There is a growing popular demand for ‘left-wing’ politics. Among the demands is a tax on the super-rich in response to social inequality. Young people are joining radical left-wing groups in search of the ‘truth’ and clashing with Nazis on the streets. In a climate of weariness, any demand holds great potential. The steady, though not yet catastrophic, decline of United Russia and Putin.
The resignation of Archbishop Paolo Pezzi of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God at Moscow marks a delicate transition for Russia’s Catholic community, a process that will also affect relations with Russian authorities and the Orthodox Patriarchate. Citing health reasons that currently make it impossible for him to administer the large diocese, the prelate, who has led the local Church since 2007, calls for unity. Now succession becomes a major issue.
The Synod has elected the three candidates to succeed Ilia II, who had led the Georgian Church since 1977. The candidate with the most votes was the 57-year-old Metropolitan Shio, who had in fact already served as regent alongside the elderly patriarch for ten years. But this transition is extremely delicate, because in a deeply polarised country and against the backdrop of the clash between Moscow and Constantinople, the Georgian Orthodox Church is not merely choosing a person or a development programme for its future.
For Russian philosopher Epstein, a new electronic and digital "Iron Curtain” is upon us. With the collapse of the Soviet totalitarian system, a new, immense and enveloping virtual system has emerged. Today's wall is not easily controlled by a centre of absolute power, but efforts are underway to plug the holes and sever connections. Putin's challenger is no longer Navalny, but Durov, founder of Telegram.
On extraordinary display in the Cathedral of the Holy Saviour, the icons of the Mother of God of Vladimir, also known as the ‘Madonna of Tenderness’ (Umilenije), and the one known as Donskaya are both symbols of Russian victories. They hark back to the great confrontation between East and West that gave rise to Rus’, and has continued to underpin the various ideologies in power in Russia to this day.
Russians were promised a high-tech future. What they got instead is a form of total control, not authoritarian, but totalitarian, reflecting the Kremlin's definition of “the sum of technologies”, namely missiles and drones, as well as surveillance and monitoring equipment.
A Russian online platform is currently broadcasting a series of documentaries entitled ‘The Living Word’, dedicated to great figures of Orthodoxy who were killed in the years following the Bolshevik Revolution. These figures remind us that one can give one’s life for ideals that unite religious faith, evangelical charity and love for one’s homeland – not to destroy the enemy, but to build a new world.
Earlier this month, a series of laws came into effect aimed at changing not only the behaviour but also the outlook on life of Russians. Works such as Pushkin's The Bronze Horseman, Gogol's Dead Souls, and Chekhov's satirical tales have been banned from schools because they are "unacceptable for a correct understanding of traditional values."
The death of the patriarch who had led the Georgian Orthodox Church since 1977 and the fiftieth anniversary of the episcopal consecration of the patriarch of Moscow: two stories celebrated in the ‘Russian world’ as ‘heroism of faith resisting heresy’. Yet they also reveal the continuity between present-day Russia and the Stalinist era.
Since 1991 and the Chechen Wars, Russian policy has been an unconditional continuation of what was essentially left unfinished in the 19th century: a form of territorial colonialism (unlike Western maritime colonialism) that continued with the war in Georgia (2008-2011) and the war in Ukraine (since 2014), using the same methods.
Patriarch Kirill's condolences on the death of Iran's supreme leader Khamenei, killed in Israeli-American raids, also express a sense of superiority of Russian Orthodoxy in defending the true faith. This was also evident in the speech he gave to the assembly of clergy of the Moscow Metropolis, which met at the same time.
The peoples of the world are tired of war. Pope Leo XIV's appeals for "humanity to advance towards a genuine and lasting peace" are multiplying, but these calls are heard in very different ways in the various regions of the world devastated by neo-imperial conflicts.
Russians have always lived with dvoeverie, the Christian and pagan "double faith," which appears not only in devotions and liturgical practices, but above all in the people's attitudes towards life's great challenges. This practice is widespread among soldiers sent to Ukraine, who place their hopes of victory in dark spirits rather than in missiles and drones.
Putin's ideologues preach that the original principles of civilisation and traditional values alone can effectively edify the country's future. Meanwhile, Patriarch Kirill argues that it is necessary to strengthen “not only state sovereignty, but also spiritual sovereignty”. To make Russia “a universal ark of salvation” for all.
Russian political scientist and ultra-Putinist Gleb Kuznetsov published an article in the magazine Gosudarstvo (The State) where he explicitly states that “the separation of powers, competitive elections, and freedom of speech prevent the state from functioning effectively.” He points to the example of Shenzhen, “one of the most controlled cities in the world” as a model.
The poet and translator Irina Jurčuk, a native of the city of Kharkov on the border between the two countries, the epicentre of the ongoing conflict, has published her book ‘The Overpass’ in Kiev, an anthology in which she combines texts by contemporary Russian and Ukrainian authors with translations and her own bilingual rhymes. It is a way to rediscover one's true identity, without being destroyed by abuse and claims.
With the golem mired in the swampy mud of "serving, praying, and giving birth”, it is impossible to trust sociological surveys with increasingly less accessible statistical data. As the rift between Russia’s optimistic majority and a significant pessimistic minority persists, the prevailing view is that "everything will remain as it is today”. Kirill voices an apocalyptic perspective while the fight continues against the "demon" Bartholomew.
The “Donroe doctrine”, as enunciated by Trump, now corresponds perfectly with the principles of Putin's Russkij Mir: both the US and Russia assess the countries within their sphere of influence, be it the American double continent or the former Soviet Eurasian space, as countries to be controlled, conquered, invaded and exploited.
The famous formula of 19th century tsars, Autocracy-Orthodoxy-Nationality, is being reinterpreted today by Putin's ideologists as the new triad: Sovereignty-Traditionalism-Welfare State. Yet, it is precisely "moral and spiritual values" that are the least clear reference, incapable of going beyond the opposition to the “destructive and degraded” values of the West.
Despite the difference in calendars that means Russians celebrate Christmas on 7 January, since Soviet times on New Year's Eve the population marks the arrival of Ded Moroz, or “Grandfather Frost” who descends from the frozen banks to cheer children with gifts. This narrative - with ancient roots in local culture, but too similar to what happens in the West - is now increasingly criticised by Orthodox preachers who urge people not to “confuse” children.
Viktor Erofeev, a critical anti-war voice since Crimea, presented his latest work. In Russia, repressing guilt has become automatic. The collapse of the Soviet Union is one example and the Orthodox Church, which never apologised for collaborating with the atheist regime, is another. Khrushchev words about Russia's wars in Georgia and Ukraine appear prophetic; meanwhile, the opposition abroad is failing.
The Decembrist revolt on December 14, 1825 saw army officers and intellectuals in favor of liberal reforms attempt to seize power after the sudden death of Tsar Alexander I, only to be crushed by the repression of Nicholas I. An icon of the recurring alternation between “system” and “revolt,” regime and anarchy, in the parable of Russian history.
2025 does not mark the end of wars, but the division between the dictatorships of East and West. The new Russian language dictionary relaunches visions of democracy and autocracy in official ideology. The speciality of Witkoff and Dmitriev, architects of the truce “project”, is counting money and dividing the spoils. The clash over language and the issue of coexistence between Orthodox Churches.
Scandals in Kyiv are increasingly intertwined with frequent discussions about Zelensky's departure from power. Justice, transparency, “purity”, and the punishment of the guilty appear to be the priorities under the mounting rubble of war.
Believing in Russia does not automatically mean believing in God and religious dogmas, belonging to the Orthodox Church does not necessarily mean attending liturgical celebrations, and supporting “traditional values” does not automatically translate into accepting the dictates of the catechism.
In a divided and conflict-ridden world, universal unity is Moscow's new religion. It relies on destabilisation, propaganda, and the financing of "friendly" elites and oligarchs loyal to Moscow, along with the Churches as tools of power. After Ukraine, Kazakhstan is the country most at risk, with the longest land border and the largest Russian diaspora. The US, the EU, and international partners will have to strengthen economic and diplomatic relations with the territories targeted by Moscow.
In his new book, writer Mikhail Zygar retraces the last thirty years of the Soviet Union through a gallery of characters, helping us to understand Moscow's present based on the idea that no dictatorship is eternal and that the future always offers a chance for change.
The 2025 military campaign, the most violent and systematic, is nearing its conclusion before the winter freeze. For one expert, “the strategic context of the war is [. . .] shifting," while Russia’s economy slides towards stagnation. Trump is tempted to conclude a "mutual deal" with Putin. Neither Russia nor Ukraine are truly capable of changing the course and nature of the war.
The creation of a platform at the Council of Europe for dialogue with the democratic forces in Russia that oppose Vladimir Putin's regime is hampered by internal divisions between the various groups, including criticism of the Anti-Corruption Fund created by Alexei Navalny. Vladimir Kara-Murza's appeal: ‘Every political prisoner must be able to count on not being forgotten’.
Unlike the Gaza deal, the summer drama surrounding the meeting between Putin and Trump in Alaska did not lead to a letup in military operations, but rather pushed both sides towards further escalation, in deeds and words. As in 1914, the "illusion of fate" is dangerously rising again, obliterating all possibilities for choice and diplomatic solutions.
