Ray Furlong is a multimedia editor for RFE/RL.
After the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv closed its subway system due to the coronavirus, a service matching drivers with people who need a lift began to flourish -- apparently contradicting social distancing measures. Elsewhere in the city, other innovative means of dealing with the new situation of living in lockdown were also emerging.
A vote in Russia's parliament removes constitutional obstacles to Vladimir Putin remaining in power as long as he wishes, according to political scientists and opposition figures.
Trade, study, and tourism have ground to a halt between the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk and the Chinese city of Heihe since Russia closed the border amid coronavirus fears.
A rare genetic disorder called CLN2 causes children to lose the ability to walk, see, and speak, with most not living beyond their teens. Five-year-old Nastya, from Kamenka in Russia, is one of an estimated 1,500 worldwide suffering from it.
A woman in Georgia has received threats of rape and murder after publishing online videos providing sex education to children.
Vadim Cheldiyev abandoned a career as an opera singer at the prestigious Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg to return to his home town in the Caucasus and help the poor.
In a remote desert near the border between Kazakhstan and China, a massive dry port has been built to develop overland routes for Chinese exports to markets in Europe, Russia, and Central Asia.
