SvobodaToday

VISUAL REPORTS

THE POWER VERTICAL: The Navalny Phenomenon

Alexei Navalny is telling Russians, yes, we can.

Baltic Elves Fight Kremlin Trolls

They call themselves "elves" -- hundreds of volunteers countering pro-Kremlin trolls who spread propaganda and disinformation online in the Baltic states.

Moldovan President Calls EU Aid 'Geopolitical Assistance'

Moldova's pro-Russian president, Igor Dodon, has accused the European Union of providing "geopolitical assistance" to his country in order to keep a series of pro-EU governments in power in Chisinau.

Elderly In Vladivostok Complain About Poor Pensions And Rich Leaders

Elderly people in Vladivostok were pretty scathing when asked about their pensions, saying Russian leaders were only interested in lining their own pockets.

OTHER NEWS

Russia Warns Canada Against Enacting ‘Magnitsky’ Bill

Russia has warned that it will retaliate over legislation in the Canadian Parliament to impose sanctions on people guilty of human rights violations in Russia and other countries.

Ferry Service Launches Between Russia, North Korea Despite U.S. Demands

A new ferry between North Korea and Russia has docked for the first time at the port of Vladivostok, despite U.S. calls for countries to downgrade relations with Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile-testing programs.

Russian Court Hands Out First Sentence Following March 26 Unsanctioned Protest

A court in Moscow has sentenced a man who took part in an antigovernment protest on March 26 to eight months in a so-called colony settlement for attacking a police officer.

In Russia, Politics Thrives On Encrypted Telegram Messenger

As Russia tried to take the moral high ground after Ukraine banned several Russian social-networking and news sites, some Russians saw a ray of hope concerning their own Internet worries -- namely the clouds gathering over the popular messenger app Telegram.

Ukraine Believers Protest ‘Special Status’ Bill For Russian Orthodox Church

More than 1,000 supporters of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate rallied and prayed near Ukraine’s parliament building on May 18 to protest a bill that would restrict the status of religious institutions in Ukraine whose governing bodies are associated with countries considered by Kyiv to be aggressor states. (Ukrainian Service)

Ukraine Commemorates Deportation Of Crimean Tatars

Ukraine is commemorating the victims of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's mass deportation of Tatars from Crimea in 1944.

'That's Ridiculous': Media Fall For Twitter Hoax That Nobel Winner Alexievich Died

An apparent Twitter hoax has duped major Russian and European media into falsely reporting the death of Belarusian author and Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich.

Belarus Military Exports Doubled In Last Five Years

Chairman of Belarus’s State Military-Industrial Committee Sergey Gurulev told an audience on May 19 said that the country’s arms sales have doubled over the last five years, amounting to $1 billion in 2016. (Belarus Service)

Armenia Sends Gyumri Massacre Convict To Russia To Serve Life Sentence

A Russian soldier convicted of murdering an Armenian family of seven in Gyumri in 2015 has been sent to Russia to serve out his life sentence, the Armenian Justice Ministry says.

COMMENTARY: YouTube Defeats Ostankino

Speaking to Current Time TV, political analyst Ekaterina Shulman said that Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov’s 12-minute-long video reply to Alexei Navalny marks a new era in political communication in Russia, as “YouTube defeated Ostankino, and all information events now take place there.” (in Russian, Current Time TV)

COMMENTARY: Resin And His Krushchevki Team

Ilya Shumanov, Deputy General Director of Transparency International in Russia, calls the mass demolition of 5-story residential buildings in Moscow the result of a “non-transparent system of lobbying.” Shumanov says construction magnate Vladimir Resin, currently a Duma deputy from the ruling United Russia party, is the key drafter of the law and the force behind five companies managing the demolition, relocation of residents, and new design, construction and sale of finished units. (Russian Service)

COMMENTARY: Drunker Is Not Better

Russia’s National Center for Anti-Alcohol Policy has proposed legislation banning episodes on TV and in movies that depict the consumption of alcohol. Center director Pavel Shapkin believes such episodes encourage young people to drink, but Vadim Drobiz, an analyst with an industry research group, calls the proposal “complete nonsense,” and says that Russia must instead, as Western Europe has done, “improve the quality of life so people acquire other interests. We have to work in this direction." (Russian Service)

ANALYSIS: Kazakhs, Turkmen Head To OPEC Meeting With Own Aims

INFOGRAPHIC: Racism In Europe