Glenn Kates is the former managing editor for digital at Current Time, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. He now reports for RFE/RL as a freelancer.
Although a Russian official recently retracted a suggestion that Moscow build a domestic "sovereign" Internet, the Kremlin has clearly been moving to exercise greater control over web use. RFE/RL looks at a range of web-censorship regimes to see which model might best fit Russia.
A debate about an anti-Semitic flyer allegedly distributed in Donetsk is just the latest example of Jews being used as unwilling proxies in the battle for the moral high ground in Ukraine.
What do you get when the most famous former NSA employee asks the most famous former KGB member for information on how his spying program works? A Russian propaganda victory, according to some.
The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly this week in favor of a resolution condemning Russia's annexation of Crimea. But perhaps more harmful for Moscow, only two of its former-Soviet neighbors voted against it.
After months of scandal, municipal elections including a hotly contested race in Istanbul will serve as an important barometer of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's political viability.
As pro-Russian leaders in Crimea attempt to break the peninsula away from Ukraine, Crimean Tatar leaders have asked Turkey -- home to a large Crimean Tatar diaspora -- for support. But any serious efforts to sanction Moscow could carry heavy costs for Ankara.
Young Istanbul residents say a ban on major social networks would be harmful, but would come as little surprise given Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's disdain for the services.
Ukraine is divided between a mainly Ukrainian-speaking West and a predominantly Russian-speaking south and east. Popular maps frequently have depicted this divide using one shade in the west and another shade in the east. But a detailed map of Kharkiv Oblast in the country's east shows a more complex picture.
A medic who was pictured with a wound to the neck as Kyiv descended into chaos and bloodshed on February 20 has tweeted that she's alive. Mixed information about the young female volunteer had spread widely on social media after she tweeted, "I'm dying."
In what was the first known case of its kind, Germany granted asylum late last year to a gay Russian man. RFE/RL's Glenn Kates takes a look at how Russia's LGBT community is increasingly seeking sanctuary abroad.
A standoff between riot police and protesters has persisted in downtown Kyiv since January 19, and the scene has sometimes turned violent.
The continuing violence in Syria and Iraq has prompted some experts to wonder whether the region's borders might at some point be redrawn. That scenario remains, for now, a remote possibility. But what if?
A statement by a deputy prime minister has sparked speculation that Russia's controversial consumer-rights advocate may be stepping down. If he does go, many will miss Gennady Onishchenko's colorful words on public health. Here's an RFE/RL compilation of Onishchenko's best pieces of advice through the years.
A newly posted video apparently showing four Russian men brutally assaulting a transgender woman is just the latest in a string of videos of so-called vigilante attacks on the LGBT community. Almost as distressing as the attack are the messages of support from social-network users.
The number of Chechens seeking asylum in Germany and Poland has already more than doubled compared to all of last year. Neither country appears prepared to handle the influx and asylum seekers seem surprised by a less-than-welcoming reception.
The Nazis devastated the Polish city of Bialystok's Jewish population. Now, it is experiencing a new wave of xenophobic violence, this time at the hand of local nationalists.
Members of Poland's tiny Tatar community say their positive experience could provide a blueprint for Muslim immigrants in Europe.
According to WikiLeaks, U.S. leaker Edward Snowden has applied for asylum to a total of 21 countries. Ecuador and most of the others have signaled their unwillingness to host him. But Snowden is still waiting -- apparently at a transit terminal at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. In the meantime, here's a lighthearted look at what he might have to look forward to if any of those applications were approved.
For anyone who has followed the cutthroat world of Turkish football fandom, the sight of supporters from the country's three most popular soccer clubs teaming up against a common enemy is a jarring one. But that's exactly what's been happening as protests continue against the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Although the ongoing protests in Turkey are frequently portrayed as a secular revolt against the authoritarian, Islamist-leaning Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the demonstrators defy such easy pigeonholing. Indeed, as RFE/RL reports, there are even conservative anticapitalist Muslims to be found among the demonstrators.
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