51�Թ�

A Madonna holding an anti-tank weapon, like a Slavic Joan of Arc ready to baptize Russian invaders in holy fire.

Prof Heather wants to use it to investigate what he describes as one of European history's biggest mysteries: why central and eastern Europe changed from being Germanic speaking to Slavic speaking, 1,500 years ago.

Baker: When I was looking for a name, I literally looked at names from the Slavic region.

Long bound to Russia by history, common Slavic roots and a shared Orthodox Christian faith, Bulgaria was once so loyal to the Kremlin it asked to be absorbed into the Soviet Union.

Ms Chupik says discrimination in Russia typically affects migrants "who do not have Slavic facial features", and "most of the humiliation and violence comes from Russian law enforcement rather than from ordinary people".