vladimir putin

While Nixon Sought to Secretly 'Screw' Political Enemies Trump's Dictatorial Desires Are Less Modest

Steven Gardiner — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 04:23:16 EST

On August 16, 1971, White House Counsel John Dean circulated a confidential memo to Nixon loyalists titled “Dealing with our Political Enemies” which proposed a plan for the administration to best “use the available federal machinery to screw our political…

White Nationalist Mottos, the Fate of Jews in the New Christian State, and 'Appeal to Heaven' Humor — Day 2 of NatCon 2024

Annika Brockschmidt, Ben Lorber — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 06:29:12 EDT

No friends on the “other side of the aisle”—only enemies In a morning panel of the second day of NatCon 2024, a group of Republican senators hammered home a confrontational message. Sen. Jim DeMint : “There is no reasonable consensus…

Putin’s 'Year of the Family' Declaration Blends Russian Nationalism with the Far-Right Rhetoric of the Global Pro-Family Movement

Irina Smolevskaya — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 02:06:51 EDT

On Fridays, Religion Dispatches will present an article from the Spring 2024 issue of our sibling publication, The Public Eye—a quarterly magazine for analysis and commentary on the US and Global Right. On December 31, 2023, President Vladimir Putin wished…

A Great Evangelical Divorce? — Speaker Mike Johnson's Breakup with Marjorie Taylor Greene Could Be Bad News For Trump

Diana Butler Bass — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 05:44:42 EDT

When Speaker of the House Mike Johnson pushed through aid to Ukraine this week, it did more than green-light funds to support the Ukrainians. In recent weeks, he changed from hard-core opposition to supporting Ukraine to championing its cause. His…

2023 CPAC Lived Down to Expectations, But Don't Buy the Narrative: The GOP is Not as Divided as You Might Think

Annika Brockschmidt — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 03:43:20 EST

Considering that CPAC is the largest conservative conference in the US, the line-up of their 2023 conference was distinctly unimpressive, with some notable names absent from the list of speakers . While Mitch McConnell hasn’t been invited to CPAC in…

Espionage Allegations Against Russian Church Raise Religious Freedom Issue in Ukraine

Katherine Kelaidis — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 05:01:31 EST

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for “targeted closures” of “Moscow-backed” religious organizations in Ukraine, a more polite way of saying that he wants effectively to ban the Russian Orthodox Church . To be clear, the decree signed by…

As Tensions Escalate in the Balkans, the West Could Hand Putin a Valuable Weapon

Katherine Kelaidis — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 01:25:30 EST

Anyone who had “License Plates Start War” on their 2020s bingo card might be in for a pleasant surprise. Large crowds of ethnic Serbs recently gathered to demonstrate against a plan by the Kosovar government to gradually ban Serbia-issued license…

Putin's Violent Holy War Rhetoric Made it to the Christian Right Fringe — And There's Reason to Believe it'll Go Mainstream

Thomas Lecaque — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 05:30:57 EDT

It starts with a tweet: https://twitter.com/realRickWiles/status/1585375961033605120?s=20&t=DZQ… And it is, of course, not simply that. Shortly before, in support of Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin appointing a “chief exorcist” against Satanism, he said : “Can you think of anybody, in the…

Putin Escalates Ukraine Invasion to 'Cosmic War' — But There is Hope

Mark Juergensmeyer — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 04:38:10 EDT

When Vladimir Putin recently announced the annexation of four regions of Ukraine that were purported to have voted in favor of joining Russia, he did so in what’s been described as an “unhinged rant.” In this wide-ranging and often incoherent…

The Far-Right Embrace of the Knights Templar isn't Just About Faith, Tradition or History — It's About Hate

Thomas Lecaque — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 03:36:35 EDT

In 1302, the island of Arwad, off the coast of Syria, fell to Mamluk forces. The Templar garrison died in the assault. The Templar had lost their last stronghold in the Holy Land, and while the other major military orders…

In Sermon on Birth of the 'Fatherland,' Putin's Patriarch Kirill Equates Invasion of Ukraine with Defense of Orthodox Faith

Katherine Kelaidis — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 12:30:46 EDT

If you’ve been educated in North America or Western Europe, you might be forgiven for having never heard of the Battle of Kulikovo, a battle between Russian forces and the Golden Horde, on September 8, 1380, in which the Russian…

Unprecedented Anti-LGBTQ Statement By Orthodox Church in America Should Be Christian Nationalist Warning Sign to US Orthodoxy

Katherine Kelaidis — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 01:48:17 EDT

Late last week, the Orthodox Church in America , the second largest Orthodox church body in the country, issued an unprecedented statement seeking to silence any discussion about same-sex relationships and the sacramental inclusion of LGBTQ people in the life…

Moscow Suffers its Most High Profile Defection Yet

Katherine Kelaidis — Mon, 30 May 2022 03:43:19 EDT

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is now over 100 days old. When the war began, there were two competing Orthodox churches in Ukraine: the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which was created and granted complete independence by the Patriarch of…

Is This Tiny Divided Orthodox Nation the Next Front in Russia's Religious War?

Katherine Kelaidis — Thu, 05 May 2022 09:36:18 EDT

I’m writing from Iași, Romania, which was the capital of the Principality of Moldova between 1564 and 1859 and the capital of Romania between 1916 and 1918, as well as the seat of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of Moldavia and…

Sanctioning Patriarch Kirill Would Send a Strong Message — Is the Problem That He Doesn't Wear Mullahs' Robes?

Katherine Kelaidis — Fri, 22 Apr 2022 01:29:31 EDT

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine , sanctions against Russian officials have been the most visible and powerful form of support offered by the global community to the Ukrainian people. These sanctions have targeted high-ranking Russian officials…

The Russian Patriarch Just Gave His Most Dangerous Speech Yet — And Almost No One in the West Has Noticed

Katherine Kelaidis — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 02:12:16 EDT

There’s little doubt that Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill’s Forgiveness Sunday Sermon last month received more attention than any Orthodox cleric’s sermon has received in the Western media in a long time. Beyond its frightening absurdity, it’s likely this attention is…

Palestinian Orthodox Christians, Desperate for Help, Have Caught the Attention of Russia

Katherine Kelaidis — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 05:26:06 EDT

In case you’re thinking that Ukraine is the only place in the world where Orthodox Christianity is entangled in a global hotspot, please turn your eyes to Jerusalem. Two days ago, following an eighteen-year struggle, members of the Israeli settler…

'Russkii Mir,' the Russian Equivalent of 'Blood & Soil' Ideology at the Heart of Putin's War, Explained and Rejected by Theologians in New Statement

Daniel Schultz — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 04:52:10 EDT

A new statement by Orthodox Christian theologians—some of whom sign from Russia—dramatically illustrates what’s at stake in this war of (mostly) Christians against Christians, and what implications it has for the American scene. The statement sets its organizers in opposition…

Is Putin a 'Real' Christian? To Understand This Conflict We Need to Ask Different Questions

Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, Robert Saler — Tue, 15 Mar 2022 12:00:16 EDT

Vladimir Putin’s campaign of violence in Ukraine has brought to the fore questions about his longstanding religious connections, prompting scholars and journalists to challenge his well-marketed piety and seemingly deep devotion to Russian Orthodox spirituality — the latter of which…

Prominent Russian Orthodox Church Rejects Pro-Putin Patriarch Kirill, Raising Tensions Within Orthodox World

Katherine Kelaidis — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 03:51:25 EDT

The Russian Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas in Amsterdam has a rather prominent place in the Orthodox Christian pacifist movement, insofar as such a movement exists. St. Nicholas was, after all, the home parish of Jim Forest, an American writer…

Kirill's Sermon May Be Bad Preaching and Even Worse Theology — But it's a Top-Notch Rejection of Liberal Democracy

Daniel Schultz — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 04:45:53 EST

Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, gave a sermon on forgiveness this past Sunday at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. It was a doozy , to use the vernacular. Many will rightly zero in…

If Kirill's Bizarre Sermon Blaming War on Pride Parades Comes as a Surprise, it's Time to Learn the History

Katherine Kelaidis — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 01:38:42 EST

Today is Clean Monday, the first day of the Orthodox Christian Lent. Yesterday was Forgiveness Sunday, a day traditionally dedicated to reflecting upon one’s own sins and preparing for and anticipating the long period of fasting and repentance encouraged by…

In His 'Forgiveness Day' Sermon — a Slightly More Sophisticated 'GloboHomo' Rant — Kirill Lays Out an Authoritarian Vision in Which His Version of God Might Dominate and Rule the Human Race

Sarah Riccardi-Swartz — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 01:31:04 EST

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, has been complicit in the political rhetoric used by Vladimir Putin. In one of her first articles on the topic, Katie Kelaidis reminded…

A Church (Further) Divided: Putin's Patriarch Now Faces a Rebellion From Within the Russian Orthodox Church

Katherine Kelaidis — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 04:34:37 EST

While the world waits for Russian oligarchs to tire of their yachts being seized and for them to turn against Vladimir Putin, it appears that Putin’s counterpart and accomplice in the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All…

Russia and the US Have More in Common Than You Might Think

Chrissy Stroop — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 03:51:02 EST

As I write, Russia has invaded Ukraine, thousands of people have reportedly died, and hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled the country. It’s a more comprehensive version of the invasion carried out in 2014, when president Vladimir Putin invoked…