UKRAINE: THE SITUATION 666 - DECEMBER 20, 2023

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, controlled by the Kremlin, Patriarch Kirill, has made a series of xenophobic and anti-migrant statements that directly contradict the ongoing efforts of Russian President Vladimir Putin to restore the integrative ideology of the Russian World (Russkiy Mir).

During the Diocesan Assembly in Moscow on December 20, Kirill accused migrants of increasingly threatening interreligious and interethnic peace in Russia by refusing to integrate into Russian society and forming criminal and extremist organizations. Kirill added that life for the Russian-speaking "native population" in some areas, including Moscow, was almost unbearable, and claimed that Russian Orthodox believers would "lose" Russia if these trends continued. Kirill's comments contrast with Putin's recent efforts to present himself as a centrist figure and restore the concept of the Russian World, which includes all people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds who have lived or are living in geographical areas that were part of ancient Rus (Kievan Rus), the Kingdom of Moscow, the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the present Russian Federation. At the Council of Legislators on December 20, Putin stated that the Russian Constitution and government were striving to ensure harmony in a diverse and vast Russia.

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