Patriarch Kirill introduced significant changes in the administrative structure of the Church: On 27 July 2011 the Holy Synod of the Church established the Central Asian Metropolitan District, reorganizing the structure of the Church in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan [REF].
Kirill "heartily congratulated"[REF] Alexander Lukashenko for winning the Belarusian presidency in 2010[REF][REF][REF] by an apparent 80% majority, in elections marred by violence[REF] and accusations of intimidation and vote rigging [REF].