VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
“Although very different, each of them – the Russian Orthodox Church, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism – has the same basic and universal underlying moral and spiritual values: compassion, cooperation, truth, justice, respect for elders, the ideals of family and work. These moral targets cannot be replaced, and must be strengthened. I am confident that the government and society should welcome and support the efforts of the different faiths in education, social welfare and in the Armed Forces. At the same time, Russia should remain a secular state.”
“Any individual living in this country should be keenly aware of their faith and ethnicity. But above all they must be citizens of Russia – and be proud of it. No one has the right to place ethnic and religious concerns above state law. The law, however, must take account of ethnic and religious concerns.”
“Our traditional denominations – the Buddhists, the Christians, the Jews and the Moslems – are essentially of the same view as regards these basic moral values. And, certainly, this is what we must jointly promote. We don’t have other value orientations and they are unlikely to appear any time soon.”
“We have four official religions that coexist under the law. Islam is one of the official religions. It is not something imported from abroad; Islam is one of the traditional religions of the peoples of Russia, and the people who preach Islam are the citizens of this country, they have no other country. <…> We should ensure that irrespective of faith every citizen abides by the law whether he is Christian or Muslim, Russian, Chechen, Tatar, Bashkir, or whatever. If he breaks the law he must answer for it under the law”.
“A mosque is to be built in Moscow, too, and it will be built. However, if we count how many churches and mosques have been restored and rebuilt in the whole country, it would seem that impossible has been done. There are hundreds, thousands of them, signifying the rebirth of our traditional faiths and religions. There’s one more thing to add. Surely, we are all different. In Russia, however, different confessions have always lived side by side. They have intermingled and have always shown respect for one another.”
“The relations between the government and the Russian Orthodox Church are going through a special period and stand out for their special warmth. We do not just return to the Church what it was illegally deprived of after 1917, but we also build new churches. However, this concerns the material side of our relations. Of much greater importance are the relations between the Church and the government in the spiritual sphere. The Russian Orthodox Church and all traditional confessions in Russia together with the government are building new and restoring previously lost shrines the way we are restoring together our common home, our Motherland - Russia. The Church, more than any other institution, provides support for every individual and the entire state at difficult moments, and it is the Church that shares our joys and successes.”
"Recent years have seen excellent contacts between the Church and the state in every field of our partnership, which concerns spiritual support by the Church and material support by the state. On the other hand, it is our shared concern, and it is the state's duty, to pay its dues to all our churches and denominations. We have really done a great deal to promote the Church Renaissance. At any rate, we have helped the Church to re-establish its material basis with church construction and revival of monasteries."
“The Church has always been very loyal to all citizens of the country regardless of their ethnic origin or religion. It has always promoted peace between different religions in Russia, thereby consolidating the country.”
“In a dialogue with other sister churches, the Russian Orthodox Church has always upheld, and I hope will continue to uphold, the national and spiritual identity of the Russian people. We very much hope that this process will continue.”
“The Russian Orthodox Church has always supported multi-polar views in Russia, and always facilitated the formation of a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state. We are hoping that it will continue doing so in the future.”