Vladimir Rozanskij

The peninsula wrested from Ukraine seeks stronger ties with Orthodox countries such as Serbia and Bulgaria. The aim: to attract more tourists and visitors despite Western sanctions. The Russians are looking at alternatives to escape the isolation created by by the US and Europe.

The two countries have almost 1,000 km of border yet to be fully recognised. The parties trade blame. At least 100 casualties; a ceasefire is now in force. More than 150 clashes in 10 years. Attempts to revive a joint border commission.

US House of Representatives speaker on mission after fresh clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Karabakh. Washington's role in mediating the cease-fire. Many Armenians call for abandonment of Russian-led Csto for NATO partnership.

Russia's most famous songwriter admonishes Putin for the attack on Ukraine. He urges Russians not to fall into depression over what is happening today. He reminds that the Soviet Union was not only influenced by the West, but also by the East and the South.

He did so as he bid farewell to the Catholic community of Kazakhstan at the end of his apostolic journey. The icon is dedicated to the largest Marian shrine in Central Asia. A work inspired "by love for the mother". The Pontiff's blessing pledges to be missionaries of peace.

The city's historic building would become the local headquarters of Caritas. An initiative of auxiliary monsignor Nikolai Dubinin. The building was originally used as a shelter for homeless Catholics; confiscated during the Soviet era, it retained its charitable purpose. It would help the many assistance centres opened by Catholics in European Russia, often under legal and logistical conditions that are still rather precarious.

Belarus is in the grips of an economic crisis, hit by Western sanctions for its support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the first half of 2022 Belarusian GDP fell by 6%. The Kremlin's economic aid is deemed insufficient. Belarusian expert: we have gone back 10 years.

A return to Marxism-Leninism lessons of Soviet times updated to current imperial-orthodox ideology. Activist: the effects of war propaganda must be monitored. Many families try to switch to homeschooling.

An unofficial delegation from Armenia was present this year. Tensions remain with Azerbaijan, which claims Armenian-majority territory. Baku continues to have territorial claims over Yerevan. According to the Armenians, the Brussels agreements have not established the status of the region.

Direct line of communication between citizenship and Serdar Berdymuhamedov. Most of the requests for assistance concern social issues. Authorities ignore appeals over human rights abuses.

A new wave of crime is feared, especially in Caucasian Russia. The soldiers return home with no psychological barriers to keep them from violence. The State takes no responsibility and does nothing to rehabilitate those returning from war.

The "Donskaya" Madonna displayed in Moscow to inspire Russian success in the war in Ukraine. The Orthodox authorities had done the same with Rublev's Trinity. Patriarch Kirill continues with his pro-Putin war rhetoric and further closes the door to dialogue with the West by also refusing to attend the 11th assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the largest ecumenical body meeting in Karlsruhe.