Vladimir Rozanskij

Already 38 clerics linked to the Moscow Patriarchate have been found ‘guilty’ of treason by the courts in Kiev. Many are asking to be transferred to Russia, but there are no signs of a particularly favourable welcome there: in the ‘hybrid war’ of Ukrainian politics, the presence of ‘loyal’ metropolitans, bishops and priests in the country is a factor that cannot be ignored.

The two million elderly people make up less than 30% of the country's population. One of the biggest difficulties they face is healthcare, which is very precarious at the public level. ‘Without our children, we would not be able to survive.’ And many today regret the Soviet era.

The celebrations marking 34 years since the country regained its independence with the end of the Soviet Union were an opportunity in Dushanbe to rediscover the meanings behind the flag, the country's coat of arms and its national anthem, whose melody draws on a long local musical tradition.

The case of a 15-year-old boy who died in Tajikistan as a result of “exemplary corporal punishment” inflicted by his father has reignited the spotlight on the issue of domestic violence. According to some data, 60% of children under the age of 14 in the country are victims of domestic violence. And despite the prohibitions introduced by law, the problem is exacerbated today by ‘demonstration videos’ sent to relatives or uploaded to social networks in search of social approval.

Moscow is increasingly relying on resources provided by the mining industry in northern Siberia. The province of Mirnyj alone accounts for 14% of the world's diamond reserves. However, these activities come at a heavy environmental cost in terms of air and water pollution. With very little economic benefit for local communities.

Of the five countries, only Turkmenistan is not a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), in keeping with its traditional international neutrality, but President Serdar Berdymukhamedov was nevertheless present at the parade in Beijing. Trade between the region and China grew by 5% last year and will soon exceed $100 billion. Russia is now forced to play a secondary role.

The President of Kazakhstan claims to have brought about a “great change” in the country's politics and society. And although the former president's clan remains a sort of shadow power, the Astana government continually reports the recovery of assets they took abroad. But according to sociologists Bejsembaev and Tlegenova, there has been no division of powers and the country is ruled by a new generation of autocracy.

Even thousands of kilometres away from Tatarstan, their homeland, during the summer Tatar communities in the United States held cultural training camps for children and young people aged 5 to 20. The message: you can belong to this Russian people anywhere, in Russia as well as in America.

While the clash between pro-Russian and pro-European forces continues in the country, the government has committed to guaranteeing the purchase of all grapes that are not bought by the private sector. But according to local winemakers, this policy, a legacy of the Soviet era, does not contribute to improving the quality of production.

President Mirziyoyev presided over the ceremonies of a Day dedicated to those who died as a result of the repressions of the tsars and the Stalinist regime. In recent years, more than 1,200 persecuted people have been rehabilitated after a careful review of their trials. The 150th anniversary of the birth of Makhmudkhodža Bekhbudi, the leader of Jadidism, a form of Islamic modernism in the Turanian language of the late 19th century, was also commemorated.

In recent days, Russian Orthodox Christians have celebrated the feast of the image of Christ Nerukotvornyj, meaning “not made by human hands”, which reproduces the Holy Face of the Shroud, the original version of which has been the subject of endless debate for many centuries. According to tradition, the image is linked to a miracle that benefited King Abgar of Edessa, a contemporary of Jesus' earthly life.

In Tajikistan, human rights groups accuse the Tajik government of grave abuses in its crackdown against protests in the Gorno-Badakshan Autonomous Region. They point to the deaths of four jailed activists in recent months. Prisoners in the rebel region are reportedly subjected to systematic torture to obtain forced confessions or information to indict other activists who have fled abroad.