Vladimir Rozanskij

Metropolitan Antonij replaces Ilarion, who was removed by Patriarch Kirill and sent to the Budapest See. "Geopolitical challenges and the order of world Orthodoxy" are the patriarchate's priorities. Shadow of war in Ukraine. Fight against those who want to impose an "ecclesiology foreign to Orthodoxy."

So far the Russians have used Belarus to launch missiles and as a short cut to try to take Kiev. Critics and supporters of Lukashenko are against involvement in the conflict. Moscow pushing for direct Belarusian intervention.

Kazakhstani president defends Kiev's territorial integrity. Attacked by Putin cronies. Kazakhs fear that their country may be in the same situation as Ukraine in the future. U.S. notes distancing and signals openness to Nur-Sultan.

The Kerč link connects the two southern ends of the Azov Sea. The Russian president wanted to rebuild it after the annexation of Crimea. The Russians militarized it in fear of a Ukrainian attack. Kiev admits it is currently unable to strike it.

Kekh Pass epicentre of clashes. The two sides trade blame for the situation. Out of 972 km of the border, only 519 km are determined and officially recognized by Dushanbe and Biškek.

The economic dynamism of the former Soviet republic attracts the interest of China. Possible collision between Chinese and Russian interests. China's Belt and Road as a flywheel for Uzbek infrastructure. Work on the Beijing-Biškek-Taškent railway begins in September.

The Russian parliament adopts strict rules on freedom of expression: they want to strike at 'foreign agents'. It would be a return to the times of Stalin and Brezhnev. In Gorbačëv's Soviet Union there was more freedom than in today's Russia.

Orthodox consider the Russian Tsar the 'Westernist' Antichrist. The Russian president on the outcome of the war against Ukraine: in 10 years time we will have a better standard of living. The people wait with resigned submission.

With the approval of the new Constitution, the Kazakh President is called upon to overcome 30 years of post-Soviet immobility. Local advisory councils set up to encourage popular participation. However, control remains in the hands of politicians. Knock on effect so far is the dethronement of the "father of the fatherland" Nazarbayev.

The European Parliament reports "violations of press freedom and dangers to the safety of journalists" in the Caucasian country. The Georgian Dream government has not adopted sanctions against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Opposition calls for change of direction to obtain candidate country status.

The war on Ukraine and Western sanctions open up a new scenario for Russia. Moscow aims to create an economic space in 'Greater Eurasia'. The role of China, India Turkey and Iran. Objective: to build a new economic world free from the enslavement of the West.

Since 1991, the Russian president has been searching for 'red mercury'. It is an element that does not exist in nature, part of a super-secret Soviet project to build weapons of mass dstruction. In the winter of 1991-1992, Putin was a key player in the foreign sell-offs of Russian energy resources.