North Asia

During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s three-day visit to Moscow, the "Power of Siberia-2" gas pipeline—vital to Russia’s economy—was once again a topic of discussion. Beijing is already supporting Russia’s expanding military production by supplying microelectronic components blocked by Western sanctions. The presence of Chinese soldiers in the parade before Lenin’s mausoleum also reflects internal political considerations within China.

Robert Prevost has never had direct relations with Moscow, but the name he chose evokes very important relations in the history of relations between East and West in the ancient and modern Church, from Leo the Great to Leo XIII, the pope of Rerum Novarum, who was inspired by the great Russian author Vladimir Solovyov.

Just as Putin today celebrates the parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II with the leaders of all “friendly” countries, Dmitry Steshin—one of the most fervent pro-Russian war correspondents from the Ukrainian front—speaks about the tense situation in the North Caucasus republic: “Dagestan lives by its own laws, drifting further and further from Moscow.”

Along the banks of the Amur River and on Sakhalin Island, small ethnic groups have lived since time immemorial, braving extreme cold and remaining distant from modern-day Russia while preserving animist religious traditions. Documented by great 19th-century Russian explorers, today they are a small people of only a few hundred individuals who speak their own language. And they believe that even if they vanish, they will reunite with the cycles of nature.

The truce for the Great Victory is a game of roles, with Putin wanting to prolong negotiations and appear victorious. The fourth parade since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, on the solemn 80th anniversary of the end of the conflict against Nazi Germany. The ‘Russian mindset’ among the cardinals at the Conclave. The Orthodox Patriarch shows the ‘Russian paradise’ against the devastation of war.

After suspending operations in March 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine, the fast-food company has resubmitted its registration application to the relevant office of Rospatent. While diplomatically stating that this is only a renewal of trademark rights, Moscow already considers it a seal of the new friendship with Trump's United States.

With all his soul, the pope wished to rescue the face of Russia's "mad holiness", that of its monks and pilgrims, its great artists and musicians, its writers capable of opening horizons of true universal union. That is why he often quoted Dostoevsky. Now, in his death, he promises us that in this inextricable inner struggle between good and evil, the face of Christ is always revealed in the human soul.

The statements made by Vladimir Kara-Murza, one of the most influential members of the opposition to Putin in exile, on the large presence of non-Russian ethnic groups among Moscow's soldiers on the front line in Ukraine have sparked debate. Many have accused him of racism. But there are also those who recall the Caucasians fighting in the ranks of Kiev, bitterly observing that in this bloody conflict ‘everyone is looking for their enemies’.

Patriarch Kirill recalls the historic meeting in Cuba in 2016 and Francis' desire to “heal the wounds of conflict”. Putin's tribute: “A consistent defender of the great values of humanism and justice”. Orthodox writer Andrei Lorgus: ‘His death on Easter has a special meaning for the whole Christian world’.

Total turnover remained more or less the same, but print runs collapsed, with a 23% drop in the number of books printed compared to the first quarter of 2022. Books translated from abroad fell by 27%, with a decidedly poor average for Russian readers of 2,500 copies printed per text. Readers are looking for substitutes for banned literature, buying Russian fantasy and horror books and Chinese novels.

This is the estimate by the government-funded Korea Institute for Defense Analysis for North Korea’s shipment of weapons, men and technology to Russia. The supplies include 21,000 containers of weapons sent by sea. Between late 2024 and the start of 2025, North Korea sent almost 127,000 phishing emails to South Korean officials, journalists and researchers.

As part of the conversion to a war economy over the past three years, the Russian Attorney General's Office has confiscated 411 large companies from private individuals, with assets exceeding 30 billion dollars. Among the main managers of these operations are the two oligarch brothers closest to President Vladimir Putin, Arkady and Boris Rotenberg.