Conflict & Justice
PRI's The World
October 21, 2015
The embattled Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, appeared in Moscow on Tuesday night, for his first trip outside of his country since the uprising against him began in 2011. It’s a sign of his dependence on Russian military assistance. And it seems Vladimir Putin summoned Assad to get a sense of how flexible he is on his role in any political settlement or transition in Syria. Syria's secular elite shares a deep comfort level with the arrival of Russian forces.
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Business, Economics and Jobs
How to fix an old Russian car in Cuba? There's this mechanic in Miami
PRI's The World
January 30, 2015
The old Soviet car isn't even in the United States. But there's a guy selling Lada parts in Miami. Call hm the Lada whisperer. Cuban expats flock to him, getting the parts for the many old Ladas still chugging along Cuba's streets.
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Politics
Meet Russia's unlikely poster boy — and cheesemaker — for its embargo on Western goods
PRI's The World
September 16, 2014
Jay Close has built houses, jumped out of planes, and cooked food for the Rolling Stones. Now he's a cheese maker in Russia who's reaping the benefits of Moscow's embargo on Western food imports. And this American is awfully popular right now with his Russian customers and the media.
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Conflict & Justice
NSA Leak: Russia Says It Would Consider Asylum for Snowden
PRI's The World
June 11, 2013
Russia is now entering the story on Edward Snowden. Today, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin indicated that Russia would consider asylum for the American NSA leaker.
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Politics
Putin is defiant in his State of the Nation speech
PRI's The World
December 04, 2014
President Vladimir Putin delivered a fiercely patriotic State of the Nation speech Thursday. He said Russia would defeat those enemies seeking to destroy and dismember it. But the rhetoric failed to reassure markets and the ruble continues its slide.
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Politics
The guy who supplied the soundtrack for Boris Yeltsin's Rock the Vote
PRI's The World
October 06, 2015
When the Soviet Union collapsed, Christian Ray Flores was in the right place at the right time. With his outsider status, he became a rock star in Russia.
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Conflict & Justice
Here’s why Russia won’t let go of Crimea
PRI's The World
March 03, 2014
Russia's military moves since the fall of Ukraine's government last week seem to signal one thing. Russia is not prepared to lose the Crimea. And the reason is pretty straightforward, if you look at history.
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Conflict & Justice
This is how Russia's intervention in Ukraine is playing in Moscow
PRI's The World
March 03, 2014
From the start of the anti-government protests in Ukraine, Russia's mainstream media have portrayed the protesters as anti-democratic forces intent on hurting Ukraine's ethnic Russians. Some Russians are rallying behind their government's intervention in Ukraine. Others, though, have mounted small-scale protests against Russia's military actions.
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Politics
Russians respond to US sanctions — with a 'we'll sanction you' social meme
PRI's The World
March 21, 2014
Russians aren't impressed with newly-announced US sanctions on Russian leaders. In response, they are imposing their own 'sanctions' on the US and Obama via their social networks.
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Conflict & Justice
Ukraine faces up to a Russian invasion, while Moscow keeps denying it
PRI's The World
August 28, 2014
Russia says its soldiers aren't fighting in Ukraine, but evidence keeps piling up that Russia has invaded — even in Russia itself. That's caused some protests in Russia and disappointment in Ukraine, where people are feeling abandoned by the outside world.
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Arts, Culture & Media
Is Russia's romance with Cuba coming to an end?
PRI's The World
March 23, 2016
When Fidel Castro ushered in the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere, Soviet Russia fell in love with Cuba. And the romance that lasted decades.