Daisy Sindelar is the vice president and editor in chief of RFE/RL.
More than three weeks after the people of Kyrgyzstan voted in parliamentary elections, the Central Election Commission has announced the results. The announcement held few surprises, with the top five parties now cleared to enter parliament. But a number of losing parties have said they will challenge the results.
Like thousands of Russians who in recent years have abandoned civic complacency in favor of civil engagement, some of the country's best-known musicians have changed.
Russia has officially begun the 12-day process of counting and categorizing its estimated 142 million residents. Authorities are eager to ensure the 2010 All-Russian Census will avoid the pitfalls of the last count eight years ago, when claims of skewed results forced state statisticians to offer revised numbers several years later. Much of the controversy centers on the issue of Russia's ethnic minorities, who are eager to see their ranks get a fair count.
The world chess community is voting for a new president. Grandmaster Anatoly Karpov is in the running. But it's the alien-friendly incumbent, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who's almost certain to win.
When it comes to Kosovo, Serbia and the West occupy alternate realities. Serbia continues to insist Kosovo's independence is not a done deal. The West, with growing impatience, says it is. Germany's foreign minister will become the latest Western diplomat to urge Serbia to leave its reality behind when he travels to Belgrade as part of a three-day Balkans tour.
Like many of Russia's natural disasters, the summer's fires have been compounded by a corrupt and negligent government. But this August surprise comes with a sweetener in the tail -- a massive outpouring of public support from ordinary Russians who have rushed to fill the gap left by floundering state officials.
Russian officials are foundering in fire-relief efforts. But at ground level, a massive support operation is under way -- organized by ordinary citizens and fueled by the web.
Some 70,000 rangers once patrolled Russia's forests full-time. But the Kremlin cut their ranks, and critics say this summer's deadly fires are the consequence.
Russia's record-breaking temperatures have sparked fires, killed crops, and stirred fears of thousands of heat-related deaths. What will be the cost of this long, hot summer?
A complaint filed today before the United Nations Committee Against Torture contends that the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan has failed to prevent or punish police torture. RFE/RL spoke to James Goldston, the executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative, which filed the complaint.
When boom turned to bust in one Mongolian town, residents turned to the land in search of their piece of the country's billion-dollar mineral wealth.
How has Mongolia fared since its first calls for democratic change 20 years ago?
Richard Holbrooke, who is touring Afghanistan and Pakistan as Barack Obama's special envoy, is best known as the hard-nosed diplomat who brokered a peace deal for Bosnia in 1995. What does Holbrooke's legacy in the Balkans mean for the daunting task ahead in South Asia?
As disenchantment grows with the former darling of Georgia's Rose Revolution, President Saakashvili's most strident critics are already on the lookout for a possible counterweight. Could 35-year-old Irakli Alasania be their man?
The year 2008 began with Russia continuing its upward trajectory. Oil prices were high, foreign policy unaccommodating, and a critical political transition passed without incident. But after years of walking tall, Russia now appears to be falling hard under the weight of the global economic crisis.
Rights watchdogs are criticizing a decision to ban international radio stations from broadcasting on Azerbaijan's national frequencies. Beginning January 1, broadcasts by RFE/RL, the BBC, and Voice of America will end in Azerbaijan, where radio remains one of the primary sources of information.
Past and present are deeply intertwined in the Balkans. But in 2008, the region appeared to look in a new direction -- the future. With independence in Kosovo and the arrest of Radovan Karadzic, the region seemed ready to shrug off the weight of history. But is it?
The civilian mission in Georgia of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is to be dissolved after 16 years, after Russia blocked the extension of the mission's mandate at a meeting in Vienna.
Rights activists in Russia say proposed legislation broadening the definition of espionage and treason will return Russia to the darkest days of the Stalinist regime. The legislation -- backed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and the ruling Unified Russia party -- was submitted to the State Duma last week. Critics say the bill, if passed, could subject anyone who criticizes the government to treason charges.
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