VISUAL REPORTS
'I Won, Against All Odds': Camp Survivors And Liberator Recall Auschwitz
Seventy-five years ago today, the Red Army liberated the Auschwitz concentration-extermination camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. For Soviet tank crewman David Dushman, the condition of the camp’s inmates was a shock.
75 Years After Auschwitz’s Liberation, Naming The Dead Still Proves Elusive
Work to name the more than 1 million victims of Auschwitz continues. Historians based at the site are painstakingly piecing together information, using everything from transport lists to suitcase labels to graffiti left behind on camp walls to try to identify all those killed by the Nazis.
The Promise: Why Albanians Saved So Many Jews During World War II
While millions of Jews were being exterminated across Europe during World War II, many Jewish families found refuge and safety in Albania, despite German occupation. Two Albanians recall how their families sheltered Jews and how a centuries-old tradition called Besa kept them alive.
Bellingcat Says Video Places Head Of Skripal Hit Team In Bulgaria In 2015
An analyst at the investigative journalism outlet Bellingcat says gait-recognition technology suggests that an alleged hit man caught on film in Bulgaria in 2015 is the Russian intelligence officer who purportedly commanded the team that tried to fatally poison Sergei Skripal in Britain.
Comedian Flees Russia Amid Probe Over 'Offending Religious Feelings'
Aleksandr Dolgopolov wasn't afraid to joke about Christianity or Vladimir Putin during his standup routine in Moscow. But when he became the subject of a criminal probe, he decided it was time to leave the country.
OTHER NEWS
China Surpasses Russia To Become World’s Second Largest Weapons Producer
In what it is calling “the most complete picture of weapons production by Chinese companies to date,” a recent report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that in 2017, four companies from China sold arms worth $16.4 billion -- more than the 10 largest Russian competitors combined -- making China the second largest weapons producer after the U.S. (Russian Service)
Do Putin's Changes Mean An End To 'Integration' With Belarus?
In his state-of-the-nation address this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not say a word about Belarus. But the fate and the future of Russia's smaller western neighbor could be affected by the proposals he made.
Kremlin Denies Surkov Is Stepping Down
The Kremlin has denied reports that Vladislav Surkov, a longtime aide to President Vladimir Putin, is stepping down. In a Twitter post on January 25, Aleksei Chesnakov, an adviser to Surkov, said Surkov was resigning due to a "change of course on Ukraine."
Kremlin Rights Official Deceived While Probing Deadly Chechen Police Raids
A Russian newspaper has reported that Tatyana Moskalkova, the Kremlin’s main human rights advocate, may have been deliberately deceived as part of her investigation into police raids in Chechnya in 2016 - 2017 that allegedly killed more than two dozen men.
Russian Church Official Proposes Serials And Films To Boost Birthrate
A top official in the Russian Orthodox Church has recommended the state produce films and serials about "healthy family life" to help boost birthrates, contending that” no amount of material benefits will be enough.”
Two Ukrainian Soldiers Killed, Two Wounded In Donbas
A statement by Ukraine's military on January 26 says that one soldier was killed and another wounded by gunfire, while in a separate incident another soldier was killed and another wounded by an improvised explosive device.
Ukrainian NGO Hires Former Trump Adviser To Secure Washington Meetings
The Kyiv-based Institute for Democracy and Development has hired Michael Caputo, a former campaign adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, to help secure meetings this March with officials in Washington, according to a Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filing with the Department of Justice.
Bulgaria Leaps Ahead In Survey Of World’s Best Countries
Bulgaria has moved up to 58th from 67th among 73 nations in an annual survey of the world's best countries commissioned by U.S. News & World Report magazine. The survey, which reviewed 65 attributes relevant to the success of a nation, found that Bulgaria scored highest in quality of life and citizenship.
Uzbekistan Expands List Of Banned Material, Websites
RFE/RL has obtained a copy of a draft document showing that authorities in Muslim-majority Uzbekistan have extensively updated their list of banned religious literature, websites, and other material that officials believe contain extremist content and present a security risk to the nation.
Mirziyoev Promises Citizenship To Long-Time Uzbek Residents
In his state-of-the-nation address to parliament on January 24, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev pledged to provide citizenship to individuals who moved to the Central Asian nation prior to 1995 and have resided there since. Mirzioyev said the move will resolve the citizenship problem for some 50,000 people.
Kyrgyzstan Says Alleged U.S. Travel Ban May Be Linked To Biometric Passport Delay
Kyrgyzstan's top diplomat says his country's possible addition to the U.S. travel ban list might be linked to the Central Asian nation's delay in fully switching to a biometric passport system.
SCHEMES: Ukraine’s Akhmetov Applies Double Standards To Coal Operations In U.S., Ukraine
RFE/RL Ukrainian Service’s investigative program Schemes reports that Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov, who has purchased several coal mines in the U.S. from which he exports coal to his coke plants in Ukraine, takes two distinctly different approaches to business in the two countries, notably in the areas of worker health and safety. (Ukrainian Service)
IRAN: With Reformers Sidelined, Iranian Elections Looking Like Hard-liners Vs. Conservatives