The Week's Best: Stories You May Have Missed

We know that rferl.org isn’t the only website you read, and it’s possible that you may have missed some of our most interesting journalism from the past 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.

Vote-Rigging Fears Ahead Of Presidential Election In Belarus

Ballot boxes will sit for five nights, unsupervised, amid early voting which has begun in the Belarusian presidential election. It’s just one part of the process ringing alarm bells about election rigging in a country where previous elections have not been deemed free or fair by Western observers. By Ray Furlong and Current Time

Since lockdown measures were imposed in March, many small-business owners across Russia have struggled to stay afloat. In St. Petersburg, the hometown of President Vladimir Putin, one restaurant owner estimates his losses at $68,000, and puts the blame squarely on the government’s mismanagement. By Matthew Luxmoore

‘We Have The Same Ideals’: Protesters In Russia’s Far East And Belarus Feel A Connection

Two protest movements are 9,000 kilometers apart: one in Russia and one in Belarus — but they’re united by their desire for basic democratic norms. Current Time reporters tracked down the protesters in Khabarovsk, in Russia’s Far East, who reached out to their counterparts in Belarus, and the demonstrators in Minsk who responded. By Ray Furlong and Current Time

A mother, a daughter, a mystic — letters of desperation span the globe and echo across three generations. By Michael Scollon

Scallops And Solitude: Life In Russia’s Remote Far East

The Gamov Peninsula is an isolated region in Russia’s Far East , with influences from neighboring Japan, China, and North and South Korea. But the hardy few who live there cherish their solitude and are glad to be off the authorities’ radar. By Harutyun Mansuryan and Current Time’s Unknown Russia

The Siberian town of Verkhoyansk is one of the coldest inhabited places on Earth. The temperature in this city can drop to minus 40 degrees Celsius during an average winter. However, in June 2020, Verkhoyansk reached a temperature of 38 degrees — the highest temperature ever documented north of the Arctic Circle. Although occasional temperature spikes may emerge anywhere in the world and heat waves are not unusual even in the Arctic area, it is worrying that higher temperatures are now becoming more frequent and more intensive. By Kristyna Foltynova

Kyrgyz Film Denied License For Showing Corrupt Officials

The makers of a new Kyrgyz movie say they were denied a distribution license after a film commission objected to scenes showing corrupt government officials. Motherland, by director Mederbek Jalilov, tells the story of a conflict between Kyrgyz villagers and a Chinese investor. By Current Time

‘They Don’t Reveal The True Statistics’: Northern Iranian Province Hit By COVID-19 Spike

Iran’s Alborz Province has been hit by a spike in COVID-19 cases. Citizen journalists in the provincial capital, Karaj, have sent video to RFE/RL’s Radio Farda and say authorities are not revealing the true scale of the pandemic. By RFE/RL’s Radio Farda