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The Fifth Floor

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Global stories from the BBC’s 40 Language Services, with Faranak Amidi

Faranak Amidi presents global stories from the Fifth Floor, home to the BBC’s 40 Language Services.

Faranak Amidi presents global stories from the Fifth Floor, home to the BBC’s 40 Language Services

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The Fifth Floor: The self-styled prophet of Siberia

Documentaries

"Vissarion the Teacher", or "Jesus of Siberia", Russian ex-traffic cop Sergei Torop meets with his followers

27/11/2020 GMT

The self-styled prophet of Siberia

BBC World Service - The Fifth Floor, The self-styled prophet of Siberia

Why did Russia’s FSB arrest a religious leader in the remote Siberian forests?

The story behind the religious leader Vissarion, and why the FSB went all the way to Siberia to arrest him.

In September FSB soldiers descended in helicopters on a remote Siberian village to arrest a religious leader, Vissarion. They arrived with guns, but were welcomed by his followers, who don't believe in conflict. BBC Russian journalist Nataliya Zotova travelled to deep into the forests of Krasnoyarsk Territory to meet followers of the Church of the Last Testament and find out more.  

Thailand's "CIA" food hawkers 
Thailand's pro-democracy protests have sprung up all over Bangkok, but in every location it seems the food hawkers were already set up and ready for business. BBC Thai's Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai set out to crack the mystery of the self-styled "CIA" food hawkers.

‘They messed with the wrong generation’ 
Peru has been in the headlines for having three presidents in a week. It’s a story of corruption allegations, impeachment and mass protests, with young people saying their generation has had enough of the broken system which their parents put up with. Ana Maria Roura has been making sense of events for BBC Mundo.

Lahore's toxic smog 
It's the time of year when many Pakistani rice farmers set fire to their fields to burn stubble. The result is serious air pollution and a public health problem for the authorities. Umer Draz Nangiana of BBC Urdu has been finding out why so many farmers continue to burn their fields.

Image: Vissarion meets with his followers
Credit: Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images

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