In times of war, what can Russian arts and culture do to withstand interventions by the Russian state? An exhibition at Garage in Moscow could provide an answer.
When it comes to loss, this city has form stretching back to the Soviet era. But is the scandal surrounding the city's Opera House just another page in this century-long saga?
Under Patriarch Kirill, the Russian Orthodox Church has become an integral element of the hegemonic narrative that has been created in Putin’s Russia, to inoculate the country from pernicious outside influences.
The relationship between religion and ethnicity on the one hand, and civic assimilation on the other, is far less harmonious than Putin’s magniloquence asserts.
The Republic of Georgia is an avowedly Christian country, but one out of every ten Georgian citizens is Muslim. 
In hardship, people turn to religion for help. Ukraine today is no exception. But is it the answer to the country’s problems?
Security think-tanks and expert communities in the Western world are perpetuating the dangerous myth that Muslim radicalisation is rife in Central Asia.
Central Asian security services have been abducting their countries’ citizens from Russia to stand trial on trumped-up charges. And the Russian police have been helping them.
Orthodox ideology is being rushed into the Russian school curriculum – in the interests of nationalism.
The branding of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Samara as an extremist organisation has turned them into religious dissidents. 
In any international discussion about the threat posed by ISIS Central Asian states have their role to play. 
The self-proclaimed ‘Islamic State’ has been seizing more and more territory in the Middle East, and now has its eyes on Central Asia.
Could it really be that Chief Rabbi of the Omsk Region, Israeli-born Asher Krichevsky, is an Israeli spy? 
The Donbas separatists have been fighting the Ukrainian army with the help of volunteers from all over the world – like the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-9.- 1 of 3
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Our columnists
On shaky ground: Russia’s FSB vs migrant radicalisation
By
Scrambling to address a growing threat of Islamist terrorism from Central Asia, Russia’s security apparatus is forced to depend on questionable intelligence.
Putting Russia’s homophobic violence on the map
By
From what little data we have, it’s clear that homophobic violence in Russia is on the rise. Russia’s LGBT people are victims of ignorance and intolerance — yet the state won’t lift a finger.
Changing the rules of the game in Moldova
By
In Moldova, changes to the electoral system are afoot – but the motivations seem far from democratic.
On shaky ground: Russia’s FSB vs migrant radicalisation
By
Scrambling to address a growing threat of Islamist terrorism from Central Asia, Russia’s security apparatus is forced to depend on questionable intelligence.Putting Russia’s homophobic violence on the map
By
From what little data we have, it’s clear that homophobic violence in Russia is on the rise. Russia’s LGBT people are victims of ignorance and intolerance — yet the state won’t lift a finger.Changing the rules of the game in Moldova
By
In Moldova, changes to the electoral system are afoot – but the motivations seem far from democratic.