Since 2022, the Russian independent documentary film festival has been forcibly moved to Riga where, once again this year, it is telling the story of ‘The world at war’. Director Vitalij Manskij: ‘The internal war being waged in Moscow against civil society is no less significant’.

Although some Russian Orthodox priests have spoken out against “war liturgies,” they don’t all hold the same positions. Some have tried to stick with the patriarchal Church, others have turned to other Orthodox jurisdictions; some have limited themselves to passive resistance, while others have openly criticised the patriarch himself, such as the theologian and Deacon Andrey Kuraev.

In March 1944, accused of collaborating with the Nazis, tens of thousands of people from the Caucasus were forcibly transferred to Central Asia and Siberia. It was only 13 years later that they were able to return to the present-day republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. Official commemorations avoided mentioning Stalin and the Soviet oppressors. But local historians invite reflection on the relationship between the Russians and the ‘minor peoples’.

In the Pskov region, bills have skyrocketed to over 30,000 rubles per month without any notification of the rate increase, while in Chechnya or Dagestan, the government turns a blind eye to the billions of rubles owed for energy supplies, without suspending services.

The majority of the population believe they have defeated the West, emboldened by the American u-turn. But now the question that circles their minds is ‘what happens next?’.

Russian observers say change of guard in Washington has meant China is no longer able to benefit from the conflict in Ukraine, but has been reduced to the role of onlooker.