Third Rome Today or State Church Collaboration in Contemporary Russia

Abstract

In this presentation my purpose is to shed light on the question of State Church Collaboration in contemporary situation, from the perspective of a cultural scholar specialized in Russian studies, especially Orthodox culture in past and present. Having now lived in Russia more than four years I have had the opportunity to make observations on how the societal climate has changed during this period, what kind of transformations have taken place in the relations between secular and religious authorities.