"Russia's Orthodox Church, despite decades of brutal repression under Soviet rule, is putting its trust in the KGB to ensure that a remarkable religious revival does not fade with the departure of President Vladimir Putin." The Church even "endorsed deputy prime minister Dmitry Medvedev ahead of next week's presidential election." This is a very strong move seeing that Alexei II, the Church's patriarch, holds sway over 100 million voters.
"The relationship might seem odd. It was the KGB, after all, that led persecution of the Church in Soviet times, when priests were regularly jailed, tortured and executed. Neither this nor accusations that Mr Putin is restoring many of the attributes of Soviet rule seem to bother Alexei.Although he has never confirmed it, the patriarch, like the president, is a former KGB agent codenamed Drozdov, according to Soviet archives opened to experts in the 1990s."
"The number of Russians who identify themselves as Orthodox has doubled in the past decade, with two-thirds of the 140 million population proclaiming the faith - quite a feat after seven decades of official atheism.Yet most Russians say they follow Orthodoxy for national rather than moral reasons. Deeply patriotic and with a declared intention of making Russia great again, the Church has milked the sentiment.Priests are regularly seen on television sprinkling holy water on bombers and even nuclear missiles, a blessing that reinforces Mr Putin's own militaristic philosophy."
To read the full story, click here.
Since this story comes from a British news source, there is a slightly degrading tone against Russia which tells a news story but also illustrates the national ill-will between the two countries. On the subject of the story itself, the act of the Church endorsing a political candidate shows just how tied the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian government are.
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