Aljazeera: People and Power: by Simon Ostrovsky and Veronika Dorman: Less than three decades ago, it would have been unthinkable for a Russian premier to have exchanged public expressions of solidarity and goodwill with the head of the country’s Orthodox Church.
For years under communism the institution had been suppressed, its priests harassed by the authorities, its churches closed or given over to communal secular pursuits, its devotees scorned for their ‘superstitious’ adherence to doctrines that the state and the party regarded with deep suspicion.
Indeed, the Soviet Union was the first nation to have elimination of religion as an ideological objective and tens of thousands – if not hundreds of thousands – of people paid very dearly for their beliefs as a consequence.
But things have changed. Nowadays the nation’s political leaders and top clerics seem to be building an extraordinarily close relationship. Last week, President Vladimir Putin appeared with the Orthodox Church’s Patriarch Kirill to celebrate the latter’s fourth year of leadership of a religion that is re-establishing its traditional place at the centre of the country’s affairs.
“At the heart of all Russia’s victories and achievements are patriotism, faith and strength of spirit,” said Putin, speaking at a ceremony in the Kremlin. The church, he said, should be allowed more control over aspects of Russian life and “get every opportunity to fully serve in such important fields as the support of family and motherhood, the upbringing and education of children, youth, social development, and to strengthen the patriotic spirit of the armed forces”.