Vladimir Rozanskij

The Ukrainian parliament approve laws that humiliate the Patriarchate of Moscow and favor the Kiev Patriarchate. The fight also involves the Vatican and Catholics. Ukraine, like Russia, back tracks on laws guaranteeing religious freedom.

A court sentences the young man to three and a half years in prison for offending religious feelings. He had played Pokemon Go in a church and said he was atheist. Famous TV personality Vladimir Pozner reacts to the controversy. After the of Pussy Riots incident, a 2013 law criminalises offending religious beliefs. The case has embarrassed the Orthodox Church.

The great celebrations of the end of World War II in the name of patriotism. Patriarch Kirill recalls the help of St. George, the protector of the city of Moscow, and the name of the "generalissimo" who led the Soviet army against the Nazis, Georgij Konstantinovich Zhukov. Patriotism among Catholics, even persecuted. Children's parades and awards. 55% of the population appreciates Stalin's role.

The Moscow Patriarch distances itself from the government policy but at the same time terms it "a positive gesture". The ban also concerns Catholics, who fear "new forms of discrimination". The Russian "symphony" between the throne and the altar reproduces patterns of Soviet times. The visit of the remains of St. Nicholas in Russia as a wish of unity in the faith of the undivided Church.

Moscow’s Easter gift festival is underway from 12 to 23 April in 24 downtown squares and 19 parks. Typical products from the Russian regions include cakes, honey, cheeses . . . and bells. “If we had a little more time, Sergey Semenovich and I too would gladly take a ride on the carousel," said Kirill.

For the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow, reconciliation in Europe and around world has a religious dimension. Solving the Syrian conflict needs the cooperation of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Working for "the baptism of China and North Korea" is indispensable. Jehovah's Witnesses are a problem.

This year the dates of the Orthodox and Catholic Easter coincide. Two thousand young faithful in procession to ask for the return of St. Petersburg church. The elaborate preparation of Miron, the Holy Thursday oil which also anointed the tsars. Some martyrs of the Soviet period "downgraded" to mere "victims of repression."

The lack of reaction to the unusual chain of events, from street demonstrations in Moscow, the chemical bombing and American retaliation to the attack in Stockholm show a "weakness" in Putin. The escalation of the Hybrid War.

The Duma set to discuss a regulation on the matter. The Moscow Patriarchate says it "offends human dignity" and should be banned both on a commercial and voluntary basis. Children of "surrogates" will be baptized only after the period of parental penance. The proposed adoption by infertile couples. Russia passes from atheism to religion, while the West goes in the opposite direction.

What is new is not Alexei Navalny, but the protests of young people. Medvedev and his jogging "shoes" fetish. Putin's nationalism losing support, partly because of the economic crisis. Russia, like the rest of the world, seeing the impoverishment of the middle class.

The commemoration of the centenary of the Russian Revolution of 1917 has begun. A major historical revision is underway. Our post-globalisation times resemble 1917. The Moscow Patriarchate and Vladimir Putin are silent on the matter.

For the students it was a "obligated holiday." Flyers promised 400 rubles "for three hours of work", actually to participate in the "Anniversary celebrations." Several representatives of political parties and nationalist movements have repeated the proposal to make March 18 an official holiday, and - to the glory of the Crimean referendum - a fixed day for the most important votes.