VIDEO REPORTS
The Daily Vertical: History As Heresy
The Kremlin’s contempt for the memory of the deportation of Crimean Tatars from their homeland 72 years ago is nothing short of stunning.
Chechen Whistle-Blower Fears Reprisals
Ramazan Dzhalaldinov, who complained to Russian President Vladimir Putin about official corruption in Chechnya, spoke to RFE/RL's Current Time TV about how his home in the village of Kenkhi was torched.
Macedonian Protesters Up Ante With Slingshot
Antigovernment protesters in Macedonia on May 17 escalated their demonstrations in Skopje, deploying water-guns and a giant slingshot to target the government headquarters with paint bombs.
Locusts Descend On Southern Tajikistan
Tajik farmers in the village of Farkhor, near the border with Afghanistan, have lost hundreds of hectares of crops due to an infestation of locusts.
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Montenegro To Sign NATO Accession Deal
Montenegro and NATO will sign an accession agreement on May 19, paving the way for the Balkan country to become the 29th member of the military alliance.
EU’s Mogherini Expects Sanctions To Continue
European Union foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini says she expects sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine to be renewed in July.
Russia Rejects Yanukovych Extradition
Russia has declined Ukraine’s request to extradite former President Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine’s General Prosecutor's office announced on May 18, raising questions about whether the fugitive president, who is on an Interpol list, will be questioned on Russian territory. (In Ukrainian)
Ukraine Refuses Gazprom Bill For Eastern Territories
Ukraine’s state oil company Naftogaz has confirmed that it will not pay for gas provided by Gazprom to separatist-held territories in eastern Ukraine, rejecting a bill from the Russian gas giant of $670 million for the period February 2015 - April 2016. (In Ukrainian)
A Sochi Beach For Putin's Friend
A highly profitable stretch of Sochi’s Black Sea coast has been transferred to a non-profit foundation run by President Vladimir Putin's long-time friend, cellist Sergei Roldugin. Commercial construction of the beach is in full swing, but local media say they’ve seen no building permits or deed. (In Russian)
Russian Protest Artist Pavlensky Alleges Police Brutality
Russian political-protest artist Pyotr Pavlensky, currently in pre-trial detention as two cases against him continue, wrote "I have a broken knee, a fractured rib, [and] internal bruising" in a message passed from his Moscow jail cell.
The Secrets Behind Russia’s Secret Surveillance
A decade-long study by the Russian NGO Agora on politically motivated surveillance in Russia finds that security services monitor activity on social networks, analyze financial transactions, and collect and analyse biometric data. In Crimea, fingerprint scans are frequently used to monitor Crimean Tatars. (In Russian)
Dnepropetrovsk To Be Dnipro From Now On
Ukrainian lawmakers on May 19 voted to change the name of the large industrial city of Dnepropetrovsk to Dnipro in an effort to erase the city’s association with Grigory Petrovsky, an architect of the Ukrainian famine of 1932-1933. (In Ukrainian)
Information Blackout In Turkmenistan
The dismantling and removal of satellite dishes in Turkmenistan continues, part of what many believe to be an official effort to prevent residents from accessing outside information.
ANALYSIS: New Weaponry, And Tough Rhetoric Stoke Fears Of New Arms Race
Twenty-five years after the end of the Cold War, with Russia and Western powers squaring up over continuing conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, there are fears that Moscow and Washington are on the cusp of a new arms race -- nuclear, conventional, or both.
INFOGRAPHIC: The Most, and Least, Welcoming Nations For Refugees