VISUAL REPORTS
THE POWER VERTICAL: Putin's Image Police
Police have been deployed in several Russian cities to guard the president’s campaign billboards.
Deported Saakashvili Accuses Putin, Poroshenko Of 'Wanting To Get Rid Of Me'
Opposition politician Mikheil Saakashvili has accused Russia, Georgia, and Ukraine of “wanting to get rid of" him and urged his supporters to remain calm after he was deported from Kyiv to Poland.
Stockholm Truck Attack Suspect Pleads Guilty As Trial Opens
At the hearing on February 13, Rakhmat Akilov's lawyer said the Uzbekistan native was bent on causing "fear" and driving Sweden out of the U.S.-led coalition against the extremist group Islamic State.
VOX POP: Do You think Navalny’s Anticorruption Campaign Is Successful?
Several respondents to an informal street poll in Moscow said that opposition leader Aleksei Navalny’s main goal is to promote himself. Some said the investigations would be “only 20 percent” effective, at most, and would have no impact on politics, but some said they are forcing people to think, and that things would be worse without him. One said Russian government organs, not Navalny, should be combating corruption. (Russian Service)
Poor But Proud, Kosovo Marks 10 Years Of Independence
On February 17, 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia. Since then, the new country has struggled to build strong institutions, while a weak economy has driven tens of thousands to look for work abroad.
OTHER NEWS
Russian Investigators Probe Crash Data As Operator Grounds Plane Model
Russian authorities began examining two flight recorders from a plane that crashed outside Moscow, while the airline operator grounded similar plane models in its fleet.
U.S. Embassy In Moscow To Get New Address?
The Russian news agency Interfax reports that authorities are set to consider a proposal mooted by the party of ultranationalist leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky to change the embassy’s address to 1 North American Dead End.
‘False’ Radiation Alert Causes Scare In Western Russia
Residents of Russia's Yaroslavl region got a scare when local TV and radio stations broadcast a radiation warning, but the Emergency Situations Ministry said the broadcast was a mistake.
Navalny Sues Roskomnadzor
Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny has filed a lawsuit against Roskomnadzor after the media regulator required that he remove the report of an investigation into corruption involving Deputy PM Sergei Prikhodko and billionaire Oleg Deripaska. Earlier Roskomnadzor included Navalny’s blog in a list of banned websites. (Russian Service)
Sign Of The Times? Putin Billboards 'Under Guard' By Off-Duty Police
A police sergeant in western Siberia says he and fellow officers have been ordered to use their own vehicles to guard President Vladimir Putin's billboards in an unprecedented operation to ward off "the protest-oriented population."
Russian Cargo Ship Launched To Space Station After Two-Day Delay
An unmanned Russian cargo spacecraft carrying 2.7 tons of food, fuel, and other supplies has blasted off from the Russian-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan for the International Space Station.
British Judge Rules Soviet-Era Dissident Bukovsky Too Ill To Stand Trial
A British judge has ruled that Soviet-era dissident Vladimir Bukovsky is too ill to stand trial on charges of creating and possessing indecent images of children. The 73-year-old Bukovsky pleaded not guilty at an initial hearing in Britain in 2015.
Ukrainian Experts Say EU And World Bank Taking Cues From IMF
Ukrainian investment banker Serhiy Fursa has told RFE/RL that without assistance from the IMF, Ukraine will lose the support of other international donors, whose contributions are critical to the country’s budget. An IMF team visited the country on February 12. (Ukrainian Service)
Belarus Puts Ukrainian Journalist On Trial For Espionage
The Supreme Court of Belarus says it has started the closed-door trial of Pavlo Sharoyko, a Ukrainian journalist, charged with espionage.
Serbia’s Vucic Begins 'Uneasy But Useful' Visit To Croatia
The presidents of Croatia and Serbia have pledged to intensify work on border issues, minority rights, and searching for missing persons from their 1990s war in an effort to improve strained bilateral ties.
Lawyer Says Health Of Jailed Kyrgyz Politician At Risk
The health of one of three jailed Kyrgyz opposition politicians who have been on a hunger strike for several days is very serious, a lawyer says. Bektur Asanov, Kubanychbek Kadyrov, and Ernest Karybekov, who were arrested in March 2016 and accused of plotting to overthrow the government, claim the charges are an attempt to blackmail the opposition, and have demanded a retrial.