The Church, society and the State
in contemporary Russia
1988-2012
“The patriarch speaks the
truth”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO
86GYpBAww
2 parts
1.Patriarch to V. Rutin:
"I must say this completely openly, as
the Patriarch, who is called upon to
speak the truth: without regard to the
current state of politics or
propaganda aims, you, Vladimir
Vladimirovich, have played an
enormous role in correcting the
distortions of our history.
2. An excerpt from “The Naked King”
(based on the philosophical fairy
tale by Evgeny Shvarts):
“Your Majesty, you know that I am an
honest and direct old man. I say the
truth directly and face-to-face, even if
it's unpleasant. So let me tell it to you
directly, rudely, like an old man...You are
a great man! You, Your Majesty, are a
giant, a luminary!”
the State
the Church
President Putin
Patriarch Kirill, the
current head of the
Russian Orthodox
Church
The Society
the invisible
director
A widespread campaign to seize Church
valuables under the pretenses of fighting
famine in the Volga region
1922
The decree “On the separation of
Church and State.”
January 23, 1918
V.Lenin:
“the seizure of Church valuables, including the richest
monasteries and churches, must be carried out with
merciless determination, unequivocally stopping at nothing
and as quickly as possible. The more representatives of the
reactionary bourgeois and clergy that we are able to shoot
on these grounds, the better.”
Secret letter written to Politburo members. March 1922.
The Kremlin Archives. In 2 vols. / Vol. 1. The Politburo and the
Church. 1922–1925. – Мoscow-Novosibirsk, Siberian
Chronographer, 1997 (p. 143).
1920s-30s
Churchbells,
Pilgrimages were
forbidden. Churches
and monasteries
continued to be shut
down
200 000
more than
clergymen were murdered.
Approximately
500 000
thrown into prison or sent into exile.
priests were
1960s-1962
the number of churches shrank by
30%
the number of monasteries- by 60%
the late 1960s the early 1980s
L. Brezhnev,the General
Secretary of the Central
Committee of the Soviet Union
from 1964 till 1982
1988
1917
Perestroika
Perestroika
1989
Patriarch Pimen was elected a
deputy of the USSR parliament.
M. Gorbachev
General Secretary
of the CPSU CC
June 3
April 29
1988
the USSR celebrated the
thousand-year anniversary
of the baptism of Old Rus.
А historic meeting
between Patriarch Pimen
and the permanent
members of the Synod,
and General Secretary
Mikhail Gorbachev
Patriarch Pimen and a few
other prominent Church
figures were awarded various
State medals, “for active
peacemaking and in
connection with the 1000-year
anniversary of the Baptism of
Old Rus”
Patriarch Alexii II (1929-2008)
was a Меtropolitan of Novgorod
and Leningrad.
He was chosen on the basis of
his administrative experience,
and was considered "intelligent,
energetic, hardworking,
systematic, perceptive, and
businesslike.”
Alexei II was "the first patriarch
in Soviet history to be chosen
without government pressure;
candidates were nominated
from the floor, and the election
was conducted by secret ballot.
А time of unheard-of freedom for the Church
• Tax breaks
• Restorations of old
churches and
monasteries, building of
new ones.
•
•
•
•
Pilgrimages
Church newspapers and magazines
The Bible became accessible
Priests allowed to visit schools,
kindergartens, universities.
• Sunday schools and Orthodox
gymnasiums.
• Charity
Chapel of St. Xenia of Petersburg in the
Orthodox Smolensk Cemetery in
Leningrad (St. Petersburg), USSR, July,
1988. The celebration of the Millennium
of the Baptism of Russia.
Alexy, Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod, the future
Patriarch Alexy II at the entrance into the Orthodox Church
of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God in the Orthodox
Smolensk cemetery in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), USSR,
July, 1988. The celebration of the Millennium of the
Baptism of Russia.
Artemy Vladimirov, the first priest
at Moscow State University
2000s
“disenchurchment”
(расцерковление).
Everything is achieved?
All of the churches are active, Orthodox magazines are
published regularly,
charity services toil away.
The army and the Church are archaic institutions,
and as such they can serve as a bastion of
national values.
Bullfighting in Moscow was canceled
Neither the representatives of the Moscow
Patriarchate ever say anything to Russian
statesmen or authorities that might be
considered offensive.
Vladimir Putin
The second
President of Russia
from 2000 to 2008,
and Prime Minister
of Russia from 1999
to 2000 and again
from 2008 to 2012.
February 21, 2012
the activist group
Pussy Riot
conducted a “punk prayer”
in the Church of Christ the
Savior.
The participants ran up onto the ambon of the church
wearing colorful masks, crossed themselves, kneeled,
and attempted to sing the words of the song, but were
nearly immediately taken away by guards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCasuaAczKY
Punk-Prayer "Virgin Mary,
Put Putin Away"
(choir)
Virgin Mary, Mother of God, put Putin
away
Рut Putin away, put Putin away
(end chorus)
...
Black robe, golden epaulettes
All parishioners crawl to bow
The phantom of liberty is in heaven
Gay-pride sent to Siberia in chains
The head of the KGB, their chief saint,
Leads protesters to prison under escort
In order not to offend His Holiness
Women must give birth and love
Shit, shit, the Lord's shit!
Shit, shit, the Lord's shit!
(Chorus)
Virgin Mary, Mother of God, become a feminist
Become a feminist, become a feminist
(end chorus)
The Church’s praise of rotten dictators
The cross-bearer procession of black limousines
A teacher-preacher will meet you at school
Go to class - bring him money!
Patriarch Gundyaev believes in Putin
Bitch, better believe in God instead
The belt of the Virgin can’t replace massmeetings
Mary, Mother of God, is with us in protest!
(Chorus)
Virgin Mary, Mother of God, put Putin away
Рut Putin away, put Putin away
(end chorus)
March 18
The letter to the state prosecutor
March 3
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina were
arrested and charged with hooliganism. Hunger
strikes. Ekaterina Samutsevich.
March 22
the website Rosbalt published a statement against Patriarch Kirill: the Patriarch,
who owns an elite apartment in the center of Moscow, was suing his neighbor for
dousing the apartment with dust, apparently causing 20 million rubles (0.5
million Euro) worth of damage.
April 22
The prayer meeting with
65 000 of the faithful
in attendance
April 3
Patriarch's disappearing
Breguet watch
Patriarch Kirill declared that an
information war had been launched
against the Church. Subsequently many
other representatives of the clergy
began saying that the Church was again
facing a period of persecution.
March 24
Patriarch Kirill stated his
position on the group's
performance: their action to
have been “a mockery before
sacred objects.”
the idea of a church under fire
could unify the divided faithful
August
Moscow's Khamovniki
court convicted
Maria Alyokhina and
Nadezhda
Tolokonnikova
2 years
to
of
imprisonment for
hooliganism
Ekaterina
Samutsevich was
given a
The punk-group's actions
should fall under the article
about «mockery of religious
beliefs»,-the criminal code did
not contain such an article.
suspended 2year sentence
and was released
from custody in the
courtroom.
1991
2009-2012
31% of the Russian
population
identifies as
Orthodox Christian
70%
of the Russian
population identifies as
Orthodox Christian
5% of the population
attends church regularly
1% attends church
regulary
8% attend church
twice a year – at
Christmas and on Easter
April 12 and 13, 2013
The Levada Center conducted a poll of 1601 Russians.
The questions:
1. “Have you heard of the ‘punk prayer’ ‘Mother of God, drive out Putin’
performed by the group Pussy Riot in Moscow’s Church of Christ the Savior,
just before last year’s presidential elections, and of the criminal prosecution
of members of the group?”
April 12
April 13
I have been following these
events closely
I've heard a lot about it
10
6
41
54
I've heard something about it,
but am not sure what it's all
about
I am hearing about this for the
first time
22
23
27
18
2. “Do you think that the two-year prison sentence handed
down to Pussy Riot participants for the “concert” in the
Church of Christ the Savior is an appropriate or excessive
punishment for their actions?
Apr.13
appropriate punishment
56
excessive punishment
26
this kind of activity should not be subject
to criminal proceedings
no answer
9
9
Society in Russia as a fantom
«What do the herds need freedom for?
They should be slaughtered and fleeced!»
«К чему стадам дары свободы?
Их нужно резать или стричь!»
A. Pushkin
Thank you for your
attention