Spotlight: Newsbites

BBC Reporter Leaves Russia For British Self-Exile

An investigative reporter for the BBC's Russian-language service in Moscow says he has left Russia for London after noticing that he had been placed under "rather unprecedented surveillance" by the authorities. 

'Huge Disaster': Russian Police Detain Three Former Navalny Coordinators

Russian police have taken three former regional coordinators of Aleksei Navalny's campaign team in for questioning amid continued pressure against the imprisoned opposition leader's associates. 

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Calls 2021 A 'Nightmare Year' For Russian Journalists

The editor in chief of Russia’s Novaya gazeta, who shared this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, has denounced the Russian government’s so-called “foreign agents” law as “a filthy stigma that the authorities try to hang on all of their opponents.”

Belarus Blocks Current Time's Website For Linking To 'Extremist' Media

Belarusian authorities have blocked access to Deutsche Welle and Current Time amid an intensifying crackdown on the media and civil society following last year’s disputed presidential election.

Video Profile: A Look At Aleksei Navalny, Winner Of The Sakharov Prize

Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny has won the Sakharov Prize, a prestigious honor awarded by the European Parliament for human rights defenders. Navalny has targeted Russia's elite with anti-corruption investigations, but is now in prison on charges widely seen as politically motivated.

Russian Observers: Sakharov Prize Does Not Mean Aleksei Navalny's Immediate Freedom

Who Is Russia's Dmitry Muratov, This Year's Nobel Peace Prize Winner?

Dmitry Muratov, a co-winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, is chief editor of Novaya gazeta, a Russian newspaper that has repeatedly exposed corruption at the highest levels of government in the decades since its launch.

Kazakhstan Will Get Its Own International Dialing Code And Abandon Russian One

Kazakhstan will switch from its current Russian dialing code, +7, to its own national international dialing code, +997, the government said.

Who Is Aleskandr Franchetti, The Russian Arrested In Prague And Wanted By Kyiv For His Actions In Crimea?

Aleksandr Franchetti, a 48-year-old Russian who has spent years in Prague, was arrested by Czech police at the request of Ukraine, which wants to try him for his alleged role in Russia's seizure of Crimea in 2014. Who is Franchetti and what was he doing on the Black Sea peninsula in 2014?

Russian Justice Ministry Declares Dozhd TV A 'Foreign Agent'

Russia's Justice Ministry on August 20 declared the Dozhd television channel (TV Rain) a "foreign agent," part of what Kremlin opponents say is a crackdown on critical media before parliamentary elections next month.

Russian Activist Jailed For Wearing 'Freedom For Navalny' T-Shirt

An activist has been jailed for walking around Moscow's Red Square wearing a T-shirt demanding Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny's release from prison.