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La Russophobe 
More surprises! (?)
But how could this be? …that ‘The Protector of Orthodox Christans’, and the fearless-leader of the Russian Federation, His Excellency Vladimir Vladimirovich
Putin, could be a party to the destruction of churches and historical monuments of Russia???
Except for the careful documentation and photos of these destructive activities, (mostly motivated by greed, as the land under these churches, is worth big rubles!) who would believe such accusations?
Could it possibly be, that Mr. KGB agent, Putin, is a…..LIAR!?
OOPS! did I slip?
An added point or two: Yes, many many ancient and historic Russian churches & monasteries
were actively destroyed by the communists, from when they first took power onward. Many others, were simply allowed to crumble (their use, denied to the faithful),….all over Russia. However, what is STILL happening today, is a….continued….demolition of a number of historic churches/monasteries, IF they sit on highly valuable urban sites.And, when the money changes hands for these (sacred) properties, guess who gets the loot? Well, of course the corrupt nomenklatura criminal class, connected to the KGB, etc. True, the government with it’s MP captive-‘church’ organization, is also busy refurbishing/restoring other old churches, simultaneously. But, it appears that the newly refurbished churches, are primarily meant to be tourist-magnets, designed to trap tourist rubles/euros/dollars. None of these activities, can be truly described as…religiously motivated, at least not in the aims of the government.
And too, the Kremlin is actively seizing many other old/refurbished churches, renovated by the people who prayed in them, if the locals are not subservient to the official KGB-run Moscow Patriarchy.
So, the circus of lies that is present day, Russia, continues.
Let him who has eyes, see.
They restored Grozny’s Church of the Archangel Mikhail (after the Russian bombs and shells destroyed). But for whom? There are practically no Christians/Russians left in Grozny. There’s a building again, there are no people.
http://www.magnumphotos.com/Archive/C.aspx?VP3=ViewBox_VPage&VBID=2K1HZOM4MJMJM&IT=ZoomImage01_VForm&IID=2TYRYDOLOGPJ&PN=2&CT=Search
To Robert, Oh yes! another (or rather perhaps, THE main ) important purpose of renovating old Russian churches, or even in building brand new ones (even in countries where there are few Russians living, as in Cuba or Venezuela, North Korea, etc.) is totally political. It is….’spreading the faith’, ‘defending Russians’ rights’, ‘encouraging the appreciation of Russian language and culture’, etc. (what faith?…faith in the Kremlin KGB culture?), and also it is said that such activities are ‘Orthodox missionary work’.
Ha! Ha! Ha!
GOD bless vladimir putin and GOD bless RUSSIA!!!!!!!!
wow—very interesting. the catholic church shown in dvinsk (today latvia) looks JUST like the church of immaculate conception in moscow today—-on malaya gruzinskaya!!!! like an exact copy. and why not—both built around the same time.
wow—what a terrific website this is!!!!
Putin and his cronies have been very careful to cultivate a close working relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church hierarchy. As we all know 80% of the population live in poverty the church if it cared about its flock could use its strong position within Russian society to speak out in defence of the down trodden, They could be an unstoppable force for positive change.
Instead they have sold out the people they are supposed to care for. In exchange Putin has build them scores of new churches and made the leaders rich. They preach to their flock that it is wrong to seek material things and must wait for their reward in heaven.
Judas betrayed Christ for 30 pieces of silver….Kirill is betraying Russia’s poor for Putin’s roubles.
There is no doubt that the church in Russia is a state controlled entity, if not outright an arm of the state. That what happens when governments start “licensing” churches and religions and decide which are genuine and which are merely “sects.”
To RV and to all, ….just a few more realities of present-day religious life in the neo-soviet Russian Federation:
Among Russian Orthodox believers (the sincere ones, which includes many of the average Russian people, and a fair number of their lower/local parish priests, etc.), their PERSONAL FAITH, i.e. their….’.religion’, (what they believe in, in their hearts) is seperate and largely independent from, the church-organization- institution, and especially from the higher clergy, the bishops, of the official state-run and supervised ‘Moscow Patriarchy’.
Many, but not all, of these average sincerely-believing Russians, go to church services, and receive spiritual consolation from the beautiful Orthodox rituals and prayers and choirs, etc., but…..often they do not fully trust the clergy, who perform those rituals and prayers, unless they perceive that individual clergy are ALSO (as they are) sincere believers.
Many know, which clergy are total agents, and who cannot be trusted….or fully respected either. But, these simple believers do not have the authority or power to physically remove such false men-of-God. It is the KGB-agent ‘bishops’ who appoint them. And it is the Kremlin, who appoints these ‘bishops’! And among the various ranks of the clergy (a huge number, afterall,) as the Moscow Patriarchy is an enormous monolithic complicated institution , a BEAST, filled with both…..true religious souls…..and….many grafters & government agents and collaborators, all held together by a web of fear, graft & corruption, and infiltrated by many spie., at all levels. It is a product of the entire communist system, since Lenin. It serves the interests of those still in power, which is to keep the population PACIFIED, and the loot flowing freely into the pockets of those in power.
So, for all that is terribly rotten and wrong with this state-‘pseudo-church’, it is about the only publically available source, via the local parish churches, etc. for the spiritual consolation which corporate worship affords Russian Orthodox believers. True, those who are able, perform their worship in dissident Russian Orthodox clandestine/hidden assemblies, which suffer more and more open persecution under V. Putin and his Kremlin gang.
So what is the summation?: Present Russia, still under the old communist ruling class, is a horribly corrupt MESS! and so too, is it’s captive state religious organization, the Moscow Patriarchy.
Many Russians are not blind to all this, it is just that they feel incapable to change things. Athiest Russians, see this as just the way things are, but they laugh at their foolish/believing fellow Russians.
Fear and greed and lies, are what rules present Russia.
And too, there is a monetary price to pay for high office in both the government and in the ‘church’. No one gets to the high level of ‘bishop’ in the Moscow Patriarchy, before he pays a huge sum of money, and without him being specially trained and approved of by the Kremlin apparatus.
This hardly seems to be, the ‘Body of Christ’ that Jesus envisioned His Church to be, does it?
GOD bless VLADIMIR PUTIN and GOD bless RUSSIA
Happy Saint Nicholas Day.
GOD BLESS THE HOLY RUSSIA AND GOD WILL MAKE RUSSIA A GREAT COUNTRY!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOD BLESS THE HOLY RUSSIA AND GOD WILL MAKE RUSSIA A GREAT COUNTRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!