VIDEO REPORTS
The Daily Vertical: That Sure Is Some Cease-Fire!
The Minsk meeting on the conflict in the Donbas went largely unnoticed, while local media reported 24 attacks in a 24-hour period in Ukraine’s separatist-controlled territories this week.
VoxPop: Do You Approve Of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Activity?
Muscovites responding to an informal street poll overwhelmingly expressed support for Aleksei Navalny’s anti-corruption work, although some said he could be more “constructive” in his approach, and that he needed more evidence. (Russian Service)
Ukrainians Turn Out To Celebrate National Dress
Numerous Ukrainian cities, including Dnipro, Poltava, Kherson, Sumy, Chernivtsi and Zaporizhia marked Vyshyvanka Day on May 19, a day celebrating the country’s national dress. (Ukrainian Service)
Stalin Monument Recreated In Prague
A statue of Josef Stalin has reappeared in the Czech capital. It's part of the set for a film about the sculptor who created a massive monument to the Soviet dictator, but committed suicide before its unveiling in 1955.
Anti-Immigrant Candidate Favored As Austria Goes To Polls
Anti-immigration Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer, who has called the 2015 refugee crisis a “Muslim invasion,” is leading in opinion polls ahead of Austria’s May 22 presidential election.
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
U.S. House Backs Increased Spending For European Deployments
The $602 billion bill backs a quadrupling in spending requested by the Defense Department to help calm nervous NATO allies in Eastern Europe.
Russian Constitutional Court Chief Likens Obama Rhetoric To Hitler's
In remarks before a St. Petersburg legal forum on May 19, Valery Zorkin likened U.S. President Barack Obama's public comments about American "exceptionalism" to Nazi propaganda.
Russia To Seek U.S. Assistance In Browder Investigation
Russian prosecutors have accused British-American financier William Browder and the New York investment fund Ziff Brothers of defrauding the Russian treasury of up to 1 billion rubles in taxes.
Russian Sport Braces For Potential Consequences
As evidence mounts that its troubles stem from a clandestine, state-sponsored doping scheme, the country’s vaunted sports program now stands to lose big -- including a possible team-wide ban from the Rio Olympic Games.
Russian Prosecutors Designate FSB Building A Cultural Monument
The indictment against Russian political-protest artist Pyotr Pavlensky, who is on trial in Moscow for setting alight the door to Federal Security Service headquarters in November 2015, refers to the building as a cultural monument because "leading cultural figures were held under arrest there in the 1930s."
Decommunization Initiative Slates 300 Place Names For Revision
Following a May 19 decision to rename the city of Dnipropetrovsk to Dnipro, lawmakers have proposed replacing the Soviet-era names of an additional 300 other cities, towns and villages with historic ones. (In Ukrainian)
Kazakhstan's Pro-Government TV Channel Speaks With Russian Accent
Kazakhstan's First Channel Eurasia has described recent protests across Kazakhstan, sparked by the issue of land privatization, as a foreign plot.
Tajikistan Seeks Out Victims Of Possible Police Abuse
Tajikistan's Interior Ministry is asking a group of young partygoers briefly detained and possibly roughed up by police last week to come forward with any complaint about alleged mistreatment.
Understanding The Fog Of The Russian Lie
A Finnish Institute of Foreign Affairs report on Russian propaganda describes Russia as “systematic” in promoting selected “meta-narratives,” phrases and images from which are used by politicians and officials in official statements, repeated in state-controlled media for domestic audiences, and propagated again for international audiences. (In Russian)
Prominent economist Igor Nikolayev forecasts a new recession in Russia in 2017-2018, the result of the economy’s current structural crisis and the eventual exhaustion of the country’s State Reserve Fund, which will have negative repercussions, including an increased tax burden for ordinary citizens. (In Russian)
Lukashenka To Visit Italy And The Vatican
During the May 20 - 21 visits, his first official trips to the EU since sanctions were lifted, the Belarus president is expected to discuss trade and economic cooperation with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and meet with Pope Francis. (In Belarusian)