The Week's Best: Stories You May Have Missed

We know that rferl.org isn't the only website you read, and it's possible that you may have missed some of our most interesting journalism from the past week. To make sure you're up-to-date, here are some of the highlights produced by RFE/RL's team of correspondents, multimedia editors, and visual journalists over the past seven days. Share this story on social media using the buttons on this page if you liked what you read.

Up In Arms: Ukrainian Aircraft-Engine Plant Caught Up In U.S.-China Rivalry​

Vyacheslav Boguslayev, an 80-year-old Ukrainian tycoon, and his Motor Sich aircraft-engine producer are caught up in the rivalry between the United States and China. Whose hands the company falls into could impact Chinese investment in Ukraine -- as well as U.S. military assistance to Kyiv. By Todd Prince

Pro-Government Afghan Commander Killed By His Own Son's Taliban Unit

A pro-government Afghan commander has been killed by a group of Taliban fighters that included his own son. Commander Baz Muhammad died just hours after telling RFE/RL about the need to end a war that pits “sons against fathers and brothers and against brothers." By Farangis Najibullah and Alem Rahmanyar

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Siberia's Diamond Mines Leave Gaping Holes In The Planet

Siberia's Diamond Mines Leave Gaping Holes In The Planet

Yakutia in northeastern Siberia is home to huge diamond deposits where the precious stones are mined in massive pits which have been dug deep into the permafrost. The Mir mine in Mirny is 525 meters deep and one of the biggest man-made holes in the world. By AFP and Neil Bowdler

'Black Hole': Prosecutors Probing Allegations Of Punitive Psychiatric Treatment In Siberian Prison

Activists are hopeful that a criminal investigation into a case in Tyumen Oblast will expose the dark world of punitive psychiatric "treatment" inside Russian prisons. "Many prisoners say they'd rather have 10 years added to their sentence than to have to spend one year in a prison psychiatric ward," activist Vladimir Osechkin told RFE/RL. By Ksenia Smolyakova and Robert Coalson

Mock Execution Of World War II 'Traitor' In Siberia Misfires For Many

When video of a mock WWII-era execution went viral this weekend, many took to social media to slam the alleged militarization of Russian society. In Russia itself, many urged a need to safeguard memory of the country’s turbulent past. By Matthew Luxmoore

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Displaced And Desperate, Afghan Kids Search Trash For Food

Displaced And Desperate, Afghan Kids Search Trash For Food

At the Tagab settlement in Kabul, hundreds of families displaced by conflict and drought live in grinding poverty. The job of bringing home food often falls to the children, who are forced to sift through garbage dumps in search of scraps or anything of value to sell. By RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan and Margot Buff

The Nazi Occupation Of Prague: Then And Now

Rare photographs from the World War II-era shed light on a dark period in Prague's history. By Amos Chapple

Former Chechen Commander Gunned Down In Berlin; Eyes Turn To Moscow (And Grozny)

In his former life, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili was a commander of a Chechen unit that battled Russian troops during the Second Chechen War. In his later years, he was dogged by fears he was being hunted -- possibly by Russian agents, possibly by Chechens. Last week, he was gunned down in Berlin. He's not the first Chechen to be killed abroad under suspicious circumstances. By Mike Eckel

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The First Soviet Nuclear Blast: Pride Turns To Tragedy 70 Years Later

The First Soviet Nuclear Blast: Pride Turns To Tragedy 70 Years Later

August 29 marks the day that the Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear explosion in 1949. Seventy years later, the four decades of tests at the Semipalatinsk site in Kazakhstan are seen as a tragedy in the now-independent country. People living nearby say the effects of the blasts are still being felt. By Harutyun Mansuryan

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Shooting A Snow Leopard In Siberia (Legally)

Shooting A Snow Leopard In Siberia (Legally)

Conservationists blamed poachers for killing some of the remaining snow leopards in Russia's Altai Republic. Now, they are being paid to capture images of the rare species to help save them. By Current Time and John Mastrini