VIDEO REPORTS
Mariupol Marks One Year Since Deadly Shelling
Pro-Russian separatists shelled the city on January 24, 2015, firing more than 120 Grad rockets and leaving 31 people dead and more than 120 injured. (Ukrainian Service)
Protester Disrupts Graffiti Artists' Trial In Minsk
A protester shouting “No to political repression" and "Art is not a crime” disrupted the Minsk trial of three graffiti artists who are charged with property damage and hooliganism after painting political slogans on buildings.
Serbian Photographers Protest Copyright Changes
Serbian photojournalists destroyed their own prints in protest against government proposals to remove copyright protection from their work. (Balkan Service)
Kadyrov Berates Couple On Live Television
A video filmed before Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s recent verbal attacks against Russian opposition figures helps explain why his disfavor evokes terror. This is what happened when Ayshat Inaeva complained about her utility bills on WhatsApp.
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Putin’s Selective Reading Of Soviet History
Speaking to pro-Kremlin activists in the southern city of Stavropol on January 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin again accused Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin of setting off the time bomb that blew the Soviet Union apart.
Security Fears Trumping Human Rights Protections, Says New Report
In its World Report 2016, Human Rights Watch has documented "the most intense crackdown on independent groups in recent times."
Roundtable: Central Asia And The Iranian Trade Route
Iran’s reentry into global trade could afford Central Asian states easier access to global markets, transport routes, and the Persian Gulf.
The president of Russia’s Jewish Congress Yuri Kanner told RFE/RL that anti-semitism in Russia has dramatically decreased, and that Russia should prosecute those who deny crimes under Stalin, not the Holocaust. (In Russian)
Russian actor and director Konstantin Ratser was turned away after auditioning for a role in a movie about pre-Christian Russia because of his last name. (In Russian)
As Corruption Gains, Russians Fear Anti-Constitutional Coup
A Levada Center poll finds that 42 percent of Russian respondents believe that new laws protecting corrupt officials and increased prosecutions of whistle-blowers amount to a “silent constitutional coup.” (In Russian)
INFOGRAPHIC: Will Russia's Rainy-Day Funds Run Dry?
If oil prices don't rise sharply soon, Russia may have to dip further into these funds to plug its budget deficit.
MOST READ: Osokin Switched Off His TV Set
In a “most-read” interview on RFE/RL’s Russian Service website, prominent Russian TV news anchor Mikhail Osokin, most recently with Ren-TV and fired from Russia’s independent NTV channel several years ago, discussed demands on journalists in Russia and said that they and authorities should be subject to lustration. (In Russian)