Translated material
Help Putin
On the Echo of Moscow blog, Boris Berezovsky posted a letter to the patriarch:
Your Holiness!
It is not hope, but Faith that dies last.
You can talk as much as you like about the resurrection of the Faith, the revival of Orthodoxy, restoring old ones and building thousands of new churches, but no ritual can replace the Faith. It is the lack of Faith that is the main problem in Russia.
Russia is losing faith in truth, faith in justice, faith in itself.
The people have lost faith in the authorities and may lose faith in the church. The authorities do not trust their own citizens. Is the church really capable of losing faith in its parishioners?
Your Holiness!
A thousand years of Orthodoxy are behind you, and the most difficult trials lie ahead. This year you will have to make history.
You can go down in history as the Primate of all Orthodox Christians in Russia, peacefully sitting on his throne.
Peacefully seated, while the reluctance of the authorities to hear the will of the people grew into a rupture in relations between the people and the authorities. Peacefully seated while noisy protest rallies turn into the sound of gunfire, when streams of mutual accusations turn into the blood of innocents.
If blood is shed, Putin will have to answer for it before the people, before his own conscience and before history.
And to you before God.
You can go down in history as the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, taking on the historical mission of saving Russia from turmoil like your great predecessors.
It is within your power today to ensure a bloodless change of power in Russia.
No matter how transparent and fair elections the authorities hold, and no matter who wins them, society will not accept their results.
You are in a unique position - you do not claim secular power.
Your Holiness!
What is expected from the shepherd today is not a word, but a deed.
Help Putin come to his senses.
Bring the voice of the people to him. And when Putin hears you, take power from his hands and peacefully, wisely, and in a Christian way, transfer it to the people.
Boris Berezovsky,
London, 15 January 2012
The Moscow Patriarchate was skeptical about Berezovsky's appeal.
“On the one hand, it may seem pleasant that Boris Abramovich proposes that the Church strengthen its role in the events taking place in Russia, but on the other hand, all the previous activities of this person pushes to a simple thought: listen carefully to this gentleman and do exactly the opposite,” said "Interfax-Religion" head of the Synodal Department for Relations between Church and Society, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin.