Current Time is the Russian-language TV and digital network run by RFE/RL.
Saratov, in central Russia, is considered the cradle of the Russian gas industry. But despite the city's wealth in resources, some locals still live in barracks built more than 70 years by German prisoners as temporary housing. Ceilings are supported by props, and sewage flows through the streets.
For several years, Aleksandr Gorbunov has been anonymously entertaining millions with his biting commentary on life in Vladimir Putin's Russia. Now, the StalinGulag blogger believes the authorities are losing their sense of humor with him.
The Pamir Mountains of northern Tajikistan are sometimes known as "the roof of the world." Isolated by the rugged terrain, the Pamiri people who live there have preserved some of the Zoroastrian traditions that preceded the advent of Islam.
Dozens of people have been detained by police recently as protests have grown across Kazakhstan. One man tried a more novel approach, to no avail.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, numerous cities and streets have been renamed, and statues have been destroyed to forget the past. But many Russians still have nostalgia for some of the most ruthless leaders.
It's estimated that tens of thousands of people have left Crimea for the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, since the 2014 annexation of the peninsula by Russia.
Police in St. Petersburg broke up a May Day opposition rally and detained dozens of people chanting slogans critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A crumbling wooden house in Russia's Saratov region was due to be demolished -- and with it, a set of unique murals by members of the Old Believers sect. But a visiting student from St. Petersburg decided to do everything she could to save it.
The Russian Orthodox Church has been building numerous places of worship in recent years, but some residents have objected to plans to place them in previously public spaces.
Kazakh activists received jail terms and fines for posting a banner calling for fair presidential elections on the sidelines of the Almaty marathon. Amnesty International is calling the detainees prisoners of conscience.
Anna Kondratyeva, an environmental activist in the Russian city of Perm, is trying to reduce her household's waste to nearly zero. With careful shopping habits, recycling, and a home composting system, she and her husband are close to reaching that goal.
A resident of Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek, has persuaded the city authorities to give him land for a rehabilitation center for rescued wild animals. With the help of volunteers, he saves porcupines, raccoons, foxes, and other animals, and then releases them back them into the wild.
A rare genetic disorder called CLN2 causes children to lose the ability to walk, see, and speak, with most not living beyond their teens. Five-year-old Nastya, from Kamenka in Russia, is one of an estimated 1,500 worldwide suffering from it.
A small town in Tartarstan has struggled after losing two major sources of employment before and after the fall of the Soviet Union. Many residents have moved out of the place once called Tat Vegas.
Russian police detained 11 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights activists taking part in an annual Day of Silence protest in St. Petersburg on April 17.
The traditional Kyrgyz sport of kok-boru, in which horsemen fight to grab a dead goat, is popular and prestigious, and can be lucrative for top riders. But the game can also bring devastating injuries to the players, and deadly ones to their horses.
Russia’s Investigative Committee says two suspected members of the extremist Islamic State group have been “liquidated” in a security operation in central Russia.
Belarus is the last country in Europe to have the death penalty. Since 1991, about 300 death sentences have been carried out in the country. The condemned prisoners are shot in the head. The body is not given to the family and the place of burial remains a state secret.
Russian theater and film director Kirill Serebrennikov, who spent nearly 20 months under house arrest, showed up at a theater performance of a play he directed on April 9 in Moscow after he was released the previous day.
In Turkmenistan, a witness filmed city workers throwing dogs into a garbage truck. In Kyrgyzstan, gunmen were seen shooting strays in broad daylight near a playground. Across Central Asia, animal rights activists are pushing for laws banning cruelty to animals -- and they're making progress.
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