VISUAL REPORTS
Protesting Kazakh Mothers Bused To City Hall
Dozens of mothers campaigning for better social care in Kazakhstan protested outside a conference in the capital, Nur-Sultan, demanding to meet with interim President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev and former President Nursultan Nazarbaev. They were bused to city hall to meet with the mayor instead.
Sleeping Among Corpses: A Ukrainian Nationalist's Lifetime Of Struggle
Teodozia Kobylyanska, a 95-year-old resident of Crimea whose entire life has been dominated by the cause of Ukrainian independence, spent nine years in the Soviet gulag and says she still fears arrest.
'There's Life After Politics,' Says Georgian Ex-President Turned Landlord
Former Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has swapped politics for a quieter life as an Airbnb landlord and a politics teacher.
ICYMI: It’s Not A Sled, It’s Not A Snowboard, It’s An Afghan Surcha
Afghanistan’s take on snowy mountain sports demands nerves of steel.
OTHER NEWS
U.S. Sanctions Target Chechen Officials Over 'Gay Purge' And Nemtsov Murder
U.S. officials have imposed new financial sanctions on a Chechen law enforcement agency linked to a recent "gay purge" of gay and bisexual men in the North Caucasus region. A top-ranking Chechen official has also been sanctioned for his alleged links to the 2015 assassination of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.
Council Of Europe Marks 70th Anniversary With Consternation Over Russia
The Council of Europe’s relations with Russia are in the spotlight as the continent’s key human rights body celebrates its 70th anniversary at a gathering in Finland. Russia has been a member since 1996, but the Council suspended its voting rights after its seizure of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
Belarus Slated To Take Helm Of CSTO
Belarus is expected to take the helm of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, effective January 1, 2020. Russia has led the security alliance, created as a response to NATO, for over 10 years. (Belarus Service)
Cybercrime Gang That Stole $100 Million Dismantled
Following investigations in the U.S., Bulgaria, Germany, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, European and U.S. police have dismantled an international crime gang that used malware to steal $100 million from tens of thousands of victims.
Following Protests, Russian Officials Suspend Church Construction
The mayor of Russia’s fourth largest city says construction work on a proposed new church, which sparked three days of protests, has been temporarily halted, hours after President Vladimir Putin said residents should be consulted in an opinion poll.
Ukraine's Main Parliamentary Coalition Collapses
Ukraine's main parliamentary coalition has broken up after the People's Front party withdrew from it, three days before the inauguration of President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Prominent Kazakh Sinologist Arrested On High Treason Charges
Kazakhstan’s authorities reportedly arrested in February a leading sinologist in the country, Konstantin Syroyezhkin, on charges of high treason. Authorities have provided no details about the case, which had been rumored for weeks.
Kyrgyzstan Adopts Law Allowing Prosecution Of Ex-Presidents
Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov has approved a new law under which former heads of state can be prosecuted, amid calls by some politicians for an investigation into decisions made by his predecessor, Almazbek Atambaev, while he was in office.
China To Help Tajikistan Build Road On Tajik-Afghan Border
Local authorities told RFE/RL’s Tajik Service that China will help Tajikistan build an approximately 43.4 mile road on a hard-to-reach area of the Tajik-Afghan border in the Shamsiddini Shokhin district. (in Russian, Tajik Service)
MAJLIS PODCAST: Kazakhstan’s Pre-Election Discontent
INFOGRAPHIC: New Internal Displacements In Europe And Central Asia, 2018
PRESSROOM: The New York Times Cites RFE/RL’s Schemes Team’s Reporting About Ihor Kolomoisky’s Return To Ukraine