I’ve been there multiple times and always discover something new. A wonderful place.

Timofey suggested visiting Barby, a town not far from Schönebeck and Calbe, which I’d visited before. On the way there, we were supposed to change from the train to a bus at Schönebeck station, but we got caught up in conversation and missed the announcement for our stop. We only realised when the train driver announced Magdeburg Südost station. Considering that this trip was a spontaneous decision, unlike the planned visit to Wörlitz, we decided not to return but simply to check the train schedule at Magdeburg Hbf and head off from there to some random town.

I looked at the timetable and discovered there were trains to Burg and Oschersleben. The latter sounded familiar, and I suggested we go there. Timofey also thought the name rang a bell, so the decision was made. However, our train to Magdeburg was running late, so upon arrival at the station, we had to dash to the platform we needed. There we found a single-carriage train with “nordbahn” or something similar displayed on the information board instead of the destination. Just to be sure, I checked with a station employee if this was the right train, and only then noticed a small handwritten paper stuck to the front window with “Oschersleben” barely visible on it. Amusingly, trains to both Oschersleben and Aschersleben were departing from the same platform but on different tracks.

Since our journey was completely spontaneous, I thought it might be nice to get off one stop before our destination, at Hadmersleben. At first, I assumed it wouldn’t be far to walk to our intended town, but after leaving the train and checking the maps again, we discovered it was quite a trek — six kilometres across fields. Making our way towards our destination, we came across a small restaurant called “Flotts Höhe” at a crossroads, where we decided to stop and briefly shelter from an approaching downpour. I politely asked the waitress if we could take refuge from the rain, thankfully my German was sufficient: “Wir möchten hier den Regen abwarten. Dürfen wir?” They even invited us to sit at a table rather than standing in the entrance. Very kind. A lovely establishment.

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Facebook

Relatively recently, about a couple of weeks ago, I created a new Facebook account. I had written previously that I no longer use this social network, but after much deliberation, I decided to start a new account with one purpose: to communicate with residents of the city where I currently live. I mainly shared photographs taken during my walks. People were delighted.

However, one day Facebook sent me a message that my account had been blocked and offered me the option to appeal. Unfortunately, this had no effect whatsoever, and the next message informed me that my account was blocked without any possibility to appeal this decision. They didn’t explain the reasons to me.

Well, let’s consider this a reminder of why I stopped using it and why I most certainly won’t return there now. If any residents of Wolfen-Nord are reading this note, who noticed the sudden disappearance of my account along with all the photographs, please write to me via email and I’ll share with you an archive of the photos. As for Facebook? Fick dich, Facebook.