Current Time is the Russian-language TV and digital network run by RFE/RL.
Ivan Boyarintsev gave up city life hosting events to teach others how to run a traditional banya, or sauna, in Chelyabinsk, Russia. He now offers courses from beginner level to master classes and believes the banya can give meaning to his life and the lives of others.
An Azerbaijani blogger was locked up after questioning President Ilham Aliyev's decision to make his wife vice president. Mehman Huseynov could now face years more in prison on charges of assaulting a prison officer.
Business woman and blogger Kamilla Shokanova lives in the Kazakh capital, Astana. She has cerebral palsy, but many mistake her for being drunk. Shokanova says people with disabilities in Kazakhstan are often humiliated and discriminated against, and she wants to change that.
A journalist has set up the first local radio station in the remote village of Suusamyr, in the Chuy region of Kyrgyzstan. The station is run mostly by volunteers, and combines reports on lost cows with music and sports.
"Before New Year, they sent me a video where he is next to Father Frost, reciting a poem." Relatives and friends have been sharing their memories as funerals took place for those killed in an apartment block collapse following an explosion on New Year's Eve in Magnitogorsk, Russia.
It was supposed to be at the heart of a Soviet missile defense system. When it was closed, it became a gold mine for military personnel, their families, and anyone else who lived nearby.
As a final search of the rubble failed to find anyone alive, residents of an apartment building which collapsed in Magnitogorsk spoke of their experiences -- and fears.
Tajikistan's once thriving Jewish population has dwindled to an estimated 50 people. Most left for Israel in the 1990s to escape the country's civil war. But one woman has returned to the city of her birth, Dushanbe, where she is keeping her faith and community alive with music.
We asked people to share their wishes for their countries in 2019. Respondents expressed their hopes for peace, health, happiness, and political change.
A student who shredded the cover of the Russian Constitution in a protest inspired by British street artist Banksy has been sentenced to 12 days in jail for allegedly cursing after a court hearing.
The Latvian National Archives has released the first batch of files from the the former Soviet secret police, the KGB. Some Latvians have welcomed the release, hoping it will shed light on the country's dark past. But others fear some individuals could be falsely labeled as former KGB collaborators.
Model Dinagul Tasova has posted photos of herself covered in bruises after what she says was a brutal attack by her boyfriend. Tasova had appeared on a catwalk in a semitransparent blouse, prompting an indignant response from Kazakh social-media users and infuriating her partner.
Ukrainian Tetyana Bagatska had never been abroad until her granddaughter, Current Time's Liubov Bagatska, invited her to visit her in Prague. There she discovered electric scooters, self-service checkouts, and the wonders of Prague's Old Town.
In the village of Koyandy, 20 kilometers from the Kazakh capital, Astana, melted snow is the only easily accessible source of water available to residents without cars. They've been told they have to wait until 2021 for their own water supply.
A dog owner abandoned his pet at a bus stop in Russia's Novosibirsk region. Many months later, the dog remained in the same spot, waiting in the cold for his owner to return.
Moscow's notorious Butyrka prison is slated to be shut down within two years. One former inmate describes life on the inside of the Russian capital's oldest and largest detention facility.
A 34-year-old pipe cutter in the Russian city of Pervouralsk was mocked for her looks after entering a local pageant. With help of her supporters, she had the last laugh.
Roman Mokryak is a Ukrainian naval officer and one of 24 sailors captured by Russia during a violent encounter at sea on November 25. In his hometown of Karlivka, Ukraine, his parents say they've been unable to contact their son as he awaits trial in Moscow.
In order to reduce waste, St. Petersburg freegans not only find food to eat for themselves at garbage dumps. They also arrange charity dinners made from discarded food.
Alyaksandr Kukhta is an Orthodox priest for a small parish in Belarus, but he has twice as many followers online as in real life. He's earned loyal viewers with his videos on subjects from sex to Lenin.
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