Following the break with the West, a large percentage of Russian travellers have turned to domestic tourism, where religious destinations and related artistic attractions are becoming increasingly important. In this context, local operators are reviving walking pilgrimage routes, starting with the 70-kilometre route linking Moscow to the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius.
Moscow recently marked the 1,700th anniversary of the first Ecumenical Council when the profession of faith was drafted. Coincidentally, Putin and Pope Leo XIV spoke on the phone, providing an opportunity to renew the dialogue between the Church of Rome and the Russian Orthodox Church. Like in the 4th century AD, after the end of the persecutions, the challenge today for the bishops of the East and West is to show modern emperors a truth greater than any claim to dominion.
A traditionally multicultural land, the peninsula seized by Moscow from Kiev in 2014 is now seeing everything that is not Russian systematically targeted. Although even the Moscow-linked authorities recognise three ‘state languages’ on paper - Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar - education in native languages has almost completely disappeared from schools.
From the 2026/2027 school year, the ‘Fundamentals of Russia's moral and spiritual culture’ will be introduced as a new subject in Russian schools. The drafting of the textbook has been entrusted to the Metropolitan of Crimea, known as Putin's ‘spiritual father’.
According to various estimates, at least 200,000 Chechens now live in European countries, and from Belgium to Norway, passing through France, Austria and Germany, the mosques of this diaspora fuelled by war are not only places of worship but also important centres where the language and traditions of this people are handed down.
In a new essay, Aleksandr Šipkov goes so far as to point the finger at the philologist who, in the 1990s, helped Russia rediscover both Eastern and Western Christian traditions through his lectures. Why does today's Russia reject any convergence with the Christian culture of Eastern and Western Europe, presenting itself as the only true Church entrusted with a universal mission?
