A Russian court's decision not to allow Pussy Riot member Maria Alekhina to defer serving her sentence to a later date has been widely criticised.

The Russian Orthodox Church has ruled that hierarchs (church leaders) and clergy are able to run for political office in exceptional cases.

The British evangelical Christian development agency Tearfund says that criminalising drug addiction in Russia is fuelling the spread of HIV.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has issued a decree in Moscow on the establishment of full diplomatic relations with the Holy See following a meeting at the Vatican with Pope Benedict XVI. Since 1990 there have been partial relations.