Claire Bigg covers Russia, Ukraine, and the post-Soviet world, with a focus on human rights, civil society, and social issues.
At least four statues of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin have been vandalized since the beginning of the year in Ukraine, a trend attributed to growing public rejection of the country's Soviet past.
Andrei Kurayev, a prominent Orthodox theologian, says he is bracing for further retaliation after exposing what he claims is a powerful gay lobby within the Russian Orthodox Church. Kurayev has been fired from the prestigious Moscow Theological Academy over his allegations.
Protesters have been camped out for a month in central Kyiv against their government's decision to put a key EU pact on ice. And behind the scenes, thousands of Kyiv residents are sustaining the protests by keeping demonstrators warm and well fed.
A Belarusian ensemble named after the popular Soviet-era band Pesniary says it was tricked into performing at a Kyiv rally in support of Ukraine's beleaguered president.
Jailed Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is scheduled to perform at concerts in Siberian prisons. Russian prison authorities have made it clear the concerts will differ radically from Pussy Riot's punk, subversive style.
A Russian doctor is on trial for helping a terminally ill patient obtain pain relief. The case shines a spotlight on the dire lack of palliative care in Russia.
Russian state-controlled television channels have treating its viewers to a raft of disparaging, often bizarre reports playing down the pro-European protests in Ukraine.
A documentary film shedding light on the alleged graft, waste, and violations behind the Sochi Olympics premieres in Russia this week, even as the producer says Russia has attempted to block the film's screening.
Georgia and Moldova have taken a symbolic step toward the European Union by initialing association agreements with the 28-nation bloc at a summit in Lithuania. But both countries, while hailing the move as historical, expect retaliation from Russia.
Ukrainian students have become a driving force behind protests against the government's move to walk away from an association agreement with the European Union. Their protest has drawn comparison to the Occupy movement and highlights what some say is a generational rift.
A day after tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied in Kyiv to protest the government's abrupt policy shift toward Russia, one question is on many people's minds: is Ukraine headed for a repeat of the 2004 Orange Revolution?
In 1932-33, thousands of starving Ukrainians were able to flee the "Holodomor," the devastating famine that claimed millions of lives in Soviet Ukraine. A number of them sought refuge in Chechnya, including orphaned children who were eventually brought up by local families. But this fact remains virtually unknown outside Chechnya.
Russian investigators are trying to determine what caused a passenger jet to crash in Tatarstan on November 17, killing all 50 people on board.
Bulgarian students are intensifying protests to topple the government over what they denounce as its failure to tackle rampant corruption and poverty. The unrest has already brought down one government this year in the European Union's poorest state.
A court in Minsk has sentenced a man to five days in prison for wearing a T-shirt with a slogan calling for President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's resignation.
A St. Petersburg schoolteacher is battling to keep her job after coming under fire for participating in gay-rights demonstrations. At least three more teachers have been harassed this year over their ties to the gay community amid a widening antigay campaign in Russia.
Concern is mounting over Sergei Krivov, one of over 20 people charged during an opposition rally in Moscow last year. Krivov has been on hunger strike for 50 days to protest his right to a fair trial.
A drag queen from Austria has sparked controversy after being selected to represent "her" country at next year's Eurovision song contest. The singer, known onstage as Conchita Wurst, appears to have particularly virulent foes in Belarus, where a campaign is under way to have her barred from television.
Georgians elect a new president on October 27. The vote will end the decade-long rule of Mikheil Saakashvili and usher in important constitutional changes.
Mikheil Saakashvili will step down after almost a decade in power when Georgians choose a new president on October 27. RFE/RL takes a look at the legacy of a charismatic but divisive leader.
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