A popular Russian TV host has publicly apologized for joking about the Soviet-era massacre of Ukrainians during a cooking show. Ivan Urgant sparked furor in Ukraine by likening the chopping of vegetables to the slaughter of Ukrainian villagers by the Soviet security services.

The dramatic drop in life expectancy in Russia and much of the former Soviet Union has yet to be reversed, according to a recent study.

Misha Alperin is a jazz pianist and composer who was born in Kamenez Podolsky, Ukraine, in 1956. He lived and studied in Moldova and Russia. Since 1993 he has been an associate professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music. RFE/RL correspondent Lucian Stefanescu met with Alperin to discuss diversity, the avant-garde, poetry, and, of course, jazz from Soviet times to the present day.

It was 22 years ago that Yelena Goltsman and her family made the difficult decision to leave Soviet Ukraine and build a new life in the United States. Setting off with only $450 to their name, they lived hand-to-mouth for years. But the journey eventually ended in prosperity and, for Yelena, personal liberation.

What are the differences between the legal terms “crimes against humanity” and “genocide”? And are both equally useful in punishing mass crimes and facilitating closure. RFE/RL spoke with British lawyer Philippe Sands about his forthcoming book, which explores this issue. Sands is a professor of international law at University College London who frequently works on cases before international tribunals.

British writer and historian Timothy Garton Ash was in Brussels on March 16 to take part in the German Marshall Fund's annual forum. He spoke to RFE/RL about the future of Europe.

Washington is due to decide next month whether to continue Ukraine's trade privileges, worth an estimated $50 million annually. The decision comes as a U.S. trade association is calling for the suspension of those privileges because Kyiv is doing too little to protect intellectual property.

The question of how women balance work and child care is a topic of intense debate worldwide. In honor of International Women's Day on March 8, we look at the lives of working mothers in Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Montenegro, Iraq, Ukraine, Tatarstan, and the Czech Republic.