Claire Bigg covers Russia, Ukraine, and the post-Soviet world, with a focus on human rights, civil society, and social issues.
Open one of Russia's countless classified-advertisement circulars, and you are likely to find ads for housing specifying that "non-Russians need not apply."
The growing number of Catholics in primarily Orthodox Russia is beginning to rattle the Orthodox Church, and despite recent Vatican efforts to reconcile with the Moscow Patriarchate, relations remain chilly.
Pop star Valeria was beaten by her husband for 10 years (Courtesy Photo) Every hour, a woman in Russia is killed by her husband, partner, or relative. A handful of crisis centers across the country offer victims legal and psychological assistance. But rights groups say the problem cannot be squarely tackled until the authorities recognize violence in the family as a serious human rights violation, instead of dismissing it as a private matter.
The UN Convention Against Corruption obligates countries to pool their efforts to prevent, investigate, and punish corruption. Can it lead the Russian government to take action against the country's rampant corruption?
The Forum of Migrants Organizations, a leading umbrella NGO that promotes the rights of migrants across Russia, has announced it is suspending operations due to a controversial bill that would place NGOs under strict state control.
A Moscow court has convicted 39 members of the banned radical National Bolshevik Party of staging mass unrest by forcing their way into a presidential administration building one year ago.
Russia's Volga sedan, a symbol of status for almost half a century, will soon become a thing of the past. The Gorkii Automobile Factory said this week it was pulling the plug on the aging Volga.
A top Muslim cleric has reiterated calls on the Russian government to remove what he says are Orthodox symbols from the national coat of arms.
President Vladimir Putin has submitted to the State Duma a bill that would make it easier for citizens of former Soviet republics to obtain Russian citizenship.
Russian environmental groups say the toxic spill in China highlights Russia's lax ecological policy, which has allowed both Russian and Chinese industries to heavily pollute the region.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, many Russians had never even heard of HIV or AIDS. Almost 15 years later, low public awareness and a lack of political will to stem the spread of the virus have left Russia with the biggest HIV/AIDS epidemic in Europe.
Russia's leading human rights organizations refused to monitor the 27 November parliamentary elections in Chechnya, saying that monitoring would equate to giving legitimacy to a poll that they charge was flawed from the start.
A Moscow court has banned Rodina (Motherland), a nationalist opposition party, from running in the early December election to Moscow's City Duma.
Every country has different ways of fighting juvenile drug and substance abuse. But Russia probably has the most impressive -- a grisly exhibition showing children the effects of drugs on the human body.
A draft law aimed at tightening state control over NGOs in Russia has sailed through its first reading at the State Duma. NGO leaders are concerned.
Gauguin's "The Kings Wife" is part of the Pushkin Museum's French art collection (official site) A precious collection of French paintings belonging to Moscow's Pushkin Fine Arts Museum has been seized in Switzerland. The works of art were reportedly impounded by Swiss authorities on behalf of Noga, a Swiss firm that has been trying for more than 10 years to recover what it claims is a hefty debt from Russia.
Sergei Ivanov (right) is seen a potential successor to Putin (epa) In a rare government reshuffle, Russian President Vladimir Putin today promoted Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov as deputy prime minister. He also appointed his chief of staff, Dmitrii Medvedev, as first deputy prime minister. The shake-up has fueled speculation that Putin is seeking to lift the profile of two of his trusted allies ahead of the 2008 presidential elections.
Moscow, 14 November 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin is meeting Uzbek President Islam Karimov today for talks set to culminate with the signing of a treaty between both countries.
The Russian State Duma is poised to consider a series of amendments that would force all nongovernmental organizations to register with a state commission within a year.
National Bolsheviks head Eduard Limonov (epa) A handful of National Bolshevik Party (NBP) activists were arrested yesterday while attempting to present a petition to the upper house of parliament and the presidential administration. The document leveled a series of accusations against Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom activists blame for establishing an "authoritarian criminal regime."
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