Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu after their meeting with the top military brass in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023.

Putin preps for presidential reelection campaign amid ongoing war

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s political party has unanimously nominated him to be their presidential candidate for the upcoming election in March 2024. The nomination comes amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, heavy political repression and heightened censorship. 

Putin preps for presidential reelection campaign amid ongoing war
A portrait of the owner of private military company Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin lays at an informal memorial next to the former 'PMC Wagner Centre' in St. Petersburg, Russia, Aug. 24, 2023.

Reported death of Wagner Group leader 'strengthens Putin's hold on power,' analyst says

Reported death of Wagner Group leader 'strengthens Putin's hold on power,' analyst says
A group of mothers and guardians meet to discuss an upcoming trip to Russia and occupied parts of Ukraine to retrieve their missing children.

Ukrainian parents take risky trips to Russia to retrieve their deported children

Ukrainian parents take risky trips to Russia to retrieve their deported children
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko talk during their meeting in Minsk, Belarus, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022.

Putin reinforces military, security bonds with Belarus at Minsk meeting

Putin reinforces military, security bonds with Belarus at Minsk meeting
A voter moves to cast their vote after filling out their ballot at a polling site inside The Shed arts center, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.

Russia is placing 'a major bet' on US midterm election outcomes, journalist says

Russia is placing 'a major bet' on US midterm election outcomes, journalist says
headshot of man

Russian dissident remains in prison on trumped-up charges

Vladimir Kara-Murza is one of the most well-known opposition politicians in Russia. Like Alexei Navalny, and dozens of other opposition politicians in Russia, Kara-Murza is in prison. Right now, he is awaiting his day in court after being accused of high treason. He is one of hundreds of documented political prisoners in Russia.

Russian dissident remains in prison on trumped-up charges
Funeral workers burry a coffin with an unidentified civilian body, who died in Bucha during the Russian occupation period in February-March 2022, during a funeral in Bucha, Ukraine

Digital clues and the stories Ukraine’s mass graves tell

There are two kinds of mass graves in Ukraine, the ones left after Russian executions, and the ones dug by local people to prevent disease or to protect the bodies. Now, there are efforts underway to document the graves and create digital records of the bodies, in order to identify them later.

Digital clues and the stories Ukraine’s mass graves tell
man at podium

The controversial Chechen leader who supports Putin in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin promoted Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to army general this month. Kadyrov is a long-time ally of Putin and is known for his inflammatory remarks and abysmal human rights record. He has also described Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a “holy war.”

The controversial Chechen leader who supports Putin in Ukraine
A view of the Big Kremlin Palace and Churches with the Moskva River in Moscow, Russia

Russian propaganda tries to convince youth that Russia is "always a victim of the West,” great-granddaughter of Nikita Khrushchev says

Russian schools are revamping their curriculum and encouraging students to join a new patriotic youth movement in an attempt to steer them away from Western influence. To discuss how propaganda works, The World’s host Marco Werman speaks with Nina Khrushcheva, professor of international affairs at The New School in New York and great-granddaughter of former Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Russian propaganda tries to convince youth that Russia is "always a victim of the West,” great-granddaughter of Nikita Khrushchev says
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as French President Emmanuel Macron, looks on before a meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine

Many Germans fear 'active participation in war' as country increases military aid to Ukraine

The German public has been reluctant to become involved in Ukraine's war. But the government in Berlin plans to deliver on a promise that Chancellor Olaf Scholz made in February to supply military assistance, citing a “turning point” for Europe.

Many Germans fear 'active participation in war' as country increases military aid to Ukraine
Yörük Işık, an independent Istanbul-based geopolitical analyst, is among a small group of ship watchers —  some hobbyists, some professionals — who observe ship traffic in Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait. 

At the mouth of the Black Sea, a ship spotter watches for clues amid Ukraine war

Turkey’s ship watchers observe traffic in Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait to understand geopolitics — including the comings and goings of Russian ships amid war in Ukraine.

At the mouth of the Black Sea, a ship spotter watches for clues amid Ukraine war
Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza lays flowers near the place where Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down, in Moscow, Russia

'I know that he will not stop fighting,' wife of Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza says

Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara Murza was arrested earlier this week in Moscow. He was sentenced to 15 days in jail in Moscow Tuesday for "disobeying a police order." Kara-Murza is a Kremlin critic and has publicly spoken out against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Host Marco Werman with Vladimir Kara-Murza's wife, Evgenia Kara-Murza.

'I know that he will not stop fighting,' wife of Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza says
A natural gas power plant of RWE AG in Lingen, Germany

Can heat pumps help bring peace to Ukraine?

The horrors of Russia’s war in Ukraine are funded in large part by the fossil fuels it sells to the world. Climate activist and writer Bill McKibben says the US should rapidly manufacture electric heat pumps and send them to European homes as a way to permanently weaken Vladimir Putin’s oil-and gas-fueled war machine — and fight climate change, too.

Can heat pumps help bring peace to Ukraine?
Posters of French President Emmanuel Macron and centrist candidate for reelection in Saint Pee sur Nivelle, southwestern France

Ukraine and COVID give Macron a boost in the polls ahead of French elections

As French presidential elections approach, many voters are backing incumbent Emmanuel Macron for his handling of the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ukraine and COVID give Macron a boost in the polls ahead of French elections
man and sheep

In southern Romania, villagers are uneasy about a NATO missile defense system in its backyard

In efforts to justify his war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin will often raise the specter of NATO missile defense systems in eastern Europe. The Pentagon claims that the facilities can only fire missile interceptors. Landing at the center of this debate is the Romanian town of Deveselu, home to one of just two missile defense systems in Europe.

In southern Romania, villagers are uneasy about a NATO missile defense system in its backyard