Vladimir Rozanskij

Kiev has ordered the pro-Russian UOC to sever all ties with the Moscow Patriarchate by 18 August. It currently has around 10,000 parishes, a number now equivalent to that of the autocephalous Orthodox Church. Defending Metropolitan Onufryj - who has always maintained a balance between rejecting war and maintaining ties with the Russian Church - is Larisa Brodetskaja, a veteran of the Ukrainian armed forces in the resistance against Moscow's troops.

The 12th annual session of the Dialogue between the European Union and Central Asian countries was held in Dushanbe. During the summit, Tajikistan agreed to conclude a wide-ranging partnership agreement with the EU, joining the processes underway in various forms in other countries in the region.

Two years after Prigožin's death, Russian mercenaries remain in the field as employees of the Ministry of Defence. They are strongly committed to supporting political propaganda throughout Africa, even offering special courses for African journalists with programmes on Russian television networks and agencies.

Cotton remains one of the country's main exports, but earnings are steadily declining. The problem stems from the large increase in cotton production in other countries, such as the United States and India, where stocks are at historic highs. And China, by turning to countries that offer the cheapest raw materials, is contributing to global price tensions.

An alternative to the Kerch Bridge, which is constantly under attack by Ukrainian drones, the road and rail link between the peninsula and the Donetsk region is taking on an increasingly strategic role. This opens up not only immediate prospects, but also long-term ones.

Moscow has become the first government to complete the normalisation of relations with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Since 2018, Russian policy towards the Taliban had begun to change, moving from formal opposition to an evident search for cooperation. But the new friendship with Kabul will develop in the usual style of mutual suspicion and cross-checking

The ruins of several medieval tombs discovered by chance in the area of what was once the ancient city of Sogda are arousing great interest among archaeologists. Among the discoveries are mixed forms of burial, not typical of the strict canons of this religious tradition.

Meetings and projects for new cooperation initiatives between Mongolia's political leadership and Central Asian heads of state and government are multiplying. In a network of relations that not only has political and commercial significance but also represents a form of historical and commercial reunification.

After the incident involving a plane carrying 67 people that crashed in December due to “interference” with the war in Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Russia are once again in the midst of a diplomatic crisis over a police raid. In the background is the crisis of Russian influence in the Caucasus, increasingly overshadowed by Turkish activism in the region.

By abolishing the liberal principles of democracy and equality of all citizens before the law that the first president Boris Yeltsin had intended to proclaim, Vladimir Putin had already sanctioned in 2020 the transformation of institutions into instruments of the ‘vertical of power’ not to be shared with local administrations or other social bodies.

Two archbishops (including Galstanyan) are in prison after a police raid on the patriarchate in Echmiadzin. Pashinyan directly accuses Catholicos Karekin II and calls for his removal, while the Armenian clergy responds by invoking the excommunication of the prime minister. According to the government, Moscow is behind the Church's ‘manoeuvres’, but other voices denounce the use of branding all opposition with ‘the stamp of Kremlin spies’. In the background are geopolitical balances and negotiations with Azerbaijan.

For some time now, the authorities in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan have banned end-of-school-year celebrations in order to ‘avoid excesses’. However, these celebrations continue to take place in secret in country houses or basements, with spending on gifts increasing year after year.