Committee print



Download 0.63 Mb.
View original pdf
Page15/112
Date11.05.2023
Size0.63 Mb.
#61317
1   ...   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   ...   112
FinalRR
New York Times, Sept. 13, 2016. Simon Shuster, ‘‘Russia’s President Putin Casts Himself as Protector of the Faith TIME,
Sept. 12, 2016. corruption by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and other high- ranking officials. At least 1,750 Russian citizens were detained after June 2017 anti-corruption protests, according to the Russian monitoring group OVD-Info.
100
Cultural Forces and Religious Institutions
Under Putin, the Kremlin has engaged and boosted cultural forces and religious institutions inside Russia to provide an additional bulwark against the democratic values and actors it paints as anathema to the country’s interests. One prominent example is the strong ties that Putin and his inner circle have forged with the Russian Orthodox Church and its affiliates.
101
The Russian Orthodox Church enjoys special recognition under Russian law, while in contrast, laws such as the 2006 NGO laws and the 2016
‘‘Yarovaya’’ package of counterterrorism laws have enabled pressure against non-Russian Orthodox religious entities through cumbersome registration processes and administrative constraints, restrictions on proselytizing, and expanded surveillance.
102
Addition- ally, the US. State Department has reported that the Russian state has provided security and official vehicles to the Russian Orthodox patriarch (but not to other religious leaders) and noted reports that the Russian Orthodox Church has been a primary beneficiary of presidential grants ostensibly designed to reduce NGO dependence on foreign funding.
103
In return for the state’s favor, the Russian Orthodox Church has promoted Putin and the state’s policies at multiple turns. A former editor of the official journal of the Moscow Patriarchate (the seat of the Russian Orthodox Church and its affiliated churches outside the country) told The New York Times in 2016 that The Russian Orthodox church has become an instrument of the Russian state. It is used to extend and legitimize the interests of the Kremlin.’’
104
This is noteworthy given Putin’s roots in the KGB—the tip of the Soviet spear in restricting religious activity during the Communist era—and it reflects a careful cultivation of his identity as a man of faith and a defender of the Orthodox faithful. The image of Putin as defender of traditional religious and cultural values has also been leveraged by the Kremlin as both an ideology and a source of influence abroad.’’
105
In projecting itself as the natural ally of those who pine fora more secure, illiberal world free from the tra- dition-crushing rush of globalization, multiculturalism and women’s and gay rights the Russian government has been able to mobilize
VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:06 Jan 09, 2018
Jkt PO 00000
Frm 00029
Fmt 6601
Sfmt 6601
S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\COMMITTEE PRINT 2018\HENRY\JAN. 9 REPORT
FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER


24 Andrew Higgins, In Expanding Russian Influence, Faith Combines With Firepower The
New York Times, Sept. 13, 2016.
107
Gleb Bryanski, Russian Patriarch Calls Putin Era Miracle Of God ’’ Reuters, Feb. 8,
2012. US. Department of State, International Religious Freedom Report for 2012, Russia, at 9. Ellen Barry, ‘‘Russia’s History Should Guide Its Future, Putin Says The New York Times, Dec. 12, 2012. Carl Schreck, Holy Slight How Russia Prosecutes For Insulting Religious Feelings ’’
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Aug. 15, 2017. Lucian Kim, Russian President Signs Law to Decriminalize Domestic Violence National
Public Radio, Feb. 16, 2017. US. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2001, Russia.
some Orthodox actors in places like Moldova and Montenegro to vigorously oppose integration with the West.
106
The Kremlin’s cultivation of the Russian Orthodox Church intensified following the massive 2011-12 street protests opposing
Putin’s return to the presidency. Patriarch Kirill, who assumed leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2009, endorsed
Putin’s long rule as a miracle of God on February 8, 2012, weeks before the presidential election. He praised Putin for correcting the crooked twist of Russia’s tumultuous democratic transition in the sand derided Putin’s opponents as materialistic and a threat to Russia.
107
Eleven days later, members of the rock group Pussy Riot performed a protest song, Virgin Mary, Redeem Us of Putin in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Ina high-profile and widely criticized prosecution, three Pussy Riot members were later sentenced to two years imprisonment for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.’’
108
In a December 2012 speech, Putin invoked traditional and spiritual values as the antidote to Russian decline and criticized foreign influences, defining Russia’s democracy as the power of the Russian people with their traditions and absolutely not the realization of standards imposed onus from outside.’’
109
And in January 2013, Putin signed a law criminalizing insulting religious believers feelings which enabled fines and prison time of up to three years.
110
The Kremlin’s fueling of culture wars has also provided context for the passage of laws criminalizing gay propaganda and decriminalizing first instances of domestic violence.
111
The effects of these laws on the security of LGBT persons and women in Russia is discussed in more detail in Appendix G. CONTROLLING THE PUBLIC NARRATIVE

Download 0.63 Mb.

Share with your friends:
1   ...   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   ...   112




The database is protected by copyright ©ininet.org 2024
send message

    Main page