Political Scientist: Government-Church Relations Revived in Russia

MOSCOW, September 8 (RIA Novosti) – The relations between the Russian Church and the government are being revived to some extent, according to the director of the Russian Institute of Political Studies.

“One of main 90s crisis results was the degradation of the moral. The church is viewed as the force that can revive the moral. That is the main reason for the importance of the church. Across centuries, the Russian Orthodox Church and the state had very close relations, now they are being revived to some extent,” Sergei Markov said.

“Russia survives the crisis of values very badly. Russia has no common value system, the church helps to rebuild the system of values,” Markov said, noting the importance of the patriarch Kiryl’s personality, whose “immense charisma, his authority, affects the situation as well.”

Markov also said that a consensus on the church's role is being formed in the Russian society, and that it will play a significant role in the country, the one “comparable to the US.”