{"id":11429,"date":"2022-06-08T18:13:04","date_gmt":"2022-06-08T15:13:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/lukasenka-greets-russian-orthodox-leader-wary-of-his-influence\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"lukasenka-greets-russian-orthodox-leader-wary-of-his-influence","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11429\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0141uka\u0161enka greets Russian Orthodox leader, wary of his influence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <span>By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t * Reproduction prohibited\n<\/p>\n<p>\n <b>Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka gave a warm reception to the Russian Orthodox leader in Minsk, although he should be wary of the Kremlin\u2019s soft power.<\/b>\n<\/p>\n<h2> <span>Russia\u2019s foothold<\/span> <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t \u201cYou know that it does not feel like home here, it is your home, your land,\u201d the Belarusian ruler told Patriarch Kirill of Moscow on June 6, describing his visit as a sign of coalescence against \u201cevil forces.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Russian Orthodox leader stressed on June 4 that he considers Belarusians and Ukrainians, to whom Christianity spread from Kyiv, as Russians. This has been the origin story that Vladimir Putin has relied on, claiming that Ukraine is part of modern Russia.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Patriarch Kirill arrived in Belarus in connection with the 1030<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of the Polack diocese. But he also had a political agenda, said Valieryj Karbalevi\u010d, a Belarusian analyst.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t It was important for the patriarch to visit his canonic territory to maintain a foothold here, he told The Viewer.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The visit came days after Ukraine\u2019s Moscow-affiliated branch cut ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine and criticizing Patriarch Kirill for supporting it.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Patriarch Kirill traveled to Minsk to \u201cmobilize Orthodox resources\u201d amid the war as its Ukrainian affiliate seeks independence from the Moscow Patriarchate, said Pave\u0142 Usa\u016d, of the Political Analysis and Prognosis Center based in Warsaw. The Moscow Patriarchate seeks to prevent unrest in the Belarusian Exarchate and secure its support for the Russian assault on Ukraine, he added.\n<\/p>\n<h2> <span>Kremlin\u2019s tool<\/span> <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t Although \u0141uka\u0161enka stands to benefit from the patriarch\u2019s visit politically, because it was a sign of Moscow\u2019s support, he should be wary of the Russian Orthodox Church widely seen as the Kremlin\u2019s soft power tool, Usa\u016d said.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t In 2016 the Belarusian ruler encouraged the Belarusian Exarchate to exercise a greater degree of independence from the Moscow Patriarchate.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t In August 2020, when \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s future was hanging in the balance amid mass protests against his disputed re-election, the Moscow Patriarchate replaced Metropolitan Pavel, head of the Belarusian Exarchate who called for an end to violence, with Metropolitan Veniamin, a Belarusian-born priest. It was a reshuffle at \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s request, Usa\u016d noted.\n<\/p>\n<h2> <span>\u0141uka\u0161enka cedes ground to Moscow<\/span> <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t Six years ago, the Belarusian leader might have sought greater independence for the Belarusian Exarchate because he wanted to control what he saw as a tool of influence on the public.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t After suppressing the post-election protests, he has relied mostly on his security apparatus, Karbalevi\u010d said. But he is expecting greater input from pro-government organizations, trade unions and the Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in terms of influencing people\u2019s minds, he added.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The post-election unrest and complicity in the Russian invasion have increased the Belarusian ruler\u2019s dependence on Moscow. He complies with its wishes, including that of the Moscow Patriarchate.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t \u201c\u0141uka\u0161enka likes the patriarch and the Russian Orthodox Church just as he likes Putin,\u201d Usa\u016d said. \u201cToday he has no choice but to dance attendance and demonstrate servility to both.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN * Reproduction prohibited Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka gave a warm reception to the Russian Orthodox leader in Minsk, although he should be wary of the Kremlin\u2019s soft power. Russia\u2019s foothold \u201cYou know that it does not feel like home here, it is your home, your land,\u201d the Belarusian ruler told Patriarch Kirill of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-11429","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\u0141uka\u0161enka greets Russian Orthodox leader, wary of his influence | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN * Reproduction prohibited Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka gave a warm reception to the Russian Orthodox leader in Minsk, although he\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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