Robert Coalson is a senior correspondent for RFE/RL who covers Russia, the Balkans, and Eastern Europe.
Although Russian officials have hastened to downplay the damage caused by the July 17 explosion on the only bridge linking Russia to occupied Crimea, experts say even a few hours of logistical delay at this time could be important.
In the wake of the Wagner mutiny, the mercenary group’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has reportedly departed for Belarus, and his fighters may soon follow. But few in Russia believe the consequences of the uprising will end there.
The brash and profane Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has taken on a high public profile in recent months, with his forces embroiled in heavy fighting in Ukraine. Is he harboring political ambitions or does he remain Russian President Vladimir Putin’s personal enforcer?
The Kremlin has nixed the Immortal Regiment march, for years a key part of Vladimir Putin's glorification of the Soviet Union, citing security concerns. But others say Moscow is afraid people will show up with portraits of soldiers killed in Ukraine, revealing the hidden cost of Russia's invasion.
Kremlin opponent Vladimir Kara-Murza has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, the lion's share on a charge of "state treason." But his case is far from the only "example" being set by the government: Across Russia, the state is finding "traitors" at a rate unprecedented since Stalin's time.
For the first time in post-Soviet Russian history, Moscow has arrested a U.S. journalist on espionage charges -- which his newspaper vehemently denies. What messages is the Kremlin sending with this revival of a relic of the Cold War? And what comes next?
RFE/RL spoke with military and political analysts to get their takes on Russian President Vladimir Putin's March 25 announcement that Russia could base tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of ally Belarus.
More than a year after Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and in the midst of a historic crackdown on dissent, a handful of Russians continue to risk their lives and liberty in a quixotic bid to convince their country to change course.
A conflict has erupted between the team of imprisoned Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny and the former chief editor of Ekho Moskvy, Aleksei Venediktov. Many say the mudslinging is a distraction at a time when the opposition should be united in its efforts to stop the war in Ukraine.
A year after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, most Russians support the war, actively or passively. But for thousands who refused to remain silent, the invasion ended their old lives and marked the start of a fierce conflict with their government, the police, their neighbors, and their families.
In a nearly two-hour address to the nation, President Vladimir Putin tried to project a sense of control as he braced Russians for the idea that the war against Ukraine -- and the confrontation with the West that he deepened with the invasion a year ago -- are not going to end soon.
The Kremlin released the results of the COVID-delayed 2021 census late last year, and the numbers have alarmed many among the country's non-Russian ethnic minorities, who allege they have been undercounted.
For months, Ukraine has been calling on the West to supply heavy, advanced tanks to reinforce its fight against Russian troops. This week, France, Germany, and the US announced new weapons for Kyiv. But they're still not sending tanks.
Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine is rocking the centralized political system he has built over nearly a quarter-century in power. As with the collapse of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, Moscow’s weakening has energized suppressed secessionist sentiments.
The decision by Latvia's broadcast authority to revoke the license of exiled Russian TV station Dozhd for violations indicating support for Russia's war in Ukraine has unleashed an intense debate over the station – and over the views and role of Russians abroad who oppose President Vladimir Putin.
For Ukrainians, the war with Russia began nine years ago with the Maidan protests and the February 2014 events that drove President Viktor Yanukovych from power. RFE/RL looks at three men whose paths took a fatal turn during those early days and who gave their lives for the cause they took up then.
After the Kremlin launched a mobilization campaign on September 21, police began sending male anti-war protesters straight to the military. So women, who were already playing a leading role in the small anti-war movement, stepped up -- despite the risks.
President Vladimir Putin and other officials have linked Russia's so-called "traditional values" with national security. As a bill that would virtually ban the mention of same-sex relationships and transgender issues wends through the legislature, LGBT citizens and activists are sounding the alarm.
Across Russia, marriages have shot up since President Vladimir Putin ordered a mobilization amid steep losses in the war on Ukraine. Many couples who were living together are making things legal after the man received his call-up notice -- in part to lock in spousal death and disability benefits.
On September 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over a ceremony to claim large swathes of Ukrainian territory as permanent and nonnegotiable parts of Russia. That move has recast the Ukraine war as a zero-sum competition careening toward some alarming possible outcomes.
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