Putin says ‘Godless people’ are tearing apart Russian Orthodox Church

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, during his lengthy end-of-year press conference, said ‘Godless people’ including ‘ethnic Jews’ of tearing apart the Russian Orthodox Church.

During the press conference, Putin was asked about punitive measures some European countries have taken against the Russian Orthodox Church in the wake of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine over the church’s close relationship with Putin’s regime. The Council of Europe recently labeled the church a propaganda tool of the Kremlin, and several European countries have expelled church officials due to security concerns.

“These people that are attacking the church, they are not atheists,” said Putin. “They are absolutely faithless people, Godless people. Well, ethnically, many of them are Jews, but you haven’t seen them visit any synagogue.”

After adding that the alleged opponents of the church were also neither Orthodox Christian nor Muslim, he added, “These are people without kin or memory, with no roots. They don’t cherish what we cherish and the majority of the Ukrainian people cherish as well.”

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