Staunton, June 15 – Every nation chooses for itself its own epithet, an American poet wrote just after the end of World War II. England, he said, was “merry old.” France was “la belle France.” “And Russia was once called holy.” Now, ever more Russians again are referring to their country in that way – […]
Staunton, October 3 – There are now more than 1200 religious facilities in the Russian penal system, and the Russian government today announced plans for legislation that would regularize their presence rather than allow the continuation of the current situation in which some officials welcome such facilities while others are opposed. Bishop Irinarkh of Krasnogorsk, […]
Staunton, September 20 – Pressured by the Russian Orthodox Church, the Russian education ministry is preparing to dramatically expand the number of hours school children spend studying religion, a move that Nezavisimaya Gazeta says will reduce the number of hours they spend on other subjects and ultimately Russia’s ability to compete in the world. In […]
Staunton, July 30 – This year, the Russian Orthodox ‘Day of the Baptism of Rus’ coincided with the Muslim holiday of Uraza Bayram [The Sugar Feast, when Muslims traditionally break the fast – The Interpreter]. On Monday, in what many will see as symbolic, Moscow’s churches, with the exception of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, […]
Staunton, 3 June – A petition calling for a ban on the operations of the Moscow Patriarchate on Ukrainian territory highlights in the religious sphere a dilemma Ukrainians face elsewhere as well: If Kyiv moves to protect itself, it will be criticized for violating human rights; if it doesn’t, it may be allowing Moscow institutions […]
Staunton, 1 June – The Moscow Patriarchate is no longer in lockstep with the Kremlin on Ukraine, the result of the reactions of other Christian groups in Ukraine, its own corporate interests, and pressure from its own congregations who have a different view of the future than do many in the hierarchy, according to Roman […]
Staunton, May 22 – “Wahhabism and religious fanaticism may become a real problem for Ekaterinburg already in a few weeks,” an URA.ru analyst says, not so much because of the actions of Islamist missionaries as some in the media have suggested but because Russian officials are closing a mosque and thus losing their ability to […]
Staunton, May 20 – Hajimurat haji Gatsalov, the mufti of North Osetia, says Russia and Osetia must “not miss the historic chance” created by Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and more quickly to unite the two Osetias into a single federal subject of the Russian Federation as because “the national and cultural social-unity of the people […]
Staunton, May 7 – If anyone has any doubts about the breadth of Vladimir Putin’s intentions both geopolitically and politically, they should be put to rest by the conclusion of a Russian historian that Transdniestria is “the first liberated part of Novorossiya,” Putin’s term for what he sees as a new state spreading across Ukraine […]
