John Mastrini is a multimedia editor for RFE/RL in Prague.
Soviet-era genetic experiments sought to speed up evolution to breed domesticated foxes as calm and lovable as a family pooch. Dozens of generations later, the institute now sells fox cubs online.
Christian pilgrims have been coming to a sacred hill in northern Lithuania to leave crucifixes of various sizes since 1863. It's been an act of faith and, often, political defiance.
Conservationists blamed poachers for destroying some of the remaining snow leopards in Russia's Siberian Altai Republic. Now, they are being paid to capture images of the rare species to help save them.
A British research firm used machine learning to compile what it says is visual evidence of Russian military involvement in eastern Ukraine in 2014. Moscow has denied involvement, but the researchers said they have identified Russian tanks deployed with separatists in defeating Ukraine's government
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called for vengeance against the militants behind an attack on a weekend wedding party in Kabul which killed dozens. The groom says he doesn't understand why his wedding was targeted.
An explosion in northern Russia, which some have linked to the Kremlin's development of an advanced generation of super weapons, has focused attention on hypersonic missile systems. Analysts say this new arms race has the potential to scuttle global security agreements.
Modern navigation technology has made lighthouses virtually obsolete. But the last remaining lighthouse keeper in Montenegro feels his lonely existence still has a purpose.
A human rights group has obtained video of an apparent beating at a pretrial detention center in St. Petersburg. It's the latest allegation of endemic violence in the Russian prison system.
A Russian physics professor spends his free time as a volunteer high in the trees of Yekaterinburg, saving animals that have gone astray.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan revived an annual festival to keep the ancient traditions of nomadic hunting alive -- complete with golden eagles.
A Chinese-owned factory has blighted the lives of residents in a Tajik village southeast of Dushanbe.
The Armenian capital, Yerevan, is having a very uncomfortable summer, due to high temperatures and the stench of rotting garbage which has gone uncollected for weeks.
After snap elections earlier in July, a fresh crop of legislators are set to take root in Ukraine's parliament. Many of them are new to politics, so the ruling party has sent them to school.
Russian opposition activists are trying to run for seats on Moscow's city council but they say they are being blocked getting on the ballot by authorities. One prominent would-be candidate took her protest into election commission headquarters. After midnight, she was shown the door.
The son-in-law of the Uzbek president posted a video of his high-speed joyride through the capital, Tashkent. He also happens to be the deputy head of presidential security.
Soviet authorities sent a promising student writer from Moldova to the gulag in the 1940s, just for the critical thoughts they found in his personal journals. Aleksei Marinat's story has echoes of the life of the late Nobel Prize winner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
Italian police are continuing their investigation into a far-right group found to have a large cache of weapons, including an air-to-air missile. The investigation centers on men who once fought in the pro-Russia separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Foodies with fat wallets may want to head to Serbia for a rare variety of cheese. It's purportedly the most expensive in the world and comes with a bit of a kick.
Russians wanting to impress their followers with vacation shots on social media can spend a fortune getting to a tropical paradise, or just find their way to a toxic waste dump in Siberia.
In Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, flaunting big furry felines has become a major status symbol, but wildlife activists want a change in the law on keeping exotic animals like white lions as pets.
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