Brutal and graphic, the leaked videos documenting torture and sexual violence in Russian prisons have shocked many Russians. The man who leaked them, a former inmate, now tells RFE/RL the story of how they came to light.
Russia has reimposed unpopular lockdown measures after a summer in which officials jeered at similar restrictions in the West. Now, even Kremlin allies are charging that the government’s approach was wrong.
The first administrative cases have been filed in Russia against individuals designated under the so-called "foreign agent" laws. People who have been targeted tell RFE/RL about the consequences of the designation, such as a treadmill of legal obligations and the constant threat of prosecution.
Uzbekistan is having a presidential election on October 24 and President Shavkat Mirziyoev is the overwhelming favorite to be reelected in the managed vote, even though many of his presidential promises remain unfulfilled.
A Kazakh-American with a history of controversial comments on the Soviet Union may become America's next comptroller of the currency.
Here are some of the highlights produced by RFE/RL's team of correspondents, multimedia editors, and visual journalists over the past seven days.
Coronavirus cases and deaths hit new highs, prompting lockdowns and changing the Kremlin's tone as President Vladimir Putin urges Russians to get vaccinated. Putin's imprisoned foe Aleksei Navalny wins the Sakharov Prize and Moscow's relations with the West get a little bit colder.
Iranian officials have boasted about the country's homegrown vaccines, saying they exemplified the Islamic republic's self-sufficiency. But Iran is increasing its imports of foreign-made inoculations as its own vaccine-production efforts suffer setbacks.
As the leaders of Republika Srpska pursue division, other Bosnians take to the walls to remind the country that they are "for peace."
Jonathan Hillman writes in his new book how China and the United States are locked in a digital fight for networks and systems that will play out across the developing world.
The European Parliament’s decision to award Aleksei Navalny its prestigious Sakharov Prize raises his global standing and thus offers something resembling protection for the jailed dissident, analysts and colleagues say.
Never before in the 24 years that the OPCW has existed has a member sought to send inspectors into a country to look for a chemical-weapons program. In the aftermath of Aleksei Navalny's poisoning with a military-grade nerve agent, some countries are pushing to do just that with Russia.
President Aleksandar Vucic's casual response to leniency for a wealthy and well-connected defendant accused of growing tons of illegal marijuana highlighted the legal dilemma of epileptic 58-year-old Dragoljub Mrdjic, who's prison-bound for possessing 88 grams of weed.
A secret base in Tajikistan, digging into Hungary’s China-financed railway, NATO eyes Beijing, and Chinese business goes local in Central Asia.
A Russian court on October 19 outlawed the patriarchal movement Male State, which has harassed feminist activists and railed against proposed legislation on domestic violence. But what is known about the loose network of activists that has long operated with impunity?
A jailed Iranian lawyer who has represented high-profile political prisoners was sent to a psychiatric hospital where he was drugged with unknown substances and subjected to electric shocks, his lawyer has revealed.
A bill expected to become law would require the leaders of all Russian regions to be called "regional head." In Tatarstan, the drive to strip the republic of its "president" is seen as a targeted assault on federalism as part of a concerted drive to bolster Putin's so-called "power vertical."
Rare photographs show the construction and unveiling of some of the famous monuments built during Yugoslavia's socialist era.
Turkmen activists in Turkey have been increasingly vocal in protesting against the authoritarian government in Turkmenistan. And it has caught the attention of Turkmen authorities, who appear to be striking back.
Fiona Hill served as the senior Russia adviser in President Donald Trump's White House. In an interview with RFE/RL, she says she's worried that Putin's singular dominance is destabilizing Russia. And she's worried about what she says are dangerous parallels between Russia and today's United States.
