VISUAL REPORTS
THE POWER VERTICAL: It’s The Kremlin’s World
The data points are there: Expecting less pushback from the West, Moscow is signalling to its neighbors that their sovereignty is conditional.
Wheels Up! First Flight In 25 Years From Tajikistan To Uzbekistan
The first flight in 25 years between Tajikistan and neighboring Uzbekistan departed from Dushanbe.
How To Please Your Mother-in-Law
Kyrgyzstan state television has launched a reality game show in which aspiring daughters-in-law must impress a would-be mother-in-law.
OTHER NEWS
Turkmen President Extends Rule In Tightly Controlled Vote
Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, the authoritarian president of gas-rich Turkmenistan, has secured a third term in office by winning 97.69 percent of the vote in the February 12 election, according to the Central Election Commission.
Rally In Romanian Capital Escalates Pressure On Government
More than 70,000 people in the Romanian capital of Bucharest kept up the pressure on the government late on February 12, creating a human tricolor flag as they called the country's leaders "thieves" and chanted "down with corruption."
Prominent Ukrainian Author Seized In Belarus, Ordered To Leave
Popular Ukrainian writer Serhiy Zhadan says he was seized by Belarusian security agents in the middle of the night while visiting Minsk and ordered to leave the country.
Photo Of Russian Ambassador’s Killer Wins World Press Photo Award
The top 2016 World Press Photo Award was won by Associated Press photographer Burhan Ozbilidzhi for his photo of the shooter who gunned down Russia’s ambassador to Turkey in Ankara on December 19, 2016. (in Russian, Current Time TV)
Russian Writer Directs Separatist Battalion In Ukraine’s Donbas
Prominent Russian writer Zakhar Prilepin, a founder of the modern genre known as “military prose,” has told the Russian TV channel Rain (Dozhd) that since October 2016 he has been serving as a deputy director and political adviser to a separatist battalion in the self-declared “Donetsk People’s Republic” in eastern Ukraine. (in Russian, Current Time TV)
Russian Activists Discover High Radioactivity In World War II-Era Bunkers
The St. Petersburg branch of the Bellona environmental NGO has detected radiation measuring more than 1,000 times background levels among decaying World War II bunkers in Russia’s Karelia region.
Former Russian Deputy Eyes Kiribati Islands For Revived Romanov State
Russian oligarch and head of the tiny Monarchy party Anton Bakov told RFE/RL he is engaged in discussions with the leadership of the Pacific microstate Kiribati to establish an independent Romanov polity on three uninhabited islands. Bakov is critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who “cannot be a Tsar by birth” and “allows himself to be led by public opinion,” and would install Nicholas III, Prince Karl-Emich of Leiningen, who is a direct descendant of the Romanov dynasty, to lead the new state. (Russian Service)
Kazakh Journalist Arrested On Money-Laundering Charges
The acting chief editor of an independent Kazakh newspaper has been arrested on money-laundering charges.
SCHEMES: Who Wants To Be Ukraine’s Chief Justice?
A specially selected commission will begin a review of judges nominated to head a new, unified Ukrainian Supreme Court this month, but RFE/RL’s investigative program Schemes reports that the assets and judicial records of several candidates raise questions. (Ukrainian Service)
ANALYSIS: Will Kadyrov Reap The Whirlwind In Chechnya?
Over the past two months, Chechnya has entered a new phase of instability that differs in several key regards from the sporadic low-level insurgency of the past 16 years.
PODCAST: Why Turkmenistan's Presidential Election Might Not Be A Total Waste Of Time
PODCAST: WORLD RADIO DAY: The Relevance Of Radio In Central Asia
MEDIA ADVISORY: RFE/RL Condemns Turkmenistan’s Treatment of Journalists