A lot has changed in Central Asia in the more than three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The region’s giant neighbors -- Russia and China -- have played and will no doubt continue to play large roles in Central Asia. However, the Central Asian states have strengthened relations, economic partnerships, and export rout…

Top EU officials visited Central Asia for the first-ever EU-Central Asian summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Joining host Bruce Pannier are Terhi Hakala, a diplomat from Finland and Samuel Doveri Vesterbye, director of the European Neighborhood Council.بقلم RFE/RL

The Caspian Sea is home to many unique marine species and other wildlife. The Caspian Sea Basin is also rich in oil and natural gas. The development of these lucrative hydrocarbon resources is having an adverse effect on the indigenous plant life, and some species are at risk of extinction. At the same time, water levels in the Caspian Sea are drop…

Tajikistan has been acknowledged by Freedom House as one of the worst human rights violators for years, but 2025 has seen Tajik authorities take repression to new levels. Eight former government officials and political opposition figures were convicted at a closed-door trial of plotting a coup and given lengthy prison sentences. In addition, a jour…

I'm RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak, and this week I'm drilling down on two issues: boosting European defense spending, and how the bloc is dealing with (or not dealing with) Georgia's controversial new president.بقلم Rikard Jozwiak

Human Rights Watch (HRW) just released its annual report about the human rights situation around the world https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025. The report points to a deterioration in rights in Central Asia in such areas as civil society, freedom of media, the judicial process, the rights of minority groups and vulnerable segments of the populati…

I'm RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak, and this week I'm assessing the chances that Transdniester could abandon Russia and rejoin Moldova.بقلم Rikard Jozwiak

I'm RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak, and this week I'm looking ahead at what we can expect from the EU in 2025.بقلم Rikard Jozwiak

On December 31, 1999, Boris Yeltsin stepped down and handed Russia’s reins to Vladimir Putin, the former KGB officer he had named prime minister months earlier -- and who remains in power to this day. Analyst and author Mark Galeotti joins the host to discuss Putin’s 25-year rule.بقلم Steve Gutterman