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
Recommended Citation
Blitt, Robert C., How to Entrench a De Facto State Church in Russia: A Guide in Progress (July 21, 2008). Brigham Young University Law Review, Vol. 2008, pp. 707-778, 2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1167797