The Cardinal Apostolic Vicar of Ulan Bator shared the experience of his small Church, which “whispers the Gospel” into the hearts of the other peoples of the steppe. The Centre for the Study of Mongolian Culture has opened in the cathedral. “Pope Francis’s visit fostered a sense of goodwill from which we continue to benefit.”
In the separatist region of Georgia that has been under Moscow's control for 15 years, thousands of people rose up against the government's agreements with Russian oligarchs. Bžanija announced the step back ‘to preserve stability and constitutional order’. These are not unprecedented events for Sukhumi, which is nevertheless destined to remain firmly in the hands of the Kremlin.
Author Viktor Erofeev, from exile in Berlin since 2022, publishes a novel entitled Velikij Gopnik, illustrating how Putinism emerged from Russian subconscious and the backyards of Leningrad to reach levels of extremism towards its very soul, incapable of ‘accepting a normal life’.
Even the minorities of the former great empire who aspire to independence are questioning what the tycoon's approach to the Ukrainian issue will really be and what consequences this may have for their battles. Intellectual Kharun ar-Rusi: Washington has always been Russocentric even in its support for opposition to Putin
From aliens to fifth columns in the ‘Novaja Gazeta’ artist Petr Sarukhanov has tried to draw the whole picture of the ‘enemies of holy Russia’, composing a list that seems to be updated non-stop. As Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov explained, ‘the special military operation has recompacted our society, allowing us to purify it’.
It is not at all clear whether "homeland" means the same thing for Trump's followers or Putin's subjects, whether it indicates the nativism of "blood and soil" or rather the "spiritual" union of those who have a shared vision of state, region, or the whole world. For now, the newly elected president of the United States has promised a solution to the Ukraine war by 20 January, the day of his inauguration (coincidentally the Orthodox feast of the Baptism of the Lord).
Strong-arm tactics have become a systematic means of pressure, especially against Russian political prisoners. A Mediazona investigation tells the stories of those who have been subjected to violence in Russian prisons to extract forced confessions.
What are the repercussions in Asia of the deployment of Kim Jong-Un's troops in Ukraine? Prof Andrew Yeo told AsiaNews that geopolitical lines are being redrawn. Ukraine may be encouraging North Korean soldiers to desert, but support for Ukraine in South Korea is a divisive issue. For its part, China is trying to avoid being identified as part of the Russia-North Korea bloc.
Nostalgia for the Soviet simplification of the world, even shared by the opposition, is pervasive while ‘making America great again’ resonates in the Caucasus or Siberia as much as the infantilized world of Massachusetts.
Once again this year, despite bans and restrictions, the celebration of the “Restitution of Names” of Soviet-era victims was held in more than 100 cities in Russia and abroad, gathering at different places and times than usual to evade police controls. Meanwhile, Moscow authorities report that plans are afoot to remove the Lubyanka Stone for “renovation work” on the square.
The war in Ukraine is forcing the peoples of these countries to make a clear choice, against their own conscience. Moldovans want a place in the world, not just in the "Russian world", to which they already belong. Even more heart-wrenching is the choice Georgians have to make this weekend, deciding their country’s future in addition to picking their representatives in parliament.
A new crackdown by the Parliamentary Commission for Migration Policy. They are targeting bodies that issue compulsory certificates of knowledge of the Russian language and history and the Internet sites that help obtain illegal documents. Unauthorised stay on Russian territory also becomes an aggravating circumstance for any violation of a rule.
‘There are no serious problems between our countries,’ assures Dushanbe, and in regional organisations, Tajiks are the first to support the Russians' arguments. But in the meantime, disappointment is growing over the Russian authorities' relations with migrants who have suffered outrage and violent forms of discrimination since the Krokus City Hall bombing.
Subscribe to the newsletter to receive verified news, analysis and insights from Asian countries every week.
Subscribeto the newsletter
