Tom Balmforth covers Russia and other former Soviet republics from his base in Moscow.
How strong is Russia's protest movement in the country's regions? RFE/RL visits the Urals city of Yekaterinburg to find out.
Russia's presidential election has exposed a generational rift between younger voters who want to see Vladimir Putin go and their elders, who fear Russia will descend into chaos without him. Fifty-six-year-old choir director Aleksandr Avanesov and his teenaged proteges discuss the generation gap with RFE/RL.
A recent viral video of an ethnic Tajik singing a heartfelt ode to Vladimir Putin highlighted a curious aspect of Russia's upcoming presidential election. Members of the Tajik diaspora in Russia appear to be among the prime minister's biggest supporters.
An estimated 100,000 people have rallied in Moscow in support of Vladimir Putin's presidential bid. Many were reportedly pressured by their employers to attend.
Much of the Russian electorate leans left, according to sociologists. So why haven't the country's leftist parties fared better at the polls?
What conclusions about Russian society's mood can be drawn from dueling pro and anti-regime protests on February 4? The answer, of course, depends on whom you ask -- and which side of the barricades they stood on.
Amid the young middle class professionals that made up the backbone of the anti-Kremlin rally in Moscow, there were pensioners who were veterans of an earlier protest era.
Tens of thousands of Russians braved freezing temperatures to gather downtown in Moscow and demand an end to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's rule.
Russia's chief health inspector, Doctor Gennady Onishchenko, has forbidden Muscovites from participating in opposition protests this weekend -- unless they dress warmly.
As Russia braces for a third major anti-Kremlin rally this weekend, the country's liberal intelligentsia is taking center stage.
Russia’s only independent election monitor has announced that it would deploy 2,000 observers at the March 4 presidential elections in spite of facing what it describes as intensifying harassment from authorities.
Russia's main state-owned television channel has accused Michael McFaul, the new U.S. ambassador, of being sent to destabilize the country, after he held meetings with members of the opposition.
Police in the Russian capital have launched an investigation into the stabbing of a prominent figure within Tajikistan's opposition, activist and journalist Dodojon Atovulloev.
The Kremlin's monopoly on television news is being shattered by a hip new Internet station called Dozhd TV. The plucky start-up is less than two years old but has already attracted hundreds of thousands of regular viewers seeking an alternative to the scripted monochrome, programming offered by state-controlled channels.
An oil-drilling rig with 67 on board capsized and sank in freezing waters amid a powerful storm in Russia's Far East early on December 18. Emergency workers have rescued 14 people and are searching for more survivors, with dozens feared dead.
Russian shares have fallen more than 10 percent since the disputed December 4 election. And firms with close ties to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have taken the biggest hit.
This year's televised call-in session with Vladimir Putin took on added significance amid massive protests over Russia's disputed parliamentary elections. Putin defended the vote as a reflection of public opinion.
Billionaire mogul Mikhail Prokhorov's announcement that he will seek the presidency next year has Russia's political world buzzing. But given his long-standing Kremlin ties, many are wondering whether his bid is a real challenge to Putin or if he is playing the role of the spoiler.
Russian authorities have made gestures since street protests began over elections but haven't budged on key opposition demands. Meanwhile, the EU hints it will raise the issue with President Dmitry Medvedev.
The Russian opposition has called on the authorities to annul election results marred by alleged violations and threatened more anti-Kremlin rallies as tens of thousands demonstrated across the country.
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