Corey Flintoff

Media companies in Russia aren't sure how far they can go without risking government reprisals. But even in such an uncertain climate, many independent news outlets have resisted censoring themselves.

The woman, Nadezhda Savchenko, was a military pilot captured during the war in Eastern Ukraine, and her case has become a symbol of the conflict between the two countries.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainians fled to Russia when fighting began in 2014. The welcome they received has cooled as Russia's economy sags, and very few have been granted formal refugee status.

Retirees and those aspiring to join the middle class are struggling to make ends meet as the value of the ruble has fallen along with world oil prices. But Putin's government is doing little to help.

Cooperation is rare these days between Washington and Moscow. But the U.S. Embassy handed over 28 historical documents that had disappeared in the tumultuous years following the Soviet breakup.

In Russia, relatively few people seem to be following the U.S. presidential election campaigns closely, but most people know the names of the front-runners.

While warmer weather might make farming possible in cold regions such as Siberia, it's already causing havoc on existing farmland in the south of Russia.

The Russian protest group skewers Russia's prosecutor-general, Yuri Chaika, who's accused of corruption. The video stars one of two Pussy Riot members jailed in 2012 for "hooliganism."

Ramzan Kadyrov is an aggressive supporter of Vladimir Putin, vilifying opponents of the Russian president as traitors and "Satans" who should be eliminated. But his bluster may provoke a backlash.

To celebrate the feast of Epiphany marking the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan, thousands of Russian Orthodox faithful take a dip in icy waters. How does it feel? "Absolutely good," one man says.