Between Russia’s two revolutionary wars of 1917, Marian apparitions at Fatima in Portugal included a prophecy of the conversion of Russia and peace in the world. Russia’s conversion was initially thought to have taken place in 1941 when the Russian church was rehabilitated by Stalin, although real peace in the world remained elusive.

In 1991, the Soviet Union devolved from atheistic communism to multi-party representative democracy, and again, Russia seemed to be converted. The subsequent degradation of Russia’s democracy—and the Ukraine war—raised once again questions about the Fatima prophecy of Russia’s conversion and world peace.