VISUAL REPORTS
VOX POP: Should Ukraine Get Compensation For Crimea?
A large majority of respondents to an informal street poll in Moscow disagreed with the idea of compensation, saying that Crimeans made their choice in the referendum and that the territory was always Russia’s. One person approved the idea, “as long as there is no war,”; another said any decision should be driven by economics, not politics.(Russian Service)
Entrepreneurs Protest In Irkutsk
Businessmen and entrepreneurs in the Siberian city of Irkutsk staged a protest on October 12 against corruption and negligence among local authorities. Among other things, the demonstrators have demanded lower property taxes and a halt to the demolition of kiosks. (Russian Service)
Kyiv Activists Protest Czech President With Goat
Activists in Ukraine demonstrated with a live goat outside Prague's embassy in Kyiv on October 12, after controversial comments made earlier this week by Czech President Milos Zeman about Crimea.
OTHER NEWS
Russia May Send More Iskander Missiles To Kaliningrad
Retired General Vladimir Shamanov, who heads the defense committee in Russia’s lower house of parliament, reportedly said on October 12 that Russia may send more of its most advanced missiles to Kaliningrad in response to the latest U.S. military deployments in the Baltics.
Ex-NATO Chief Proposes ‘Reshaping’ Putin's Peacekeeper Plan For Ukraine
Former NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen says Russia's proposal to send UN peacekeepers to eastern Ukraine is "a Trojan horse," but that it would be worth trying to reshape the plan if it presents an opportunity to resolve the conflict.
Russia Puts Crimea Themes On New Banknote
Russia is introducing a new banknote showing images of Ukraine's annexed Crimea region. The new 200 ruble ($3.5) note was presented by Central Bank chief Elvira Nabiullina at a press conference in Moscow on October 12.
Court Video Purports To Show Russian Ex-Minister Ulyukayev Taking Bribe
A video allegedly showing Russia's former Economics Minister Aleksei Ulyukayev accepting a payoff from an oil company executive was played in court during the ex-government official's bribery trial.
Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Suspected Of Embezzlement
Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Ihor Pavlovsky was detained by agents with the country’s anticorruption bureau on October 12 on suspicion of embezzling ministry funds allocated for purchasing fuel. Prosecutors have demanded the return of approximately $2.8 million. President Petro Poroshenko said he will “cut off the hands” of those who steal from country’s military effort.
PACE Criticizes Ukraine Over New Law On Education
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has expressed concerns over articles in Ukraine’s new education law relating to teaching in minority languages.
Court Documents Assert Shakedown By Daughter Of Late Uzbek President
Court documents obtained by RFE/RL detail a relentless campaign of intimidation by Gulnara Karimova, the elder daughter of Uzbekistan's late president, to wrest control of a major telecoms operator in a multibillion-dollar case that led to an international corruption investigation and her stunning fall from grace.
UN Experts Raise Alarm Over Reports Of LGBT Abuses in Azerbaijan
UN experts are urging Azerbaijani authorities to investigate reports of human rights abuses against gay and transgender people that included arbitrary arrests and ill-treatment, torture, and forced medical examinations while in detention.
Wife Of Azerbaijani Journalist 'Abducted' In Georgia Flees To Germany
The wife of an Azerbaijani journalist who had sought refuge in Georgia has left Tbilisi for Germany. Leyla Mustafayeva told RFE/RL on October 12 that she is currently in Berlin with her four-year-old daughter, Nurayla.
Kyrgyz Woman Candidate Expecting Win In Long Run
Toktaiym Umetalieva, 55, is the only female candidate competing in the election, and the only current candidate who has run for president twice before.
MOST READ/RUSSIA: Autocracy Meets The ‘Information World’
Russian activist Vyacheslav Maltsev, who was arrested in absentia by a court in Moscow on October 9 and placed on in interpol list on charges of calling for extremism at a public rally last May, told RFE/RL that the “information world” does not tolerate dictatorship, will defeat Russian President Vladimir Putin, and may force neo-liberal regimes to change their form of governance. (over 81k views on Russian Service website)
PODCAST: As Iran’s Militias Return From Syria, Dilemma Confronts Tehran
PRESSROOM: RFE/RL Website Wins Silver In 2017 Lovie Awards