A Pew Research Center survey shows that “people in emerging economies tend to be more religious and to say that belief in God is necessary to be moral”.

The governor of the region wrongly announced on television that Baptists arriving in Russia from Spain had brought the coronavirus.

Inter-denominational contacts are on the rise in Russia.

“Protestant communities find it practically impossible to get permission to build churches”, a lawyer says. Up to 90% of places of worship are officially recorded as residential property.

The Christian workers demanded asylum in Germany after their church activities were countered with regular verbal and physical aggressions.

The flagship theological schools of the Pentecostal Union and the Baptist Union in Moscow have been banned from admitting students.

The two young US citizens were detained while teaching English at a local LDS meetinghouse. Last month, a Jehovah’s Witness was sentenced to six years.

The body representing 23 million evangelical Christians reacts to the imprisonment of a Danish Jehovah Witness.

Meanwhile, a Baptist theological seminary has been temporarily closed by a Moscow court.

According to the last Corruption Perceptions Index released by Transparency International, in the last seven years, only 20 countries significantly improved their scores.

Most administrative prosecutions end in punishment. Many are prosecuted for sharing their faith on the street. “Believers go out to share their faith less often, and give out publications or invitations less openly”.

According to World Watch List, released today by Open Doors International, 4,305 people died in 2018 because of their Christian faith. Christian persecution has drastically increased.

Under the decree of autocephaly, the new church’s jurisdiction will be restricted to Ukraine. The Russian Orthodox Church reacts: “It is the result of political and personal ambitions”.

There have been repeated raids on churches by the Luhansk People's Republic. Authorities announced the ban of the “destructive activity of the extremist Ukrainian Union of Evangelical Churches”.

It would be good to penalize the blatant human rights abuses in Qatar rather than applauding them by letting bonded labourers build the new stadiums for World Cup 2022.

Players at the World Cup are not allowed to express religious messages on the field. But Thiago Silva, Neymar and other stars of the Brazilian team used Instagram to thank God.

A team of Steiger mission is starting conversations about the gospel in the middst of the football celebration in Russia.

Christians set up a fan zone in a church in the city centre. A Steiger mission team will start conversations about Jesus through creative activities.

A church leader speaks about the opportunities and challenges after the fall of the government. “All my friends have actively participated in the protests and all of us have the same hopes for our country”.

Several EU countries and the USA show their opposition to Vladimir Putin. “We will not tolerate Russia’s continued attempts to undermine our values”, says UK Prime Minister Theresa May.

“In 20 or 30 years’ time, mainstream churches will be smaller, but the few people left will be highly committed”, says British social of religion professor Stephen Bullivant.

The president got 75% of the votes, his biggest electoral victory. The future of religious freedom for the evangelical minorities is very much dependent on the course of East-West relations.

Polls say the President will win again with at least 70% of the vote. Evangelicals hope the state’s efforts to stengthen national unity will not further restrict the freedoms of faith minorities.

The REA wants to be a lay movement of church people concerned about inter-denominational cooperation.

In their own quiet way, Russia’s Protestant denominations are continuing to evangelise.