Tom Balmforth covers Russia and other former Soviet republics from his base in Moscow.
A French company behind plans to build a Russian history theme park says it will go ahead with the project despite EU sanctions on its Russian partner.
Russian lawmakers have reportedly drafted amendments that would brand states that impose sanctions on Russia as "aggressor countries."
The Russian government has listed 11 nongovernmental organizations as "foreign agents." The organizations say the 2013 law establishing that designation is designed to end the work of rights activists who are not controlled by the Kremlin.
Scrambling to explain the downing of the MH17 Boeing 777, Russia's print media is giving credence to Kremlin-friendly theories that to many outside the country would seem far-fetched.
The United States has unveiled a major, third wave of sanctions on Russia and the European Union announced that it would also strengthen its sanctions against Moscow. What effect will the new round of sanctions have?
A new Russian youth group seeks to appeal to the educated and urbane. But their mission is the same as it ever was -- promoting the Kremlin's political agenda.
Russia's ban on smoking in cafes and bars is in effect and is getting mixed reviews.
Rights activists in Russia’s Perm region are waging a campaign against what they call a “systematic” attack on the region’s famed Gulag museum dedicated to victims of Soviet-era political repressions.
Corporate "raids" by well-connected groups were a common hazard faced by businesses under the rule of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. So how do business owners go about getting their seized property back? Here's one man's tale.
The Kremlin has been talking a lot about the "fascism" supposedly rampant in Ukraine, while members of Russia's ultranationalist fringe have been busy stoking the unrest in the east.
Keeping a handle on who's who in the chaotic separatist insurgency gripping Ukraine's frontier with Russia can get a little confusing. Here is a quick guide to the main players in Ukraine's increasingly wild east.
Returning normal life to Kyiv will just be the beginning for Kyiv's new mayor, Vitali Klitschko. After clearing the city center of Euromaidan stragglers, he then needs to tackle corruption and mismanagement.
A day after his apparent victory in Kyiv's mayoral election, Vitali Klitschko said what no Ukrainian politician has dared suggest since President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country: It's time to dismantle the tent encampment and barricades on Kyiv's iconic Independence Square. But on the fabled Maidan, not everybody's on board.
Thousands of Ukrainian citizens from Crimea are casting their ballots for the presidential election on the mainland. Some are traveling from their homes on the peninsula to adjacent regions. But most of them – people like Anton Plitus and his family– are voting near their new homes in Lviv and Kyiv, where they are building new lives.
Amid a separatist uprising in the east and with Russian troops still massed on the border, Ukrainians go to the polls on May 25 to elect a new president. RFE/RL spoke to people on the streets of Kyiv about whom they will vote for and why.
Kidnappings, gunfights, and separatist unrest in the industrial east. So how will Ukraine be able to pull off a landmark presidential election in these conditions?
Ukraine's presidential elections are just a month away. But on the streets of the capital, you would never know it.
Many Ukrainians are united by a yearning for peace in the name of God and country. But divisions were also evident at Easter services in Kyiv.
Activists occupying Kyiv's Independence Square are not thrilled with the agreement reached in Geneva this week to defuse Ukraine's ongoing crisis.
Alarming notices appeared across Kyiv this week advising residents on what to do in case war breaks out -- including responding to sirens and using bomb shelters. But almost as soon as they’d appeared, the bulletins were taken down.
Load more
![The offices of Russia's Memorial rights group in Moscow was vandalized with graffiti reading "foreign agent [heart] USA" in March 2013.](https://gdb.rferl.org/6d4d1074-a2bb-44a3-9037-784f2647a2b6_cx33_cy0_cw67_w100_r1.jpg)
![The offices of Russia's Memorial rights group in Moscow was vandalized with graffiti reading "foreign agent [heart] USA" in March 2013.](https://gdb.rferl.org/6d4d1074-a2bb-44a3-9037-784f2647a2b6_cx33_cy0_cw67_w66_r1.jpg)
