We know you're busy and probably don't have the time to read all of our coverage each and every day. That's why we've put together The Week's Best. Here are some of the highlights produced in English by RFE/RL's vast team of correspondents, multimedia editors, and visual journalists over the past seven days.
The Monster Returns: Stalin Looms Large Over Putin’s Russia
Although Soviet dictator Josef Stalin died 70 years ago, his presence seems ubiquitous in the increasingly authoritarian Russia of Vladimir Putin. “We are definitely living inside Stalin’s legacy, where the main things are fear, atomization, submission, and other social evils,” a commentator wrote. By Robert Coalson
The Photographer Who Broke Into Communist Hungary's Prison System
After a career documenting the fringes of communist Hungarian society, photojournalist Tamas Urban is slowly releasing a wealth of images to the public that include photos capturing the violence and humanity of life inside the totalitarian prison system. By Amos Chapple
Mother Of Twins Tells Of Remarkable Survival From Bombed Mariupol Maternity Hospital
A Ukrainian mother has told RFE/RL how she and her twins survived the 2022 bombing of a maternity hospital in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and how she got her children to safety. Kateryna Hlukhenka gave birth to twin girls just a month before the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and Iryna Storozhenko
How The Russian State Ramped Up The Suppression Of Dissent In 2023: 'It Worked In The Soviet Union, And It Works Now'
There were no mass demonstrations or brutal crackdowns in Russia in 2023. Instead, using a web of vague laws, President Vladimir Putin’s security forces methodically eliminated dissenting voices and sowed fear throughout society. By Robert Coalson
'Hot Potato': Ukrainian Mobilization Bill Driving A Wedge Between President, Armed Forces
Ukrainians aren’t rushing to sign up for military service as they did in the early days of Russia’s invasion, causing manpower issues and frustrating many on the front lines. A new bill in parliament aims to rectify the problem, but politicians and military officials seem leery of backlash. By RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service
What Might 2024 Have In Store? RFE/RL Journalists Make Their Predictions
We asked some of our most perceptive journalists and analysts to anticipate tomorrow, to unravel the future, to forecast what the new year could have in store for our vast broadcast region. By RFE/RL
Through Wars In Gaza And Ukraine, China Bids To Lead The Global South
In nearly two years of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Beijing has pushed to portray itself as a public peacemaker, while channeling the voice of the non-Western world across the Global South. Now the war in Gaza has given it another opportunity. By Reid Standish
'Without Kosovo, We Would Die:' A Cross-Border Trip Is A Lifeline For Albanians
With no easy access to the nearest city, villagers in northern Albania regularly cross the border into Kosovo to conduct business. In the Kosovar town of Dragash, migrants find a lively market for their farm produce and health services they can't access back home. RFE/RL joined several Albanian migrants on the routine trek through the mountains to try to make a decent living. By Doruntina Baliu, Arben Hoti, and RFE/RL's Balkan Service
Pakistani Protests: Baluch Women Seek Answers, Justice In Disappearance Of Loved Ones
A women-led protest encamped in Pakistan's capital is seeking justice for the families of ethnic Baluch men who were extrajudicially killed or forcibly disappeared amid Islamabad's counterinsurgency campaign against secular, Baluch nationalist rebels. Beginning in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan last month, these women marched more than 1,000 kilometers to protest their cause. By Abubakar Siddique and Wasim Sajjad
'They Keep Coming And Going By The Thousands': Ukraine's Frontline Troops, Residents Brace For Another Year Of War
Ukrainian forces and residents remain resilient as Kyiv's war effort faces a growing list of difficulties heading into 2024. By Oleksiy Prodayvoda and Current Time
