The head of the Kremlin-controlled Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev), has made a series of anti-migrant and xenophobic remarks that directly contradict Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing efforts to restore the inclusive ideology of the Russian World.
That’s according to the Institute for the Study of War think tank.
During a diocesan meeting in Moscow on December 20, Kirill accused migrants of increasingly threatening interreligious and ethnic peace in Russia by refusing to integrate into Russian society and creating criminal and extremist organizations.
Kirill added that life for an “indigenous” ethnic Russian is almost unbearable in some regions, including Moscow, arguing that if such trends remain in place, Russian Orthodox believers will “lose Russia”.
Kirill’s statements contrast with Putin’s recent efforts to present himself as a centrist figure and to reestablish the concept of the Russian World, which includes all people of different ethnicities and religious affiliations who have lived or are living in geographical areas that belonged to Ancient Rus (Kyivan Rus), the Kingdom of Muscovy, the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the contemporary Russian Federation
Putin notably also stated during the Meeting of the Council of Legislators on December 20 that the Russian constitution and government are trying to ensure harmony in a diverse and large Russia – reemphasizing his efforts to present Russia as an inclusive and harmonious multicultural Russian state
Putin, on the one hand, has been increasingly reimagining himself as a modern tsar who is defending Russian sovereignty to justify his war in Ukraine and to appease his ultranationalist constituencies who tend to have more intolerant views on religion and Russian identity. But Putin has, on the other hand, been trying to seem to be an inclusive leader to incentivize all religious and ethnic groups to support his regime and war efforts.
On November 28, ISW assessed that Kirill’s anti-migrant and xenophobic rhetoric has more to do with the Russian government’s policies towards migrants and non-Russian ethnic groups in Russia than Putin’s more inclusive rhetoric in the context of the Russian World. As such, these narratives and policies are contradictory and may ultimately complicate Putin’s efforts to appease Russia’s various populations and provoke further inter-ethnic and inter-religious conflict.
