Authors

Robert C. Blitt

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Brigham Young University Law Review

Abstract

The Russian Orthodox Church's (ROC) assertion of a constitutionally inappropriate role in affairs of state has severely compromised Russia's secular constitutional framework. This gradual but steady erosion of the barrier between church and state is evidenced by a series of contemporary developments that are inexorably linked to the Church's vision of its traditional place in Russian history.

Disturbingly, each successive post-communist regime has further enabled this behavior, and there is no indication that the political transition from President Vladimir Putin to his hand-picked successor, Dmitry Medvedev, will change anything.

This paper argues that the emerging pattern of collusion presents a serious challenge to Russia's constitutional order and to the country's regional and international human rights commitments - chief among these being the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief.

First Page

707

Last Page

778

Publication Date

2008

Included in

Law Commons

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