Meet the gay Russian man blackmailed to infiltrate terrorist groups in Syria An investigation by a Moscow-based newspaper this spring made headlines around the world that the Russian government in Chechnya, a republic in the North Caucasus, was committing horrific crimes against gay men. Russia’s leading independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta exposed systematic arrests, torture and in some cases killings of homosexuals in Chechnya. dispatch Katia Patin and Caucasian Knot
‘Anywhere You Live, There is Your Home’: Story of a Refugee Holding on in Berlin’s Tempelhof video Luisa Beck and Sofiya Voznaya
Russian TV network won’t air ‘Simpsons’ episode over fears of offending christians dispatch Katia Patin
Europe, Germany Brace for African Migrants as Record Numbers Land in Sicily As European countries pull back from past commitments to accepting refugees, tens of thousands linger in Italy as they navigate an overwhelmed asylum system. dispatch Perla Trevizo
Kremlin, nationalists face off over Romanov romance ‘Mathilda’ Moscow’s conservative friends become its foes in campaign to defend Tsar Nicholas II’s memory feature Natalia Antonova
Refugees Paid One Euro an Hour by German Employment Program Germany is expanding its job program for asylum seekers. But 100,000 new jobs paying 80 cents an hour stirs resentment dispatch Laura Kasinof
‘Very dangerous’: a new law in Armenia aimed to prevent domestic violence is scrapped for being too ‘European’ Is concern about domestic violence the new fault line in the battle between ‘liberal’ and ‘traditional’ values? feature Gayane Abrahamyan
Asylum Seekers Running Out Of Options As Migration Backlash Goes Global European governments are drawing harder lines between who is and who isn’t welcome. essay Krista Mahr
‘Life Is Not For Everyone’: A Syrian Teenager Struggles to Endure Family Pressures and German Bureaucracy In Berlin, an overwhelmed asylum system tests the bonds of family and the mental health of young refugees feature Thalia Beaty
How Pregnant Asylum Seekers Navigate Birth and Bureaucracy in Germany Without birthright citizenship, babies born to asylum seekers may become stateless feature Perla Trevizo
Tajik Asylum Seekers Stranded at the EU Border Human Rights Groups Say Polish Border Guards at EU Border are Systematically Refusing Asylum-Seekers from Tajikistan Entry dispatch Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska