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One New President, One New Patriarch, And A Generous Disregard For The Constitution:, Robert C. Blitt
One New President, One New Patriarch, And A Generous Disregard For The Constitution:, Robert C. Blitt
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
The government of Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC)--the country's predominant religious group--recently underwent back-to-back changes in each institution's respective leadership. This coincidence of timing affords a unique opportunity to reassess the status of constitutional secularism and church-state relations in the Russian Federation. Following a discussion of the presidential and patriarchal elections that occurred between March 2008 and January 2009, the Article surveys recent developments in Russia as they relate to the nation's constitutional obligations. In the face of this analysis, the Article argues that the government and the ROC alike continue to willfully undermine the constitutional principles of …