Russia

Christensen C.S. The forgotten eruption: global consequences of the 1831 Kuril Islands Zavaritski Caldera in light of eruptions of Tambora (1815) and Pinatubo (1991)

In summer 1831 the climate in the Northern Hemisphere cooled by an average of about 1 degree Celsius, coinciding with reports of gloomy, harsh weather and the sun changing to different colours. Scientists knew that a massive eruption caused this strange event, but the exact culprit of this cataclysm remained unknown for a long time. The 1831 eruption of the Zavaritski Volcano was one of several 19th century eruptions associated with the final phase of the so-called Little Ice Age (1800 to 1850), according to the volcanologists. This Age was not a true Ice – the last true ice age ended 10,000 years ago – but it marked the coldest period in the past 500 years. In this article the author explains the Zavaritski Volcano eruption and the geological time frame in which it occurred. It is also describes how the volcano was found almost 200 years after the eruption. The 183 eruption into perspective with today’s climate crisis and the one humanity will experience within the next hundred years.

Khroul V. Religious factor during the Covid-19 pandemic in Russia and Belarus

In times of social turbulence and non-linear historical development, the religious factor plays a special role. The paper is focused on the activities of religious structures in Russia and Belarus during the Covid-19 pandemic. Preliminary results of the still ongoing research show that despite diametrically opposed strategies of fighting infection (radically strict in Russia and extremely liberal in Belarus), religious organizations in both countries acted as loyal and disciplined allies of the authorities in calling for obedience to government decisions and opposing conspiracy theories and dissident anti-vaccination activist movements. In addition, the need to conduct services online has provided a significant impetus for the use of new digital technologies in predominantly conservative religious practices.