MORE

All RFE/RL websites

Breaking News

Kevin O'Flynn

Also by Kevin O'Flynn

May 06, 2010
Will Russians Go This Far To Gamble? Don't Bet On It

When Russia imposed a sweeping ban on casinos and slot machines last summer, it sought to soften the blow by promising die-hard gamblers four oases of legal gaming in far-flung outposts in places like the Far East and Kaliningrad. Nearly a year later, however, only one legal casino has managed to open its doors.
May 04, 2010
Critics Say Moscow's New Construction Plan A 'Death Sentence'

Deputies in the city duma have approved in a third reading the General Plan for Development of Moscow Until 2025, or "Genplan." The plan could set in motion a massive 15-year construction boom that will see 5 million square meters of property destroyed and another 200 million square meters rise in its place.
April 23, 2010
Sex Video Continues Smear Campaign Against Russia's Opposition

A video of three Russian opposition figures having sex has been released on the Internet in an apparent smear campaign that one of those targeted warns is far from finished.
April 15, 2010
Russia Halts U.S. Adoptions, U.S. 'Not Aware' Of Policy Change

Russia's Foreign Ministry announced Thursday that all U.S. adoptions of Russian children have been suspended until a joint agreement is drawn up on procedures for further adoption.
April 12, 2010
Russians Mourn Poles Lost In Plane Crash

Russians are also grieving the death of the Polish president and his delegation, covering the pavement outside the Polish Embassy in Moscow with flowers and expressing hopes for better relations between the two countries.
April 09, 2010
Russian Press Hails New Arms Treaty

Russian newspapers and analysts have greeted the new arms treaty with the United States positively, although opinion was divided as to how much the treaty marks the start of a new era in relations between the two countries.
March 13, 2010
Russia's Motor City Fights For Survival

As Moscow launched its own "cash-for-clunkers" program this week, it was aimed squarely at bolstering Russia's automotive leader, AvtoVAZ. The Lada manufacturer employs over 100,000 people and has hovered near bankruptcy since Russian car sales plunged last year.
March 03, 2010
Russians Seeing U.S. In A Sunnier Light

A new poll says the attitude of Russians toward the United States has improved dramatically since the election of U.S. President Barack Obama. RFE/RL correspondent Kevin O'Flynn went out on the streets of Moscow to talk to Russians about whether their view of America has changed, and why.
February 12, 2010
Battle For Russia's Lake Baikal Heats Up

Anger is running high in Russia's Baikal region after the government gave the go-ahead to reopen a notorious paper mill blamed for polluting Lake Baikal for more than 40 years.
February 01, 2010
Russia's Hammer-And-Sickle Building Faces Wrecking Ball

Architectural preservationists in Russia are campaigning to save a unique Constructivist building in the shape of a hammer and sickle, which is threatened with demolition to make way for new development.
January 26, 2010
With 'Land Grabs' On Rise, Will Russians Find New Issue To Rally Around?

Demolition crews working for the Moscow city government today returned to the prosperous dacha community of Rechnik to tear down two more of the neighborhood's houses, after destroying four others last week. The city says the houses were built illegally. But residents argue Moscow officials are looking to seize prime real estate for lucrative development projects.
January 19, 2010
One Year After Double Murder, Muscovites Protest Fascism

Supporters and relatives link killings to the growth of the far right, and say Russia's government should act.
January 06, 2010
Suspicious Fire Guts Historic Russian Dacha

A mysterious fire strikes the historic Muromtsev Dacha, the 1930s wooden country house in a Moscow suburb that was home to Russian writers like Venedikt Yerofeyev. The building's fate had long been under dispute, and local supporters suspect the cultural monument was deliberately set ablaze.
December 21, 2009
Russia Marks 130 Years Since Stalin's Birth

Russia is marking the 130th anniversary of the birth of Soviet leader Josef Stalin with medals and marches in his honor, as well as an exhibition that shows his crude and vindictive side. But even as many Russians continue to revere Stalin as a strong leader, others remember his cruel legacy as the man responsible for millions of deaths during his nearly 30-year rule.
December 17, 2009
NATO Chief Looks For Afghan Help, Eases Tensions

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen departs Moscow today after a three-day trip aimed at easing relations and coaxing Russia to contribute to the war in Afghanistan.
December 01, 2009
Murder Highlights Missionary Role In Russian Church

Nobody knows for sure who murdered Moscow priest Daniil Sysoyev, who died on November 19 after being shot by an unidentified assailant in his own church. But his death, which some have blamed on Islamic extremists, has cast light on how the Russian Orthodox Church has increasingly turned to proselytism work in recent years, and highlighted tensions between the church and Islam.
November 21, 2009
Russia's Tabloid King Builds An Empire

Tabloid journalism has flourished in Russia. The king of the tabloids is steadily building a media empire and offering a school for muckrakers.
November 02, 2009
Britain Attempts Own Russia 'Reset'

Relations between Britain and Russia have grown chilly over the last five years, hurt in part by the poisoning case of Russian ex-security agent Aleksandr Litvinenko. But in Moscow, Foreign Secretary David Miliband and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov struck a warm tone in their public statements, prompting speculation that Britain is attempting a U.S.-style Russia "reset" of its own.
October 30, 2009
Russia Remembers The Repressed -- Past And Present

As Russia marks its annual day of remembrance for the victims of Soviet-era repressions, even the country's president, Dmitry Medvedev, condemned the cruelty of the Stalinist regime. But rights watchers are pointing to a current campaign of killings, arrests, and crackdowns, and say political repressions are not limited to the past.
October 26, 2009
'To Work In Human Rights Is Suicidal'

More than 3,000 people gathered in Ingushetia to bury rights activist Maksharip Aushev, who was killed after the car he was driving was peppered by more than 60 bullets. Before his slaying, Aushev told RFE/RL he had received death threats and had been the target of an attempted kidnapping.

XS

SM

MD

LG