Merhat Sharipzhan is a senior correspondent for RFE/RL who focuses on developments in the former Soviet Union.
Opposition politicians, journalists, civic activists and rights defenders gathered in Kazakhstan's commercial capital, Almaty, on February 9 to honor the memory of Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly, an opposition leader who was shot dead execution-style along with two associates 12 years ago.
Mikhail Zadornov, a stand-up comedian who got hearty laughs skewering the absurdities of life under Soviet rule and later targeted Washington, the West, and non-Russian ethnic groups, has died at the age of 69.
A Ukrainian teenager who was allegedly lured into Belarus by the Russian security services is being held in Russia on suspicion of terrorism-related crimes, according to a copy of an official Russian document seen by RFE/RL.
A commercial matchmaker has come under fire in Kazakhstan over efforts to recruit bachelorettes for wealthy Chinese customers willing to plonk down hard cash for a mate.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed his deputy chief of staff, Vyacheslav Volodin, to be chairman of the new State Duma, a move that would further tighten Putin's control over the political arena after a massive election win for the ruling United Russia party.
Russia's confinement of a Tatar activist to a psychiatric clinic in Crimea is raising fears that Moscow is reviving a Soviet-era practice to intimidate opponents of the peninsula's annexation into silence.
Russia says Turkey apologized, Turkey says it didn't. Either way, a cleverly worded letter from Ankara may now spell the end to their crisis over the downing of a Russian warplane.
Russia's 2016 Olympic wrestling team -- once expected to be one of the best in the world -- is in shambles over in-the-ring brawls, athlete boycotts, and scandalous referee rulings.
Ordinary Kazakhs can think of better ways to spend public money upon hearing about plans to house the graves of prominent citizens in a pricey pantheon.
Kazakhstan's culture minister has sparked resentment with remarks about neighboring Kyrgyzstan and its turbulent recent history.
One of the most outspoken opponents of Kazakh plans to dispense with huge swaths of land is a folksy singer who's not afraid to pick a fight with the government.
Rattled by widespread protests against a government land-sale proposal, Kazakh authorities continue to take steps aimed at tamping down public anger.
Many Kazakhs checking their smartphones on May 6 might have been surprised to find a cautiously contrite SMS message from an unlikely source.
Fears that land will be taken from the people and sold off to foreigners or moneyed elites are fueling a rare and growing protest movement in Kazakhstan.
Kazakh national Aibek Nurseit and ethnic Kazakh Gabit Turganbek, who is from China's Xinjiang region, were disqualified by a referee after they sparred gingerly rather than inflict any punishment on each other in a caged mixed-martial-arts bout on March 5.
One of the pro-Moscow leaders of recent antigovernment protests in Moldova has made anti-U.S. remarks that appear to be aimed at tapping into east-west tensions to whip up support for early elections that could boost Kremlin influence in his country.
A diplomatic ruckus is brewing between Russia and Kyrgyzstan following reports that Russian officials rescued two ethnic-Russian children in the Central Asian country from organ traffickers.
The father of the Kazakh nation tells citizens to learn to breathe easy and learn to live without during tough economic times.
Tired of toeing the official line, a veteran London-based correspondent for Kazakh state television has pulled the plug on her career.
During the repressive rein of President Saparmurat Niyazov, horse expert Geldy Kyarizov went from the halls of Turkmenistan's government to a "horrific" penitentiary where he spent five months before his release. Allowed to leave the secretive Central Asian state in September, Geldy Kyarizov gave RFE/RL a harrowing account of "torture by hunger" in its toughest prison.
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