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A Toxic Embrace: Russia’s Church and State through the Centuries

The title of my book, the Baton and the Cross, was inspired by a poster I saw by a St Petersburg artist plastered on a wall near a tram stop on Borovaya Street in 2017. It featured a large black cross made out of police batons and underneath one word: Покайся (Repent). The conflation of a symbol of piety with instruments of state violence epitomises the way Russia’s church has always ensured it is at the right hand of power. Blind obedience trumps moral rectitude. For a thousand years the Church has used all means at its disposal to ensure its survival, its influence and, in many cases, the enrichment of its senior clerics. It has done the bidding of Muscovy princes, imperial tsars, Politburo members and now Putin, who, apart from a brief stint as prime minister, has been in charge for nearly 25 years and may stay in power until he dies. Whether he sincerely believes in God, or his religiosity is purely performative, Putin’s actions are at odds with the Orthodox faith he claims to hold. The former spy who once sought global recognition has morphed into a vengeful warmonger determined to lead his isolated country into an era of unparalleled greatness. His invasion of Ukraine has brought to the fore an angry yearning for a revival of Slav Christian supremacy. Other Eastern Orthodox churches have denounced his vision of Moscow as a Third Rome as a sacrilegious form of nationalism Lucy Ash is an acclaimed presenter of radio and TV documentaries on foreign affairs.