Charles Recknagel is standards editor for RFE/RL.
Putin is betting on Assad as the only power in Syria able to roll back the Islamic State extremist group. But experts give mixed assessments of the gambit's chances of success.
Two years ago, the Kremlin gave Kyiv a bailout loan to try to keep it loyal to Russia. Now Moscow is threatening to use the loan to trigger a cutoff of IMF funds to Ukraine if it defaults on repayment.
Amid the desperate images of Syrians risking their lives at sea to reach Europe, social media is abuzz with the question of why they don't flee to nearby, wealthy Arab Persian Gulf states instead. The answer may lie in those states' own highly ambivalent feelings about refugees.
With as many as 800,000 migrants and refugees expected to arrive in Germany this year, here are five things to know about their chances of gaining asylum there.
The Kremlin often portrays trade with China as the answer to Western sanctions. In fact, despite what President Vladimir Putin suggested ahead of his current visit to Beijing, Russian trade with China is slowing.
Investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, an RFE/RL contributor, has made a defiant closing statement in a Baku courtroom, saying her trial on economic crimes charges won't crush her spirit or stop her work.
As commodity-exporting countries worldwide face problems, Kazakhstan is the latest to feel the economic pain.
Kazakhstan’s tenge currency has lost 26 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar after the government abandoned its currency band exchange rate system to implement a free-floating exchange rate.
China's devaluation of its renminbi could have knock-on effects on other currencies. Here are three things to know.
The fatal beating of an Azerbaijani reporter may reflect a growing sense of impunity over attacks on the country's independent journalists.
The Parchin military facility is center stage in the Iran nuclear crisis as new satellite images show vehicles and other objects near where Iran is suspected of conducting past nuclear-related tests.
Sharp drops in the currencies of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) group of emerging economies are clouding its dream of challenging the U.S. dollar.
Where the five biggest global greenhouse emitters stand today.
What would make Almaty's hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics a historic milestone? How many minutes would it take athletes to travel to most competition areas? Here's a rundown of the answers to these and other questions ahead of the July 31 decision on whether Almaty or Beijing will host the games.
After Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to establish an international tribunal for MH17, proponents of the court are left with only weak second choices.
A reported Turkish-U.S. agreement to create an Islamic State-free zone in northern Syria offers both benefits and risks.
Dushanbe's new directive to officials to speak first to the state news agency could dramatically reduce independent journalists' access to information.
Investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova made a name for herself uncovering official corruption in Azerbaijan, where criticism of the government is rarely tolerated and frequently punished. She's now been sentenced to 7 1/2 years on charges she says are politically motivated.
The Vienna nuclear deal would provide Iran with only partial relief from decades-old sanctions, many of which would still remain in place.
Although an historic Iran nuclear deal has been reached, at least one thorny issue remains.
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