A new bill under consideration by the Duma seeks to limit the right to hold religious services in private buildings in order to ‘prevent the spread of hostile radical ideas.’ All religious denominations, including the Russian Orthodox Church, are opposed to the bill. Protestant communities would be the most affected, as they have been unable to obtain land to build their own churches since Soviet times.
China has not allowed itself to be drawn into the controversy surrounding Trump's ambitions for Greenland. It is aware that in order to truly realise the “Arctic corridor”, it first needs to organise the logistics, identify viable routes and strengthen relations with Russia.
Four years after the invasion of Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia's veto has divided the European Union over the twentieth package of economic measures against Russia. This is a new chapter in the long history of sanctions that began in the Soviet era and reached its peak in the 1970s and 1980s. The central importance of the Druzhba (‘Friendship’) oil pipeline inaugurated in 1960.
A group of US Congressmen is pushing for the inclusion of members of the disbanded Wagner company, which has reorganised into smaller groups under the control of the Moscow Ministry of Defence, among foreign terrorist organisations. Among the countries where they are most active are Mali and the Central African Republic.
In 2025, municipal service rates increased by an average of 8-12%, and VAT also rose by 1.7% on January 1. This surge is leading to a sharp increase in the prices of consumer goods, including cucumbers, which are a staple on Russian tables. To stop this spiral, profound economic reforms would be needed, which are impossible with a state budget focused solely on military spending.
Russians have always lived with dvoeverie, the Christian and pagan "double faith," which appears not only in devotions and liturgical practices, but above all in the people's attitudes towards life's great challenges. This practice is widespread among soldiers sent to Ukraine, who place their hopes of victory in dark spirits rather than in missiles and drones.
