Russian state-controlled television channels have treating its viewers to a raft of disparaging, often bizarre reports playing down the pro-European protests in Ukraine.

A documentary film shedding light on the alleged graft, waste, and violations behind the Sochi Olympics premieres in Russia this week, even as the producer says Russia has attempted to block the film's screening.

Moldova's pro-European government has not made a statement since protests erupted in neighboring Ukraine over Kyiv's decision to put its EU-integration agenda on hold. Chisinau wants Ukraine to move toward the EU in step with Moldova, but also depends on Kyiv for support over it protracted conflict with breakaway Transdniester.

A new website offering a virtual tour of Gulag camps was launched last week. The project is the result of three Czech expeditions to some of the remotest parts of Siberia, which mapped the ruins of forced-labor sites from the Stalinist era. Using cutting-edge panoramic photography, the website's creators aim to provide visitors with a realistic idea of living conditions in the Siberian Gulag where millions of Soviet citizens and people from many other countries perished.