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Religions of Russia
Russia is a country widely known for its multi-ethnic and multi-religion
population. The most prominent religion in the Russian culture is Orthodox Christianity.
Three quarters of the country recognizes themselves as a member of Orthodox Christian
following. Christianity was first brought into the Russian culture dating back to the 10th
century, when Vladimir the first converted the community over to Christianity.
Christianity originates from the Kievan Rus which was from the first people of the
Russian state. For over 1000 years, the Russian Orthodox Church was the most
prominent institution in the country. The second most prominent religion in Russia is
Islam. Though Islam is just a small percentage of the Russian population, nineteen
million Muslims reside in Russia. Islam originated in Saudi Arabia during the 7th century
and spread across Asia and Europe as the years progressed. Islam has been prominent
over the years but it has been the Orthodox Christianity that has had an effect on the
culture heavily.
The societal impact that Orthodox Christianity has had on the people has had
influence on the cultural traditions dating back to the 18th century. According to Annalise
Bleck from University of Texas at Austin, Ceremonial church services were held to
mark the conclusion of military campaigns or to celebrate the anniversaries of past
victories. The Orthodox religion had created special services to recognize the
achievements from the military and the passing of treaties during that century. In current
society, many people have icons in their homes with candles around them to show respect
for the church and the icons. Icons are paintings depicting God, saints, and angels. The
societal impact of this religion has evolved their culture with heavy involvement from the

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church and its beliefs. The cultural impact that Islam has made in the Russian community
was the placement of mosques around the country. There are over 800 mosques across the
country allowing access to this religion across the country. The Islam religion has
exposed their celebrations to the Russian culture, such as Muslim festivals: Id al-Fitr
(which celebrates the breaking of the Ramazan fast) and Bayram Qurban (the Feast of
Sacrifice) (Dickens). These celebrations have publicized and shared what the Muslim
culture is about and various traditions they have. These two main religions have shaped
the culture of Russia with their services and celebrations all over the country.
There are many sacred spaces across the country and the world that are used by
the Orthodox Christianity and Islam communities. In the Orthodox Christianity, St.
Daniel Monastery, located in Moscow, is one of the most sacred places in the country. It
is the spiritual and administrative center for the Russian Orthodox Church. One of the
more well-known sacred places is the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. It is
located near Red Square, and is known for its beautiful gold domes. There are many
affiliate churches across the United States and in Canada that are part of the Orthodox
Christian Church. For the Muslim community, the largest mosque is located in St.
Petersburg, Russia., It is considered a sacred place for the Muslim communityand
therefore it is closed space for worshippers. There are mosques across the world, one of
the largest being located in Jerusalem. Sacred places may have many uses across the
world; Islam and Orthodox Christianity have allowed worshippers to use these sacred
places for centuries.
The Russian Orthodox Church has influenced the government and had an impact
shaping Russian history. According to Boston University CURA, the church has played a

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role on the political aspects of the country. Many of the politicians in Russia use their
religious views from church teachings to make decisions in policy. The Russian Orthodox
Church has also influenced the education system in Russia. Since the post-Soviet era, the
church has re-built its education system from scratch. They are heavily involved with
shaping the education reform policies that are currently being introduced to the
government. The Muslim community has not had the same effect on the government like
the Orthodox Christian community has. There have been differing agendas between the
government and the Islam religion. The government has regarded the Islam community as
a threat to the stability of the country creating phenomena known as Islamophobia
(Malashenko). Though Russia will not admit to this way of thinking, there is some
distrust of the Islam religion. The religions of Russia have had a strong impact on the
Russian community, even if they have not always positively impacted the government.
Russian religion has affected the culture and society. The Russian Orthodox
Church has made a large impact on the society and has even affected governmental
decisions based on beliefs that people have been taught for generations. The impact of
having two major religions has impacted culture by creating a society with different
traditions and beliefs. Though at times there seems to be a breach of separation between
church and state, the Russian church is helping to create a better education system for the
next generations\. The role of religion may make a large impact on the society in any
country but in Russia these two religions have had positive influences and as result, a
better life for the Russian people.

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Work Cited
Blech,A.(2008,January1).TheRussianOrthodoxChurch.RetrievedMarch18,
2015,fromhttp://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/creees/_files/pdf/Curricula/CREEES
developedunits/russian_orthodox.pdf
BUStaff.(2004,January1).OrthodoxChristianityandtheConstructionofCivil
SocietyandDemocracyinRussiaInstituteonCulture,Religion&WorldAffairs|
BostonUniversity.RetrievedMarch18,2015,from
http://www.bu.edu/cura/projects/orthorussia/
Curtis,G.(1996,January1).RussiaTheRussianOrthodoxChurch.Retrieved
March18,2015,fromhttp://countrystudies.us/russia/38.htm
Dickens,M.(1989,January1).THEIMPACTOFRUSSOSOVIETCULTURE
INCENTRALASIA.RetrievedMarch18,2015,fromhttp://www.oxuscom.com/Russo
Soviet_Culture_in_CA.pdf
Embassy,R.(2012,January1).ReligioninRussia.RetrievedMarch18,2015,
fromhttp://www.rusemb.org.uk/religion/
Kishkovsky,S.(2011,December19).RussianOrthodoxChurchAssertsRolein
CivilSociety.RetrievedMarch18,2015,from
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/19/world/europe/19ihteducLede19.html?
pagewanted=all&_r=0
Malashenko,A.(2014,January1).RussiainGlobalAffairs.RetrievedMarch18,
2015,fromhttp://eng.globalaffairs.ru/number/IslaminRussia17002
Riasanovsky,N.(2015,January1).Religion.RetrievedMarch18,2015,from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/513251/Russia/38602/Religion

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Staff.(n.d.).FastFactsaboutRussia.RetrievedMarch18,2015,from
http://masterrussian.com/russia/facts.htm