An audience gathers for the first day of the poetry festival Meridian Czernowitz in Chernivtsi, Ukraine.

Interview: Seeing Czernowitz As A 'Retrospective Utopia'

Historically a cultural and architectural center, Chernivtsi was even dubbed Little Vienna and Jerusalem-upon-the-Prut, a Danube tributary that runs through the city. This multicultural city is currently hosting an international poetry festival, "Meridian Czernowitz." RFE/RL speaks to one of the festival's organizers, Igor Pomerantsev. More

Prime Minister Vlad Filat (left) and Marian Lupu have both emerged as probable candidates for a direct presidential election, possibly splitting the coalition vote.

Moldovan Referendum Set, But No End In Sight To Political Standoff

Voters in Moldova go to the polls on September 5 in a referendum on whether to establish direct presidential elections -- a vote aimed at helping break a political deadlock that has gripped the country since April 2009. More

A U.S. soldier carried his bag as he prepared to leave Iraq in mid-August.

State Department Set To Increase Presence In Iraq

The capacity-building that thousands of U.S. civilians are charged with carrying out in Iraq presents a new and daunting set of security challenges, including protecting State Department employees working in a country that remains among the world's most dangerous. More

Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh: "These charges against me are ridiculous."

Iran's Human Rights Lawyers Increasingly Facing Their Own Days In Court

Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who has defended a number of political and human rights activists in Iran, is now facing her own day in court. After security forces searched her home and office and took away some of her personal belongings, she was charged with crimes against the state and ordered to face questioning this week. More

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin behind the wheel of a Lada Kalina somewhere in Siberia in late August.

Driven To Distraction: Putin's Lada Stunt Backfires Video

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's ride across Siberia in a brand new Lada Kalina, designed to boost both Russia's flailing car industry and his own popularity ratings, appears to have run into an embarrassing glitch. Amateur videos showing three identical presidential Kalinas, one of them on a tow truck, are making the rounds on the Internet. More

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Pakistan Devastation Hits High-Water Mark

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Russian Rights Activist Battles On In Chechnya

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