President Vladimir Putin's successor, Dmitry Medvedev, has been inaugurated in the Kremlin with pomp, circumstance, and prayers from Patriarch Alexei II of the Russian Orthodox Church - which has paid tribute to the new national leader.

President Putin has attended a memorial service conducted by Patriarch Aleksei II, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, at a church built near a Soviet police secret killing field, to commemorate the victims of Josef Stalin.

When Russians celebrated the Julian calendar's New Year on 14 January 2007, they concluded an extended Christmas holiday with a particular significance for religion in their country - reports Sophia Kishkovsky from Moscow for Ecumenical News International.

Concern has been raised over whether a new law in Russia will have an impact on religious organizations there - writes Linda Bloom, a New York-based journalist for the United Methodist Church.