The Week's Best: 9 RFE/RL Stories You Need To Read (Or Watch)

Hey, you’re busy! We know rferl.org isn’t the only website you read. And that it’s just possible you may have missed some of our most compelling journalism this week. To make sure you’re up-to-date, here are some of the highlights produced by RFE/RL’s team of correspondents, multimedia editors, and visual journalists over the past seven days.

Nomadic Pamir Kyrgyz shepherds face a life-altering choice: Should they stay in Afghanistan’s isolated and poverty-stricken northeastern panhandle? Or should they accept an invitation to resettle in Kyrgyzstan? By Ron Synovitz

Russian teenager Olga Misik attracted national attention in 2019 when she was filmed reading the Russian Constitution aloud to body-armored riot police. Ahead of a verdict on criminal vandalism charges over a separate incident, she maintains her innocence — and her unrepentant final speech in court has rippled through Russian social media. By Robert Coalson

Russian journalist Eduard Shmonin believes he was targeted by investigators for his expose on massive oil theft in western Siberia. He’s now facing up to 11 years in prison. By Sergei Khazov-Cassia and Carl Schreck

A look at the beekeepers of western Georgia who risk their lives for liquid gold. By Amos Chapple

Hasan Akbarov, a 31-year-old Tajik border guard, was shot dead the day before he was set to celebrate his sister’s wedding. In Kyrgyzstan, border officer Isfana Bekzod Yuldashev died in the same conflict days before his 31st birthday. Their families are among those whose lives were shattered by two days of violence. By RFE/RL’s Tajik and Kyrgyz services, Margot Buff

Baha’is say officials at a cemetery in the Iranian capital have pressured them to bury their dead at a space containing mass graves of political prisoners executed in the late 1980s, in what Baha’is say is the continuation of state pressure and persecution on its members in Iran. By Golnaz Esfandiari

Thousands of Kazakhs have received their first shot of the Kazakh-made coronavirus vaccine QazVac, which is still in its final trial stage. QazVac’s developers insist it is safe and effective but “don’t have time” to publish more research results, causing some to be leery of it. By Farangis Najibullah and RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service

Opponents of Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka can face arrest simply for displaying the red and white colors of the opposition, even on socks. The longtime authoritarian leader is doubling down on fear to silence his opponents. By Tony Wesolowsky, Current Time, and RFE/RL’s Belarus Service

When spray-painted pictures began appearing on the streets of Tashkent about a year ago, they prompted a wave of photos on social media and excited talk of the “Uzbek Banksy.” Now, in his first-ever interview, he told RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service that when he started, he had never previously heard of the famous English-based street artist he was compared to. By Ray Furlong and RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service