We know that rferl.org isn't the only website you read, and it's possible that you may have missed some of our most interesting journalism from the past week. To make sure you're up-to-date, here are some of the highlights produced by RFE/RL's team of correspondents, multimedia editors, and visual journalists over the past seven days.
Counting The Dead: How Do Countries Tally The Toll From COVID-19?
Coordinating the global response to the coronavirus pandemic is already a major challenge. Add to that the fact that different countries count their cases, and fatalities, differently. Sometimes for political reasons. By Mike Eckel
Not So Green On The Other Side: How A Russian Tycoon's Big U.S. Cannabis Bet Went Up In Smoke
Shortly before Siberia-born coal-to-cannabis magnate Dmitry Bosov was found dead at his mansion outside Moscow in early May, the U.S. hemp and marijuana business he invested $165 million into was apparently unraveling. Who was Bosov, and why did he fail in an industry with echoes of the dot-com boom? By Todd Prince
Pre-Soviet Uzbekistan Captured In Perfect Color
Before becoming famous for photographing tsarist Russia, Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky captured stunning photos of life in Central Asia more than a century ago. By Amos Chapple
Video Purportedly Shows Russian Snipers In Ukraine
Video released by the Ukrainian military shows what it claims is a team of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) snipers operating in eastern Ukraine. Analysts interviewed by RFE/RL agreed that the men's equipment indicated that, at the very least, they were supported by a state actor -- and that Russia was the most likely candidate. By Ray Furlong and RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Who Lives? Who Dies? Russia's Front-Line Doctors Face Agonizing Dilemmas As COVID-19 Crisis Unfolds
As Russia's health-care system is increasingly tested by the COVID-19 crisis, frontline doctors find themselves caught between an onslaught of patients and managers and officials eager to blame them for any shortcomings. By Sergei Khazov-Cassia
The Death Of Stalin: Unique Propaganda Footage Shows Dictator's Funeral
Largely unseen footage of the funeral and official mourning following the death of Soviet leader Josef Stalin is featured in a new documentary, State Funeral, by Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa. It's being shown on Current Time, the Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. The mourning events were held at factories, on collective farms, town squares, and in meeting halls across the Soviet Union. By Ray Furlong and Current Time
First Person: An RFE/RL Correspondent's Battle With COVID-19 In Russia
In late April, RFE/RL Russian Service correspondent Lyubov Chizhova developed a fever and other symptoms of COVID-19. In a first-person account, she tells the story of her illness and her struggle for treatment.
Coffee, Crafts, Bazaars: Crimean Tatar Life Before The 1944 Deportation
In May 1944, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin ordered the mass deportation of the entire Crimean Tatar population from the region to Central Asia, collectively accusing the community of collaborating with Nazi Germany. Tens of thousands of Crimean Tatars died while being transported on cattle trains or during the first few months after they arrived in Central Asia. Ukraine's parliament has recognized the Crimean Tatars’ deportation as an act of genocide. But in the early 20th century, Crimean Tatar culture was flourishing. Here is a glimpse of Tatar life in the region before the deportation. By the Crimea Desk of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Life On Hold: Fearing Discrimination, Kazakh Pair Keeps Gender On The Q.T.
The fear of discrimination has forced a married Kazakh couple – a transgender woman and a pansexual woman -- to hide their sexual identities and pretend to be heterosexual husband and wife. By Zhanara Kantarbai and Farangis Najibullah
COVID-19 Exposes Funding Crisis In Ukraine's Hospitals
COVID-19 is exposing acute funding shortages in Ukraine's health service. In Kharkiv, a public hospital is mostly relying on private donations and patients are paying for medicines that are supposed to be free. By Current Time
Activists Call For Investigation Into Case Of Female Genital Mutilation, Saying It Would Be A First For Russia
Activists in Russia's North Caucasus region of Ingushetia have filed a formal request for state investigators to probe a clinic where a 9-year-old girl underwent female genital mutilation. An advocacy group says that a formal investigation would be the first of its kind in Russia, where the practice is not banned. By Anna Peysakhova and Tony Wesolowsky
In Locked-Down Russia, Rising Domestic Violence Fuels A Culture War
With much of Russia nearing two months under lockdown, women’s rights activists warn of a marked rise in incidents of domestic violence. But conservatives who have long waged a cultural battle against what they call interference in family relations are dismissing such claims and, their critics say, thwarting attempts to remedy the situation. By Matthew Luxmoore