The Original N-D-N's Blog

MOSCOW — The skinny dissident is thrown headfirst into a police van by camouflage-clad officers. Nearby, a dozen bearded men bearing Russian Orthodox crosses and wearing skull-and-crossbones T-shirts cheer on the cops.

It’s the latest flare-up in a growing feud pitting supporters of the influential church, which sees itself as the nation’s spiritual guide, against opponents who say the church has sold out to Vladimir Putin — becoming an arm of his regime more interested in gold than souls.

Roman Dobrokhotov was on his way to Christ the Savior Cathedral, Russia’s biggest church, to protest against the arrest of members of female punk rock band Pussy Riot. They were jailed in early March for belting out an anti-Putin “punk prayer” in front of the church’s gilded altar wearing garishly colored balaclavas. The church’s leader, Patriarch Kirill, cried blasphemy. Critics claimed church-state collusion was keeping the women locked up.

Many say Putin, who returned to the presidency last week, has used the church as a potent tool in his command structure, allowing it to amass vast riches in return for unquestioning support of his policies and spiritual blessing for his leadership. For more than a millennium, the church helped cement Russia’s identity and culture in times of foreign invasions and political upheaval — and that legacy remains strong in the hearts of millions of Russians.

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Article source: http://www.blacklistednews.com/Punk_band%27s_arrest_fuels_church_feud/19571/0/38/38/Y/M.html