I honestly don’t know how people can read an article like this and not realize how deeply fascist it is.
There are numerous videos of Russian tanks flying the flag of the USSR, which I suppose is a hint as to the ultimate aims/hopes of some of the Russian military. Far from converted indeed.
You have to understand the context and for that you had to live in countries that fought against Nazism/fascism and had communism. Communism is identified with anti-fascism in many of these countries because it fought against the Nazis and won. When the US is waging wars in the Middle East, it does not say it is fighting for oil fields or Israel, but for democracy. Putin could not attack Ukraine and say he does not want NATO expansion, but said he was going to fight against the Nazis who are attacking the Russians. That is a play on words and hiding the real reason so that he would not be declared a fascist. However, Ukrainians are not Nazis either because since the 2013 coup, as many as three prime ministers have been Jews, their president is a Jew, their mayor of Kiev is a Jew, the founder of the Azov unit and financier is a Jew even though there are only 40 thousand of them in a country of 40 million... nor are Russians communists even though some soldiers celebrate the USSR that defeated the Nazis who are now "Ukrainians". Everything else has nothing to do with communism, even Russians despise communism because over 30 million Russians were killed under Stalin, people were oppressed, and over 200,000 monks and priests were killed and about 30,000 churches were burned. Today, the Russian Orthodox Church is one of the major pillars of Putin's rule, and he himself often criticized Lenin and Stalin...Ukrainians have changed the names of streets and squares dedicated to communist dictators after the coup because they were "pro-Russian," while the Russians are restoring them because these same dictators fought against the Nazis...
Russia converted? 87% of the population claim membership of the Orthodox Church but only 7% can find sufficient enthusiasm to attend Sunday Eucharist. During Soviet times, the police were required to count the numbers of people attending the Christmas services on January 7th the numbers were increasing during late Soviet times. No-one told the police to stop counting when ‘democracy’ arrived so they continued to count and publish the figures until 2023. They were declining each year. The ROC has supported the regime unquestioningly. Patriarch Kirill calls the Special Military Operation a ‘Holy War’ and has promised immediate entry to heaven for all fallen Russian soldiers, insisted on prayers for victory in every church and defrocked priests who prayed for peace instead. Kirill seems content that Ukrainian hospitals, schools, nurseries and apartment blocks be the targets of Russian missiles. Kirill has been recorded wearing a $20,000 dollar watch, owns properties worth billions of roubles under his real name and has been photographed frolicking with half dressed females on his boat. Abortion is legal and widely practiced. It is being officially discouraged of late but only because of the extreme demographic problem which is resulting in a rapidly shrinking population in the European parts of the Federation and being exacerbated by losses on the field and by emigration of those unwilling to risk their lives for the regime. The gap in incomes and living standards between the rich and poor is the most extreme of the ‘developed’ nations with large numbers of the rural population living in dire poverty. At Aug 2024, the state pension amounted to $233 per month with food and utility costs being comparable to western Europe. Russian rural infrastructure is in a dire state and with collapsing roads, rubbish collection is either entirely neglected or spasmodic. Health services are almost non-existent outside the cities. Putin’s adversaries always end up dead by poisoning, falling from high buildings, road traffic ‘accidents’, unspecified illnesses during imprisonment etc. He is a murderous thug and has publicly sniggered about the ‘coincidences’ of these fatalities. Etc, etc, etc. No, Russia is not converted and no amount of mental gymnastics can make it appear so. It is not something worthy of debate the truth is easy to confirm for those who wish to know.
Again, you cannot compare Orthodox countries with Catholic ones, as there is a significant difference that has accumulated since the year 1054, ranging from rituals to historical and cultural reasons influencing how the Church operates. In Orthodox countries, church attendance is primarily on Christmas, Easter, and Epiphany. During these occasions, people attend church, where the liturgy lasts for several hours, and priests face the altar. They identify as believers and ultimately believe in God (they are not atheists), but religion is an important part of their cultural and national identity. All Orthodox Churches are closely tied to the state and function as national Churches. For example, Serbia has the Serbian Orthodox Church, North Macedonia has the Macedonian Orthodox Church, Russia has the Russian Orthodox Church, as do Bulgaria, Romania, etc. During the 1930s, the Russian Orthodox Church suffered greatly, with around 200,000 priests and monks being killed, leaving only a few hundred surviving, while thousands of churches were burned down and destroyed. This resulted in the loss of a significant part of religious organization, which cannot simply be restored overnight—it takes generations. In the Soviet Union, no one was counting who attended church, as churches and priests practically did not exist. Those who remained were mostly priests who had received permission from the communist authorities, similar to the situation in China today. This is why, when the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church defends Russia, he does so because he is closely connected to the state. However, when Pope Francis, who is not under the control of any state, advocates for peace in Gaza and Ukraine, European and American leaders who identify as Catholics criticize, condemn, and mock him. This speaks volumes about whom they truly serve and that faith is merely empty words on paper, as is the case in Russia. According to them, Putin's invasion of Ukraine is about protecting Russia's interests, just as China would intervene if NATO bases were to be placed in Taiwan. The U.S. operates across the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe out of its own interests. This has nothing to do with religion or church attendance. In fact, people often listen more to politicians and the media than to bishops and priests, shaping their opinions based on that. Regarding inequalities, again, it is difficult to compare purely based on income, as it depends on many factors. With $20 a day in Sub-Saharan Africa, one can live like a king, while in most of Western Europe and the U.S., the same amount would mean poverty. Simply put, the starting point after the collapse of communism was quite low—over 70 years of state socialist rule, followed by a transition where a small group of people, closely connected to the party (many of them Jewish), secured 75% of the wealth, leaving the rest of the population in poverty. However, even such a Russia still has fewer social disparities than the U.S., as well as lower levels of severe crime and murders. Finally, let’s return to the topic of abortion. Yes, Russia under the USSR—since these two terms are not synonymous—was the first country to legalize abortion, only to later abandon it before World War II and ban it when Stalin realized that the population was not growing (due to WWII and mass killings). However, today, Russia has fewer abortions than the U.S., the UK, Australia, Sweden, and other countries. It ranks 112th out of 154 countries, placing it in the lower category when considering the abortion rate per 1,000 women. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_abortion_rate When it comes to social status and inequality, here in Europe, especially in former communist countries, the system is structured completely differently because we were not able to accumulate wealth. We don’t have wealthy neighborhoods—literally, if you're an ordinary mechanic or a factory worker, your neighbor might be a doctor, a judge, or a lawyer. There are no property taxes, and a good portion of services, like masonry, mechanics, or electrical work, are done by friends after working hours for $5 to $10 if you even give them that, or just for a couple of beers—a job that would cost hundreds of dollars elsewhere. Thanks to the black market, people earn much more, you have great working hours, secure real estate, you can complete even the most challenging university degrees without being in debt to anyone, and you get free healthcare and education. And now, when someone starts comparing, they only see income, which might be 10 times lower from western countries, but a good portion of people live an extremely high-quality life with decent earnings for our standard and an enjoyable lifestyle with plenty of free time. Working hours are from 7 AM to 3 PM, including a paid break, and most people leave work about half an hour early. In a population of 4 million, we had about 20 homicides—literally, you can walk anywhere in the middle of the night without anything happening to you. The climate and nature are stunning, a mix of ancient cities alongside Baroque and Renaissance architecture, combined with a beautiful sea. Russia, of course, has worse weather, some things are different, and they have a different mentality, but wealth is not exclusively measurable, just as quality of life cannot be judged solely by how much money you make. There are tycoons who accumulated wealth during privatization, and they create a significant gap, but among the remaining 95% of the population, there are no major social differences because they haven't had the time to develop from communist times when 99% own nothing. Russia is not a highly religious country, nor is it an ideal example, but rather a post-communist nation that has replaced the rigid dictatorship of the communist era with authoritarian governance under a nationalist policy, where the Church is closely connected to and part of the state. National interests include border protection, safeguarding the family from LGBT propaganda, strengthening the military, keeping potential threats like NATO away from its borders, and building alliances in Asia, among other priorities. What is certain is that every time there has been a global shift in power, it has always happened when Russia was targeted—whether during the time of Napoleon, World War I, which led to revolutions in Russia and the rise of the communists, or World War II and the fall of Hitler, which was primarily due to Russia and the USSR, without whom all of Europe would have fallen. Now, it is clear that the balance of power is shifting once again. Russia does not need to be Catholic to bring about tectonic changes in society, especially in Europe, and this will undoubtedly happen after this war. For me personally, Russia, as well as Ukraine and all Orthodox countries, will be converted when we unite again under the same Catholic religious leader, that is, the Pope. Christ cannot have one body and 100 heads, the same goes for Protestants .
Facts are facts whether they come in the form of a history lesson or, as Orangina posted, clarification of the context of people's actioms, Russia is not yet fully converted but on the right trajectory in comparison with our post-Christian European hypocricies. It's surely in Putin's own interests to appear to be in good standing with the Orthodox Church. He and the Orthodox prelates are often mocked for that. I supppse that a comparison outside Russia would be a genocide enabling Catholic who has the TV station's make-up lady use an eyeliner brush to paint a nice, perfectly shaped cross over the makeup on Ash Wednesday. I recall reading that Sr. Lucia of Fatima had told someone that Orthodoxy would be the path to Russia's conversion. I thought it strange then and I think I posted about it on the forum. Now, having looked into it more, it makes sense to me that full conversion will happen with the reunification of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. Protestantism isn't nearly in the same category because they don't have Apostolic succession, all the sacraments or a valid Eucharist. Here are some of the documents that brought me to this conclusion: Documents related to the consecration of Russia: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/answers/1984-consecration-documents-14284 Scroll down to a section headed 1936 Letter to Fr. Goncalvez. Lucia talks about a conversation with Jesus. I think it was a locution. She was concerned that the Holy Father wouldn't believe her. Jesus told Lucia that the Pope would do the consecration but that it would be late. Then he said "Nevertheless, the Immaculate Heart of Mary will save Russia. It has been entrusted to her. The Balamand Declaration: https://www.christianunity.va/conte...-dunione-del-pass/testo-in-lingua-inglese.pdf This document, dated June 23, 1993, was issued after dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Paragraph 22 begins: "Pastoral activity in the Catholic Church, Latin as well as Oriental, no longer aims at having the faithful of one church pass over to the other; that is to say, it no longer aims at proselytising among the Orthodox." You can read the rest of the paragraph at the link. Paragraph 35 (the last paragraph) calls for excouding all proselytism and all desire for expansion by Catholics at the expense of the Orthodox Church. Somewhere in that document (I'm too tired to read it all again) the Orthodox are acknowledged as sister Churches. I know that the Balamand declaration isn't the kind of document that binds all the faithful under the pain of sin but as far as I can find out Pope John Paul 11 did approve of the principles contained in it. Havana Declaration, dated 12 February, 2016: https://www.vatican.va/content/fran...sco_20160212_dichiarazione-comune-kirill.html In this document Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill say that we must work together and, condemning proselytism, use St. Paul's words "Thus I aspire to proclaim the Gospel not where Christ has already been named so I do not build on another's foundation". Catholics are a tiny percentage of the population of Russia so there's no chance they will go out of their way to please us. Given the attitude of so-called Catholics in leadership positions of countries hostile to Russia, it will take much diplomacy by the Vatican and great grace from the Holy Spirit to keep open the path to reconciliation. I read this interview from 2006 with the Catholic Archbishop of Moscow: https://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=3237 He said that many destructive sects arrived in Russia after 1991 and that may have contributed to mistrust among ordinary people because Catholics praying in apartments might have been another such sect. He doesn't name the sect but I think we could hazard a few guesses that wouldn't be far off the mark. I wish that my own country had the assurance from Jesus that my country has been entrusted to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It seems to me that those Ukrainian Bishops would be better served talking peace than stirring up hatred against Russians,
Here's Mark Mallett's take on it - https://www.markmallett.com/blog/russia-instrument-of-purification/
No doubt we should turn to that great Christian, Starmer, who arrests Christians for praying, even silently. Undoubtedly the man to resist Stalinism. The first thing that strikes me about the report of the Stalin statues is that it's a form of 'gaslighting' the Ukrainians, intended to enrage the people who were bombing the ethnic Russians in Eastern Ukraine. Not unlike Northern Irish loyalists burning effigies of the Pope.
