Posts Tagged ‘Vladimir Putin’

“Don’t dream it’s over” becomes Alexei Navalny anthem

Monday, March 11th, 2024
Navalny

In a stirring act of musical activism, rock superstars U2 united with a virtual Neil Finn for a special performance of the 1986 Crowded House hit “Don’t Dream It’s Over”. The artists were honouring the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia’s continued fight against Vladimir Putin’s regime. Song of Freedom and Read more

Patriarch wishes Putin a happy birthday

Thursday, October 20th, 2022

On  Vladimir Putin’s recent birthday, Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow praised the president for being  “selflessly devoted to the Fatherland, sincerely loving the Motherland and giving her all your strength, abilities and talents.” He made no mention of Putin’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine or the war that erupted after. Read more

Pope says Ukraine, Russia trip not currently possible due to knee pain

Thursday, September 8th, 2022

In a new interview, Pope Francis laid to rest rumours that a papal visit to Kyiv could happen before his visit to Kazakhstan next week, saying he has been forbidden by doctors from travelling before that due to his ongoing knee troubles. Speaking to CNN Portugal, the pope said he has spoken to both Ukrainian Read more

Orthodox theology must be de-Putinised

Monday, March 14th, 2022
Orthodox theology

“The ideas of a ‘Russian world’ and an ‘Orthodox society’ are based on bad theology,” says Russian Orthodox priest and theologian Cyril Hovorun. “They are heretical ideas. Theologically, they must be seriously deconstructed to reveal their fascistic and authoritarian dimension,” he insists. Hovorun, a 48-year-old native of Ukraine, is an archimandrite in the Ukrainian Orthodox Read more

Pope meets Putin to discuss current affairs

Monday, July 8th, 2019

President Vladimir Putin and Pope Francis met at the Vatican last Thursday to discuss environmental issues, the Catholic Church in Russia and current affairs in Syria, Ukraine and Venezuela. It was Putin’s third meeting with Pope Francis and fifth visit to the Vatican. At the end of the 55-minute private meeting, Alessandro Gisotti from the Read more

Ukraine schism forcing Russian Orthodox split from Constantinople

Monday, October 15th, 2018

The Russian Orthodox Church says it is being forced to split from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. Metropolitan Ilarion, the head of the Russian Orthodox church’s external relations, says Constantinople’s decision allowing the Ukranian Orthodox church to establish itself as an independent church is behind the move. Ilarion says the Constantinople Patriarchate synod’s decision to Read more

Vatican’s Secretary of State to visit Moscow on peace mission

Thursday, August 10th, 2017

Cardinal Pietro Parolin will visit Moscow at the end of August. The Vatican secretary of state’s diplomatic visit aims to formalise Pope Francis’s peacemaking efforts to President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church. Read more

Vladimir Putin is linked to opposition to Pope

Friday, October 28th, 2016

Vladimir Putin is linked to opposition to Pope Francis, says Andrea Tornielli. Tornielli has been described as the Pope’s favourite journalist. He made the the suggestion in an article co-written with Giacomo Galeazzi for the Italian newspaper La Stampa. It is headlined “Catholics who are anti-Francis but love Putin”. They quote sociologist Massimo Introvigne as Read more

Pope fourth most powerful person in world: Forbes

Tuesday, November 10th, 2015

Pope Francis is the fourth most powerful person in the world, according to Forbes magazine. The Pope was ranked behind Russian president Vladimir Putin, German chancellor Angela Merkel and US president Barack Obama in Forbes’s 2015 list. The Pontiff was ranked ahead of Chinese president Xi Jinping, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and US Federal Reserve Read more

Outrage as Russia destroys tonnes of Western food

Tuesday, August 11th, 2015

Hundreds of tonnes of food from Western nations have been destroyed in Russia as part of campaign ordered by President Vladimir Putin. The destruction has caused an outcry from anti-poverty campaigners who say the food should have been given to the poor A petition against the action on change.org has already attracted more than 300,000 Read more