Russia

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.

Despite bans on demonstrations and pickets, environmentalists have still managed to make their voices heard against the work in progress in the parks of the Russian capital. According to the municipal authorities, the work is necessary to improve ‘the care and use of green spaces’, but according to the opponents it is simply a favour to the ‘business-minded building lobbies’.

The Kremlin would like to create a traditionalist far-right party, led by special military operation veterans, to be merged with the heirs of Vladimir Zirinovskij to spur the same deputies of United Russia into more convinced patriotic activism. But the move is viewed with nervousness by Zyuganov's communists, who represent the traditional ‘popular and leftist’ Russian soul.

Tensions are growing between the president of the Caucasian republic and Moscow. The main reason for the disagreement is said to be information from the FSB services about the frequent negotiations not agreed with the Kremlin between Kadyrov, who has been ill for some time, and the monarchies of the Golgo to determine the future of his assets and the security of his family members.

The Eurasian military alliance has presented new guidelines for law enforcement operations to be applied in all member states to prevent ‘terrorist infiltration’. Last year 420 illegal organisations were identified, but there were also many summary actions against Tajiks after the attack on Krokus City Hall. Dushanbe is insisting that its citizens fully legalise their residence status in Russia by the end of April.

Making Russia and America “great again”, MAGA and Russkij Mir, is nothing more than the dream of returning to a world in which two great empires ruled and all the other countries submitted. It is not about conquests, but about the losses suffered, and returning to the top of the world helps overcome fears of further losses.

To reach an upper-medium level of development this decade, greater investments in energy are needed. For supporters, nuclear plants would guarantee stable and "clean" energy, and improve the environment at a critical juncture for traditional renewables. Moscow and Beijing would partner in infrastructure development.