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The holiday of Christmas, unlike the New Year holiday, is usually celebrated with family members: after a visit to a church, people set the table with dishes traditional for the holiday, residents of Yerevan say.

Archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze, whom the Georgian President refused in pardoning, stays in serious condition, reports Nika Gvaramiya, the general director of the "Mtavari Archi" TV Channel.

In Chechnya, there is no more fear of new attacks on Orthodox believers, say participants of the Christmas service at the Church of Archangel Mikhail in Grozny. Last night, law enforcers stayed on duty not only near the church, but also inside it.

Christmas services are held in the temples located in the regions of Southern Russia and Southern Caucasus. In some regions, celebrations are held under enhanced security measures.

The blogger, Alfredo Auditore, threw 200,000 roubles into a crowd of young people in Volgograd; several persons suffered in a jam. Chechen leadership got interested in this incident; and the blogger's father had to explain the origin of the money.

The pardoning by Georgian President of only five prisoners amid hundreds of them, who hoped for amnesty, has been treated as unserious by rights defenders, while the refusal to pardon Archpriest Mamaladze – as unjustified.

Allegations of the immortality and supernatural abilities of the Chechen preacher Kunta-haji Kishiev fit into the Sufi doctrine, but contradict the Orthodox Islam, Russian Islamic scholars have stated.

Shamkhan Khamurzaev, a resident of Grozny, whose whereabouts were unknown to his relatives since December 26, was found in the territory of the patrol-and-post service (PPS) regiment named after Akhmat Kadyrov.

Residents of Makhachkala should increase their support for Abdulmumin Gadjiev and continue holding protest actions until justice is restored in relation to the arrested journalist, Makhachkala picketers have stated.

Dashgyn Agalarov, who was granted political asylum in Norway and who collaborates with the "Turan" TV Company, was detained at the airport of Gdansk. The Azerbaijani authorities continue to hunt dissidents even outside the country, declares Fikret Guseinli, a presenter of the "Turan" TV Company.

The positions of the Azerbaijani troops on the contact line of troops were shelled 23 times within 24 hours, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan reports.

In 2020, the Russian authorities planned to review the legal grounds for marriage of minors and adjust the age of consent. It was decided to amend the Family Code taking into account the traditions of the peoples of Northern Caucasus, suggests Valery Ryazansky, the head of the Social Policy Committee of the Federation Council.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has lifted a moratorium on pardoning prisoners, but did not include Archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze on the list of pardons before Christmas. A brother of the sentenced priest claims the Georgian Patriarch influenced the decision of the Georgian leader.

In response to allegations of human rights violations, the head of Chechnya has posted a video with a crowd of people going to the New Year Tree in Grozny. Local residents have found that the video confirms complaints about coercion to participate in the holiday.

In the supposed Iran-USA conflict, Azerbaijan should maintain neutrality and beware of involvement in the confrontation, Baku analysts believe. At the same time, the assassination of the Iranian General Qasem Soleimani has caused Azerbaijanis' controversial reaction.

During the week from December 30, 2019, to January 5, 2020, at least six people suffered in the course of the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus: two of them died and four were wounded. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

Employees of the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia have detained the author of a false post stating that the Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, had congratulated the US president on a successful operation in Iran.

All the temples of the Armenian Apostolic Church have held holy "Chragalujts" liturgies. Believers bring home candles and lampads, as well as consecrated water, which is considered to be healing.

Minor entrepreneurs refuse to fulfil the demand of the Tbilisi Mayoralty to transfer their trade from the square near the main New Year Tree to the parliament building. Opposition activists, dissatisfied with the dispersal of protesters, have joined their protest action.

The new deadlines for the completion of the reconstruction of the square in Makhachkala, voiced by Arslan Dydymov, the contractor's spokesman, caused ridicule remarks of social network users.