VISUAL REPORTS
THE POWER VERTICAL: Can We Really Call This An Election?
Russia’s leading pollster has been muzzled.
Russian S-400 Division Reports For Combat Duty In Sevastopol
A second military division equipped with the new advanced Russian S-400 missile system has deployed for duty in Sevastopol on January 13. Moscow positioned an earlier division near the northern Crimean port town of Feodosia in early 2017. (Crimea Realities Facebook)
VOX POP: What Should A New Russian President Do First?
Respondents to an informal street poll in Moscow said the president should fulfill his campaign promises; remove current officials and replace them with young workers; articulate an economic program to support the entire population; review the country’s problems with a special focus on Siberia and the regions; and think more about the people and raise pensions and salaries. One respondent suggested he pardon opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, whom he said is treated unfairly. (Russian Service)
PHOTOGALLERY: Chernobyl's Sunny Future
Work is nearly complete on a solar power plant that may herald the transformation of land poisoned by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
OTHER NEWS
Nazarbaev Thanks Trump For Backing Kazakh Territorial Integrity
Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for Washington’s support of his country’s territorial integrity, as the two leaders met at the White House on January 16.
Russia Plans To Simplify Citizenship Procedures For Crimea
Sergei Tsekov, a Russian senator from Russia-controlled Crimea, has proposed to introduce legislation simplifying procedures for obtaining Russian citizenship for residents who left the peninsula before 2014, a measure that some analysts say is intended to influence the March 2018 Russian presidential election. (Crimea Realities website)
Memorial Says Its Office In Ingushetia Torched In 'Terrorist' Attack
Memorial says its office in Ingushetia has been torched in what a senior member of the Russian human rights group called a "terrorist" attack.
Jailed Activist Tells Putin: ‘If I Confess, It Means Torture Or Blackmail’
Human rights activist Oyub Titiyev, jailed on a drug-possession charge in Chechnya, has written a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin accusing police of planting drugs in his car and expressing concern that he could be tortured in an attempt to force a confession.
Russian Government Weighs Hike In Social Spending
Kremlin economic aide Andrei Belousov has said that expenditures on health, education, and infrastructure could be raised by 1.5-2 percent of GDP, effective late 2018.
Putin Campaign Posts Millions
The campaign of Russian President Vladimir Putin has collected more than 1 million signatures for his candidacy for a fourth term in elections scheduled for March 18, surpassing the 300,000 required to register a self-nominated candidate. (Russian Service)
Opposition Feud Flares Up As Sobchak Confronts Navalny Ally On Air
A Twitter spat between Russian opposition camps got more close and personal on January 15 when presidential hopeful Ksenia Sobchak burst into the studio of a radio talk show as it was hosting would-be candidate Aleksei Navalny's campaign manager.
Russian Priest Sentenced To 14 Years For Sex With Underage Girls
A Russian Orthodox priest has been convicted on child molestation charges and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Knife Fight Or Russian ‘Columbine'? Contradictions Swirl In Perm School Attack
The two teenage boys were armed with knives when they entered the fourth-grade classroom in Russia's Urals city of Perm on January 15, waging an attack that left one teacher and nine young students wounded.
Ukraine's PrivatBank Was Used For 'Large-Scale, Coordinated Fraud'
Ukraine's central bank says an investigation into the country's largest lender, PrivatBank, shows it was "subjected to a large-scale and coordinated fraud" over at least a decade.
Kosovo PM Alleges Foreign Role In Serb Political Leader's Assassination
Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj has suggested that the slaying of a leading ethnic Serb political leader was the result of illegal interference from outside the country.
Assassinated Serb Politician Symbolized Tensions In Northern Kosovo
Kosovar Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic in some ways embodied the kaleidoscopic decades of conflict and distrust in the volatile Balkans -- underscored by his ongoing retrial for alleged war crimes during Kosovo's brutal 1998-99 war with Yugoslav and Serb forces.
Turkmenistan Bans Sex, Violence And Bad Habits On TV
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has banned the display of sex, violence and bad habits in films and TV programs as part of an effort to promote a “positive image” of the country. All forms of local media are owned by the state and subject to rigid controls. (in Russian, Turkmen Service)
CAUCASUS BLOG: Georgian President Vetoes Amendments To Law On Public Broadcaster
BALKANS BLOG: In ‘Macedonia’ Name Dispute,Optimism In The Air