As the sun came up over Kyiv's Independence Square on February 20, 2014, weary protesters perhaps thought the bloodiest violence was over, with 28 people killed in clashes with police in the previous two days. Little did they know worse was yet to come. Here's how the day unfolded.
Russia has been ramping up its military presence in the Arctic, reopening abandoned Soviet-era bases, boosting its troop presence, building new facilities, and refurbishing infrastructure and air fields across a region that stretches from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland to the seas off Alaska. The push reflects a new emphasis under President Vladimir Putin on the Arctic as a region of strategic importance that is also rich in oil and gas reserves. The push comes as melting sea ice opens up those Arctic energy resources, prompting a scramble by Russia and other Arctic nations -- Denmark, Canada, the United States, and Norway -- to stake competing territorial claims. Mouse over and click each dot to see details of Russia's Arctic expansion.
As February 20, 2014, dawned, Kyiv's pro-European protest movement was still tense, two days after violent clashes left as many as 28 people dead in the single bloodiest day of the protests to date. But February 20 descended into even greater bloodshed. It is still not clear what started it, or who gave the order, but by the end of the day more than 50 demonstrators had been shot dead in downtown Kyiv. Many in the new Ukrainian government -- former Euromaidan protest leaders themselves -- say the massacre could only have happened with a direct order by former President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled as the total protester death toll topped 100 (17 law enforcement members also died). Click on the map below to learn more about the tragic day.
In a recent poll by Russia's independent Levada Center, Russians were asked about their current view of the United States, European Union, Ukraine, Belarus, and China. Below are the percentages expressing a negative view of each, compared with the numbers from a year earlier.
Some 8 million people die from cancer every year. Although the disease can strike at any time in a person's life, the risk generally increases with age, making greater prevalence in some countries with higher life expectancies more likely. Other factors include alcohol and cigarette consumption, availability of screening and treatment facilities, and quality of treatment. According to The Lancet medical journal, over the next two decades any reductions in infection-related cancers will be "offset by an increasing number of new cases that are more associated with reproductive, dietary, and hormonal factors" around the world.
How do countries in Europe and North America limit free speech? Hover over each country for details.
RFE/RL's interactive map shows the countries of Europe and the Muslim populations in each nation.
For every $10 drop in the price of crude oil, Russia loses about $106 million in foreign currency income a day.* Russia's 2015 budget is based on global oil prices averaging out at about $100 a barrel. At the start of 2015 Russia was losing some $500 million a day in projected income.
Take a look at the 2014 media and civil society crackdown in Azerbaijan -- a country Reporters Without Borders calls "Europe's biggest prison for media personnel."
Havel’s Place is a memorial dedicated to Vaclav Havel, the Czech playwright-turned-dissident who led the 1989 overthrow of communism in Czechoslovakia and later went on to become the country's president. Each Havel's Place comprises two chairs linked by a round table with a tree growing through its center to symbolize a willingness to sit down and talk. Here are the memorials around the world.
In Ukraine, every picture tells a story. RFE/RL traveled to six Ukrainian cities in search of old family photographs -- and the people who treasure them as an affirmation of who they, and their country, are today.
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