Gregory Feifer reports for NPR from Moscow, covering Russia's resurgence under President Vladimir Putin and the country's transition to the post-Putin era. He files from other former Soviet republics and across Russia, where he's observed the effects of the country's vast new oil wealth on an increasingly nationalistic society as well as Moscow's rekindling of a new Cold War-style opposition to the West.
Gershkovich was arrested while reporting in Russia for The Wall Street Journal. He has vehemently denied the charges against him, and President Biden has called his detention "totally illegal."
Fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war has tended to pick up in summer, when it's warmer, drier and easier for both sides to maneuver. Here are five key regions and themes to know in the months ahead.