Three developments over the last few days – a clash in Dagestan that ISIS has taken responsibility for, Russian interest in an alliance with the Afghan Taliban, and Patriarch Kirill’s statement that Orthodox Christians and Muslims must stand together against the Christian West — raise some disturbing questions
LIVE UPDATES: The Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill designated the war in Syria a “holy war.” Welcome to our column, Russia Update, where we will be closely following day-to-day developments in Russia, including the Russian government’s foreign and domestic policies. The previous issue is here. Recent Analysis and Translations: – Does it Matter if the Russian […]
According to preliminary statistics, 660,000 Muscovites attended Easter services at one of the churches of the Russian capital today while only about 100,000 went to May Day events, a kind of referendum on the two holidays.
Moscow Patriarchate Losing Parishes to Kyiv Church and Its Dominance of Ukraine’s Religious Life 2016-01-28 14:49:04 Staunton, VA, January 28, 2016 — The Moscow Patriachate may have succeeded in intimidating the Universal Patriarch of Constantinople not to grant autocephaly to its rival in Ukraine, the Kyiv Patriarchate; but as a result of the war and the […]
Patriarch of Moscow and All of Rus’ Kirill expressed support for Russia’s military operation in Syria, saying it was “defense of the Fatherland.” Welcome to our column, Russia Update, where we will be closely following day-to-day developments in Russia, including the Russian government’s foreign and domestic policies. The previous issue is here. Recent Translations: –The […]
Staunton, December 11, 2015 The flood of news stories from a country as large, diverse and strange as the Russian Federation often appears to be is far too large for anyone to keep up with. But there needs to be a way to mark those which can’t be discussed in detail but which are too […]
Staunton, October 20 – Poshlost’ – a virtually untranslatable Russian word connoting self-satisfied vulgarity has become the defining characteristic of Russia under Vladimir Putin, according to commentator Aleksey Shiropayev, something that unites and infects all those living under his regime. Indeed, Putin’s country should now be called “Poshlandia.” Despite what some think, the Russian commentator […]
Staunton, June 12 – Not satisfied with the three-year moratorium imposed by St. Petersburg governor Georgy Poltavchenko on changing street and other place names in the northern capital, the city’s legislative assembly is preparing a law that would permanently ban any such changes, including the replacement of Soviet-era names with tsarist-era ones. Boris Vishnevsky, one […]
Staunton, April 12 – According to the Russian Interior Ministry, 1.15 million Muscovites – approximately ten percent of the Russian capital’s population — attended Easter services today. According to the Russian Orthodox Church, the actual figure was 1.5 million. But both agreed that the number this year, a record, is far higher than it was […]
Staunton, February 23 — In a short story written under the pseudonym Aron Shemaier, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, a close advisor to Patriarch Kirill, describes the end of Moscow in 2043 when “the Moscow Confederation” is attacked by “fascists from ‘Free Russia,’ Islamists from the Caucasus, and rightwing figures from Ukraine” at one and the same […]
