Russia and the Religious Right

Amid growing international sanctions, Putin has been tightening control on media outlets in Russia, and actively arresting war protestors, including children. He has also turned to the Russian Orthodox Church for religious support in his war of aggression. Putin’s actions, his use of religious language as pointed culture wars rhetoric, and his support by some conservative religious actors abroad have painted this invasion as a war of morality, of good versus evil, perhaps even a holy war. At the same time, Putin’s language about Ukraine emphasizes antisemitism and anti-westernism, and promotes what he views as traditional values, including religious values. So is Vladimir Putin a religious zealot? A ruthless cynic? Is he the face of a new post-Soviet fascist state?