Daisy Sindelar is the vice president and editor in chief of RFE/RL.
Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has continued its dismissal of government officials appointed by now-removed President Viktor Yanukovych -- including the controversial education minister, Dmytro Tabachnyk.
A day after Ukraine's newly opposition-dominated parliament voted to remove President Viktor Yanukovych from power, a question remains that may haunt the legitimacy of any future government: Was his ouster legal?
In Ukraine, the regime of President Viktor Yanukovych is looking increasingly weak. In one of the most telling signs, charter flight logs indicate that Party of Regions lawmakers and pro-presidential oligarchs may be fleeing in droves.
A team of Russian actors and international filmmakers have joined forces in the Czech capital, Prague, to make what they're calling a cinematic message of support for Russia's LGBT community. The Russian-language film, "PUT[IN]LOVE," debuts online on February 14, to coincide with both Valentine's Day and the ongoing Sochi Olympics.
It's green. It kills germs. It's "zelyonka" -- and it's becoming a weapon of choice to assault Ukraine's opposition.
Czech President Milos Zeman has defended his right to host Uzbek President Islam Karimov for an official visit later this month.
The United States has apologized for the content of a leaked telephone call in which U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland apparently used strong language to dismiss EU involvement in Ukraine and doubts opposition leader Vitali Klitschko's ability to occupy a senior government post.
The kidnapping and apparent torture of Euromaidan activists like Dmytro Bulatov -- who has been transported to Lithuania for medical care after saying that captors sliced off part of his ear and drove nails through his hands -- has raised fears of Russian or Russian-speaking "death squads" operating in Ukraine
Scenes from Ukraine's Euromaidan protests have been captured vividly in photographs, video, and even paintings. Now an artist and a journalist have paired to create striking, illustrated portraits of the everyday Ukrainians supporting the demonstrations.
During the past week, Ukraine's Euromaidan protesters have gained an unlikely ally in the country's hard-core soccer fans, or "ultras." Ultras in Kyiv and a number of Ukrainian cities have formed self-defense groups aimed at protecting pro-democracy demonstrators from police and the pro-government thugs known as "titushky."
A day after Ukrainian opposition leaders refused to accept a partnership deal from President Viktor Yanukovych, the Euromaidan protests have gained fresh momentum.
Ukraine's Interior Ministry says its troops deployed to control Euromaidan protesters have been armed with nothing stronger than rubber bullets. But many residents of the capital Kyiv say they have been struck by metal slugs, and doctors say at least one of the two men killed yesterday was shot with conventional weapons.
Two young men became the first victims of Ukraine's Euromaidan protests when they were shot dead on January 22 during violent clashes between protesters and police in Kyiv. RFE/RL profiles the two men that many protesters are calling "true Ukrainian patriots": Serhiy Nihoyan, an ethnic Armenian; and Mikhail Zhyzneuski, a native of Belarus.
An appeal this week pits authorities in northern Kazakhstan against a local court's unprecedented decision awarding compensation to a construction worker who says he was brutally tortured by police.
Ukrainian lawmakers have passed a package of radical new legislation that effectively bans public demonstrations, punishes opposition lawmakers, and imposes a range of Russian-style restrictions on free speech, even as pro-European demonstrations enter a second month. Critics say the legislation is a "transition to dictatorship" and the end of the country's decade-long drive for democracy.
Officials in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, were seen as eager to get rid of Melis Myrzakmatov, the troublesome mayor of the country's second-biggest city, Osh. But now that Myrzakmatov has been defeated in mayoral elections, there are worries a fresh round of troubles may begin -- starting with the city's new mayor, who played a prominent role in 2010's southern unrest.
Registration has closed for mayoral races in Kyrgyzstan's two largest cities, Bishkek and Osh. In the capital Bishkek, a single candidate will run unopposed in the January 15 race. But in the restive southern city of Osh, two candidates will square off -- including the city's controversial former mayor, Melis Myrzakmatov.
In 1964, the renowned science fiction writer Isaac Asimov wrote an essay on what the world would be like 50 years later, in 2014. Some of his predictions, like cordless appliances and video phone calls, have become realities. Others -- like flying cars and underground cities -- remain largely in the imagination. To mark the start of 2014, RFE/RL put Asimov's question to futurologist Ian Pearson to find out what awaits us in 2064.
January 1 is not only the start of a new year. It's also the day that many institutions hand over their rotating presidencies from one country to another. Sometimes it's a good fit. Sometimes... not so much.
The year saw a massive antigay crackdown in Russia, where Vladimir Putin sought to vilify sexual minorities with his law banning "gay propaganda." But 2013 came with a difference. Suddenly, the whole world seemed prepared to fight back.
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![A scene from "PUT[IN]LOVE," a short film looking at LGBT and gender identity issues in Russia.](https://gdb.rferl.org/5d6cc82b-0f74-41c7-b3d5-e57b1395de03_w100_r1.png)
![A scene from "PUT[IN]LOVE," a short film looking at LGBT and gender identity issues in Russia.](https://gdb.rferl.org/5d6cc82b-0f74-41c7-b3d5-e57b1395de03_w66_r1.png)
