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Russian opposition activist Sergei Filenko was twice found guilty of "discrediting" Russia's military -- and paid his fine in cash that he marked up with anti-war slogans. Shortly before Finland closed its borders to Russian tourists, he fled to the Nordic country, where he is now seeking asylum.

Boris Bondarev, the country’s most high-profile official to resign because of the war, believes that Russia’s standing in the world is beyond repair.

Denis Skopin, an associate professor at St. Petersburg State University, was recently fired from the prestigious institution for opposing Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

As the only woman who does the transhumance -- the yearly seasonal migration of livestock from the highlands of Tusheti to the winter pastures of Vashlovani in eastern Georgia -- Tinatin Ididze cuts an unconventional character in Tusheti's male-dominated mountain culture.

A young ethnic Russian man opened a free “Kazakh-language club” in Almaty in April for a few dozen people aspiring to learn the state language. The club was instantly popular and has since expanded to 10 branches in Kazakhstan as thousands of Russian-speakers are learning Kazakh.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of Romanian escapees were killed making bids for freedom across the Danube into Yugoslavia. Now, more than 30 years after the fall of communism, Romania is finally investigating, and shedding light on thousands of the deaths. 

A woman died a week after being detained in the Azov Sea town of Skadovsk, which has been under Russian occupation since shortly after Moscow's February 24 invasion of Ukraine. Relatives and activists suspect it is one of many crimes committed by Russian forces and collaborators.

A 16-year-old boy was among the dozens of people killed during a crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan Province on September 30. In an interview with RFE/RL's Radio Farda, the teen's brother said he was shot dead after attending Friday Prayers.

Iranian protesters get creative; universities turn into a major battleground between authorities and protesters; and Iranian missiles threaten to boost Russia's deadly air campaign in Ukraine.

With a decree detailing how the KGB can access private information, Belarus's leader is handing the state intrusive new tools to suppress dissent. “If surveillance through Internet resources sounded like a potential threat before, it’s now clear how they’re going to do it,” a monitoring group says.