“I thought I was working for freedom and human rights,” said Serhiy Kovalsky. “But now I have the feeling that in reality I was working for Putin.”
Minorities
Does Russia Really Want Crimea — And Does Crimea Want Russia?
The phantom of Crimean separatism has spooked Ukraine since the country’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Is Crimea Ukraine’s Next Ticking Time Bomb?
In the sleepy Crimean capital Simferopol, tension is building between supporters and foes of the central government in Kiev.
Self-Censored Blog Post
I meet with a Chechen who asks me just to call him “a public figure.” I’m going to censor myself by redacting any other identifying clues. Even if the fighting is over, fear still inhabits the neat and tidy streets of Grozny.
No Country for Young Men
The Soviet Army once trained here because of the terrain’s similarity to Afghanistan. Today Dagestan’s homegrown Mujahideen imagine themselves in a holy war fought from the cliffs that tower above us.
Russia’s Highlanders Explained
“We may share a common language with Russians, but our ethno-psychology is different,” says Zaur Gaziyev. “The free spirit lives on in the people. We didn’t have 600 years of serfdom like Russia did.”
Age of Empires
Even though both his grandfathers died in Bolshevik captivity, Ilyas Kayayev can’t say Russian rule has been bad for Dagestan on the whole: “What’s the point of being independent and sitting in a cave?”
Barbarians at the Gate
There’s a refugee camp in the center of Berlin filled with people who have fled conflicts around the world. They sleep in tents and eat donated food. Almost all of them are breaking German law just by being here.
The Little Witch and a Big Problem
Germany’s most beloved witch has been making mischief for more than 50 years, but now she’s caused an uproar that goes to the heart of what it means to be German in the 21st century.
Transylvanian Town Sees Gold in Dracula Land
For centuries, Sighisoara has slumbered in the heart of Transylvania. Now the Romanian government has decided to capitalize on the region’s most infamous son.
