Russia is marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the Siege of Leningrad on January 27, 1944. The siege by German and Finnish forces during World War II lasted for 872 days -- one of the longest and deadliest in history. Estimates of casualties vary, but some sources state that 1 million residents of Leningrad -- present-day St. Petersburg -- died from hunger, disease, exposure, and shelling. (10 PHOTOS)
A day after intense clashes between protesters and riot police left at least three people dead, activists in Kyiv set fire to tires and barricades, filling the streets with smoke. The main opposition leaders have called on their supporters to refrain from violence, but they have threatened that antigovernment protesters will go "on the offensive" unless President Viktor Yanukovych calls an early election. (16 PHOTOS)
On January 24, 1984, the first "Mac" was released. It is considered the first commercially successful personal computer to use a mouse and a graphical user interface, which was modeled after a desktop.
Ninety years ago, on January 25, 1924, the first Winter Olympic Games opened in Chamonix, France. Initially known as Semaine des Sports d'Hiver (International Winter Sports Week), the games were associated with the 1924 Summer Olympics and were later designated as the first Winter Olympic Games. The small mountain resort town invested heavily to build a bobsled run and an ice rink and improve its existing ski jump. (15 PHOTOS)
A legal team commissioned by the Qatari government says it has verified the authenticity of a collection of photos of torture victims in Syria. The large collection images are said to show 11,000 bodies and victims of starvation, torture, and execution. They were reportedly smuggled out of Syria by a police photographer. (Warning: graphic images)
Some of the most compelling photographs from RFE/RL's broadcast region and beyond. For more photo galleries, see our "Picture This" --> http://www.rferl.org/archive/rferl-photo-blog/latest/16235/16235.html archive.
Clashes between riot police and antigovernment protesters have shaken the Ukrainian capital since January 19, when thousands gathered to protest harsh new legislation restricting demonstrations. Hundreds of people have been reported injured in the unrest. Protesters threw rocks and petrol bombs, setting fire to cars and buses and using the debris to build barricades in the streets. (Photos by Pavlo Zubyuk, RFE/RL)
January 21 is the 90th anniversary of the death of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the founder of the Bolshevik party and the Soviet state. Here's a look at the life of one of the most influential political figures of the 20th century.
Protests broke out January 15 in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh after long-time mayor Melis Myrzakmatov was defeated in indirect elections. City lawmakers voted 25-19 to elect Aitmamat Kadyrbaev, the former deputy governor of the Osh region and an ally of Kyrgyz Prime Minister Jantoro Satybaldiev. (RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, Ernist Nurmatov)
A new building housing the Gazi Husrev-Beg Library, a collection of more than 100,000 mainly Arabic and Turkish texts, has opened in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The library was founded in 1537 by Gazi Husrev-beg, a provincial governor of Bosnia under Ottoman rule, who also financed many buildings in Sarajevo's old city. The location of the collection was moved many times throughout its history; during Bosnia's war of the 1990s, the collection was housed in eight different locations. The newly built library was funded by donations from Qatar. (Photos by Midhat Poturović, RFE/RL's Balkan Service)
The village of Kandovan in Iran's East Azerbaijan Province is home to ancient cliff dwellings, some of them inhabited for as long as 700 years.
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