Claire Bigg covers Russia, Ukraine, and the post-Soviet world, with a focus on human rights, civil society, and social issues.
Chinese and Belarusian authorities are planning to build a $5 billion manufacturing park outside Minsk. The Belarusian government has promoted the park as a mutually beneficial project that could lift the former Soviet nation out of a crippling economic crisis. But the project has met with resistance from local residents.
Iceland's capital, Reykjavik, is considering revoking its sister-city status with Moscow to protest the adoption of tough antigay legislation in Russia. Several European cities have already suspended cultural ties with St. Petersburg over the legislation, which bans the dissemination of homosexual "propaganda" to minors.
With a leading member seeking to cast doubt over a new video released by the group, there appears to be a split in the ranks of Pussy Riot, Russia's feminist opposition punk performance collective.
A controversial Ukrainian feminist activist has become the new face of Marianne, a popular national emblem in France. Inna Shevchenko, the leader of the Femen movement -- best known for its topless protests -- now features on France's official stamps. Shevchenko was granted political asylum in France last week after running afoul of Ukrainian authorities.
The director-general of the prestigious Bolshoi Theater has been fired following a series of damaging scandals. The theater's troubles culminated in January, when an acid attack left the artistic director of its ballet company almost blind.
Western states are treading carefully after Egypt's army ousted its popularly elected Islamist president, Muhammad Morsi. They have stopped short of either backing or condemning the move, which was accompanied by a suspension of the constitution and a pledge of early elections.
A new poll suggests that about half of Russians would not mind if Chechnya broke away from Russia. The independent Levada Center says its survey highlights growing disillusionment with the Kremlin's policies in the North Caucasus.
Supporters of Mikhail Khodorkovsky on Wednesday (June 26) celebrate the jailed former oil tycoon's 50th birthday with a worldwide letter-writing campaign. Khodorkovsky's press center has also been releasing video clips by well-wishers for the occasion.
Russian authorities may be seeking to strip St. Petersburg's picturesque tsarist-era suburbs of their status as World Heritage Sites. Conservationists say a Russian document recently submitted to UNESCO significantly reduces the territory outside St. Petersburg currently protected by the UN agency. The move has raised fears of large-scale construction in the area.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas has announced he is stepping down over a corruption and spying scandal involving his closest aide. Necas's resignation, which follows sweeping raids at government offices, forces the entire government to stand down.
As ecologists worldwide mark World Environment Day, Russia’s green activists say they are under unprecedented pressure from authorities. Russian prosecutors have carried out spot inspections at hundreds of nongovernmental organizations in recent months, part of a controversial campaign aimed at forcing some groups to register as "foreign agents." Environmental groups have not been spared.
Authorities are planning to put up a commemorative plaque on a Moscow building where Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev once lived. The move comes as a new poll shows that most Russians view Brezhnev as the greatest Russian leader of the 20th century.
U.S. scientists have reportedly succeeded in producing early human embryos through cloning, a major breakthrough that could potentially help treat a number of diseases and injuries with stem cells. But the study, which used techniques similar to those that created the cloned sheep Dolly in Scotland in 1996, has raised ethical concerns.
Foreign ministers from the eight Arctic nations have met in Sweden to discuss problems posed by climate change and growing commercial activity.
Akhmed Bilalov, a former deputy head of Russia’s Olympic Committee, says he has been poisoned with mercury. Bilalov’s claim comes just weeks after he was fired by President Vladimir Putin over huge cost overruns in the construction of a ski jump for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The allegations add to the long list of controversies surrounding the upcoming Sochi Olympics.
North Caucasus residents appear to have strong misgivings about the alleged involvement of brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the Boston Marathon bombings. Despite evidence provided by U.S. investigators, many in the Russian region believe the two were set up by U.S. authorities.
In Russia, the Kremlin-directed inspections of foreign funded NGOs have raised concerns that civil society groups which perform vital services for thousands of people could face large fines or closure. RFE/RL reports on the role these NGOs play in Russian society.
Two men identified as suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings are brothers of Chechen origin, raised in Kyrgyzstan, who moved about a decade ago to the United States.
A popular Russian TV host has publicly apologized for joking about the Soviet-era massacre of Ukrainians during a cooking show. Ivan Urgant sparked furor in Ukraine by likening the chopping of vegetables to the slaughter of Ukrainian villagers by the Soviet security services.
Russian investigators are wrapping up their probe into more than 20 people charged with participating in “mass unrest” during an antigovernment rally last year. The “Bolotnaya” case, named after the site of the protest, has come to symbolize the continuing wave of pressure against Kremlin critics.
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