Russia and the Militarization of churches

Perhaps this new complex and complex global analysis, the features of which the Egyptian researcher monitored meticulously to record and analyze all its chapters and scenarios for a long time, was about (the relationship between humanitarian asylum in Germany for religious reasons and the role of the religious factor in the decision of the Russian invasion of Ukraine). The uniqueness of it has large analytical areas, compared to the other military and economic aspects of the same crisis. Here, I monitored the statements of German Admiral  (Kay Achim Schönbach), commander of the German Navy, on the necessity of (extending the relationship between Christian Russia and Germany and the West in the face of atheist communist China), then analyzing the relationship of this mainly between the increase in requests for humanitarian asylum in Germany for religious reasons, that is, after “changing their religion from Islam to Christianity”, through the Egyptian researcher’s observation of hundreds of cases actually and the German welcome by granting them humanitarian and religious asylum, then my close follow-up to the issue of “Germany and the West’s politicization of Christianity in Russia to confront communist China in the crises of Ukraine and Taiwan, leading to the hidden Turkish role in Constantinople to fuel the ongoing ecclesiastical conflict between priests and the Christian religious men in both Russia and Ukraine”, until the hour of Russia’s declaration of the actual military war against Ukraine, and my presentation of that extensive analytical study on (the role of the religious factor in the first place and the employment of the sacred religious dimension of Christianity for political and intelligence reasons as a primary determinant of the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine at the instigation and role of Turkey  hidden through the Constantinople Church in Istanbul).

 The Russian Eastern Orthodox Church played (an important role in the Russian army before and during the military invasion and entry of Ukraine), and the most prominent scenes that caught the deeply analytical for Egyptian researcher to reach out to (my new analysis of the church’s role during military operations in Ukraine, and my viewing of recordings of Russian military churches  mobile during the conflict, meaning: the moving hurches whose mission is to accompany the Russian military units in military operations in Ukraine). It became one of the most prominent analytical and explanatory scenes for me, which the whole world neglected at the expense of (analysis of the military operations themselves), are pictures of the priest’s blessing of Russian weapons in the battlefields and the battle against Ukraine, and even the priest’s keenness to accompany the soldiers and officers of the Russian army and to establish and perform prayers with the soldiers and spread enthusiasm among them religious sermons.

  The Egyptian researcher was able to monitor and analyze all the hidden religious scenes of the ecclesiastical conflict between Russian and Ukrainian priests, with a hidden Turkish religious role through the “Constantinople Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey”, by politicizing its role by recognizing the independence of the Ukrainian Eastern Orthodox Church from the Russian in September 2018, which escalated the matter to the current events. The military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which confirms the Egyptian researcher’s viewpoint, academically and carefully, on the background of the church-religious conflict between the cathedrals of Russia and Ukraine and its priests, monks and priests, through the Turkish support in Constantinople for Ukraine in the face of Russia, which deepened the current crisis and its military escalation between the two sides. The Russians and the Ukrainians are primarily motivated by ecclesiastical religious motives, which I can analyze to understand my deep view on this, as follows:

 The Egyptian researcher noticed the significance of that (the close relationship between the church and the army in Russia during the era of President “Putin”), which began with the construction of the Russian Armed Forces (a large independent cathedral for the Russian army and its own Russian military institution) in Moscow, which was inaugurated in 2020. It is the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ for the Russian Armed Forces in the capital, Moscow, in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Russia’s victory in World War II, and to celebrate the successes and achievements of the Russian army and its military victories in the wars it fought.

  On the other hand, we will find the extent of (the strong agreement between President “Putin” and the senior leaders of the Russian army, senior priests and Christian clergy in Russia), with the constant concern of the Moscow Patriarch “Reverend Kirill”, to deliver enthusiastic speeches expressing the pride of the Russian Orthodox Church. The East, its priests and its people with the Kremlin and the Russian army, with the direct and quick response from President “Putin” and the leaders and soldiers of his army to exchange the same feelings of pride for the Russian Orthodox Church.  The Egyptian researcher stopped at the speech of the Patriarch of Moscow “Reverend Kirill”, and his speech in one of his religious speeches with political and military meaning, about:

  “The Church’s role in ensuring the spiritual unity of the peoples in the states based on the lands of “historic Russia”, as well as its importance in protecting the system of “Orthodox values ​​that the sacred Russian civilization carries to the world”

  On the other hand, the statements of Ukrainian President “Zelensky” and his supporters, came in declaring that many Ukrainians refused to support the Russian priest “Kirill” for the rebels in eastern Ukraine, specifically in the two separate regions that caused the current crisis in eastern Ukraine, namely: (Donetsk and Lugansk). While the response of the Russian presidency in the Kremlin came, is that: “it will not interfere in the decisions of the Russian Orthodox Church in support of its own without pressure on the decisions of President “Putin” and his army commanders”. The Russian government confirmed that:

  “Moscow’s preferred scenario, of course, is the unity of the Orthodox world, noting that this information about the decisions regarding the Ukrainian Church in support of complete separation from the Russian Orthodox Church raises concern in Russia, and that conflict between the clergy in Ukraine and Russia is “a matter of dialogue between churches in  The end of the matter is, and states cannot interfere in it”

    The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia considers the Russian priest “Kirill”, as an ally of Russian President “Vladimir Putin”, and his strongly opposition to the independence of the “Kyiv Patriarchate in Ukraine”, which is trying to win the recognition of the “Patriarch of Constantinople in Turkey”. Russia sees Ukraine as “the true historical cradle of the Russian Orthodox Church”.

  In my personal opinion, and in my analysis of “the centrality of the Turkish religious role in Constantinople regarding the ongoing ecclesiastical conflict between Russia and Ukraine”, and the surprises that the future may hold regarding the Turkish intervention in the Ukrainian-Russian crisis from another new door, which is the “religious factor”, and given the consideration  Turkey is the headquarters of the “Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople”, which is based in Istanbul, and its patriarch bears the title of “Ecumenical Patriarch”, and is the spiritual leader of more than 300 million Orthodox Christians around the world. And here the danger comes in (the Turkish government’s requirement that those elected to this important international ecclesiastical position be a holder of Turkish citizenship).

  Through my analysis of the actual developments of the scene between (Turkey and the parties to the Ukrainian and Russian crisis), I actually felt a “hidden Turkish role in igniting this ecclesiastical and religious crisis of the dispute between the two Orthodox churches in Russia and Ukraine”, given (the Russian Orthodox Church’s decision to cut off its “diplomatic relations” with the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Turkey in September 2018 for its support of the Ukrainian Church against Russia), with its authority over more than 300 million Orthodox Christians, as well as its authority over thousands of cathedrals and Orthodox churches around the world. This was evident with the (Patriarch of Constantinople in Turkey, Reverend Bartholomew, actually recognizing the independence of the Church of Ukraine in September 2018 from the Patriarch of Moscow “Reverend Kirill”, a step considered by the Russian authorities to politicize religion and its use by Turkey for purely political purposes.

 I can analyze the Russian position regarding the politicized intervention by the “Constantinople Church in Istanbul”, by escalating the Russian position by the “Russian Patriarch Kirill” and declaring his boycott of the Constantinople Church in Turkey, and his boycott of the name of “Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew” and not mentioning it in his prayers. Then the ecclesiastical Russian position was further escalated through (giving high ecclesiastical orders in Russia with clear political and intelligence motives to stop all priests in churches and monasteries affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate from mentioning the name of the Ecumenical Patriarch “Bartholomew” in all their prayers).

  As stated (the political exploitation of religion in Russia, through the threat announced by the Moscow Patriarchate to separate completely from the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Turkey), especially in the event of the continuation of these “opposed activities to the canon law by the Patriarch of “Bartholomew” of the Constantinople Patriarchate”. Here, we can find out that “Bishop Hilarion”, who is responsible for external relations in the Moscow Patriarchate, described this development as:

  “The help and support of the Constantinople Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey, for the Ukrainian Patriarchate in the face of Russia, is a real breakdown in ecclesiastical relations between Russia and Ukraine with the help of Constantinople, which may be analogous to the severing of diplomatic relations between countries”

  Here, and based on (my previous connection to the internal religious events in Russia and the ecclesiastical conflict between Russian and Ukrainian priests), this was accurately represented in my mind, during my long pause to reflect on one of the most prominent events that stopped the Egyptian researcher, namely the statements of the commander of the navy.  German Admiral (Kay Achim Schönbach) during his attendance at a study group meeting, which has been held in the Indian capital, New Delhi, in describing the accusations of “NATO” members against Russia of preparing to invade Ukraine, by affirming that: “as being a devout Christian, Catholic, he thinks that they are in a need for a Christian Russia in the face of China, and here it does not matter which religion the Russian President “Putin” himself embraces, whether he is a Christian or an atheist”.  It is the video clip, which spread globally in an unimaginable way, despite Admiral Schönbach’s assertion that they are personal statements that express his personal convictions and philosophy and are not official or express the general orientation of the German state or the policy of “NATO” members.

 However, these statements caused Admiral “Schönbach” to have a violent revolution, whether within China or Russia itself, in whose circles the analyzes took place, that what is happening is:

 “Perhaps West German intelligence attempts, led by Washington, to confuse religion and politics, and cause global chaos, because of the US policy of fallacies in using the debt card for political reasons, or what became known in China as “deliberate American politicization of all issues in China and Russia, which perhaps  The last of them came or appeared in “politicizing the debt file for security and military reasons”

 Perhaps my close follow-up to the decision of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, coupled with reading some “indirect hints from some historians in the West”, and their explanatory view, that (the religious factor may have played a role in the decision of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the linking of the two Orthodox churches in Russia and Ukraine, to make the Orthodox Church spearhead in Putin’s project to raise Russian nationalism with Christian religious manifestations, and to give it a national dimension), as a powerful tool to support his political ideology in Russia, and to nourish and multiply the national dimension that was prepared for him by employing his religious esteem and consideration  Intelligence in Putin’s thought, paving the way for Russia to be a major Christian superpower around the world and linking it to the national dimension of its people to revive the Soviet and ancient historical heritage of their homeland.

 We will find that President “Putin” was rejecting the idea of ​​separating the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox churches from each other, so “Putin” made great efforts to (support the Orthodox Church financially, morally and politically before his invasion of Ukraine as a factor of attraction for the masses in both regions around him, and to mobilize Christians around the world  around him as well), starting with his plan to restore the holdings of churches that were sold and abandoned during the old communist era of Russian history, and the most importantly for“Putin”was the keenness first to (build thousands of churches and cathedrals and renovate the rest, in addition to including an article on Orthodox culture in the school curricula).

  Perhaps the Egyptian researcher’s analysis was in agreement with what the prominent American historian “Diana Butler Bass”, who is a specialist in the history of Christianity around the world, said, where the conclusion of the conclusion of the thought of the historian “Butler Bass” came that (the Russian invasion of Ukraine is nothing but a new chapter in restoring the Soviet and ancient historical heritage) from Putin’s point of view, so the main goal of Putin’s war on Ukraine is his desire to revive those nationalist feelings the ancient religious holy sites, by “celebrating Easter mass in the Ukrainian capital, “Kyiv”.

  The Egyptian researcher found, in this new proposition of the American historian “Diana Butler Bass”, that it indeed has some relevant analytical considerations, given the vision of Christian historians and priests in the world, that:

 “The Ukrainian capital, “Kyiv” for Orthodox Christians, is a Jerusalem for Christians and for all heavenly religions around the world, so the conflict “over Ukraine is also a struggle over any Orthodox Church that will mark the face of Eastern Europe”

  Therefore, the Egyptian researcher tried to return to the ancient Russian history, to understand and comprehend (the extent of the importance of Christianity as a determinant and sacred factor in the history of the old Tsarist Soviet state, and the extent of its relationship with the newly established Russian state and with President “Putin”), and even more prominent to me, is: whether this sacred religious factor or consideration is clear in the mind of the Russian President “Vladimir Putin” during his invasion of Ukraine? The result of my analysis of this new academic matter is:

 “The military operations announced by the Russians against Ukraine is no less important than that “crusade to recover the holy orthodox lands from Western heretics”

 The Egyptian researcher has found that the reason for this is the Russian invasion of Ukraine, perhaps (part of it is actually due to the great symbolism of the city of “Kyiv” as the capital of Ukraine in the history of Orthodox Christianity), as it played a founding role in the history of the Soviet era, given that “Kyiv” is considered the first foothold of the Orthodox Christian doctrine, the Russian and even international collective consciousness.

  Perhaps the immediate reason behind the relationship between (the sacred religious importance of the city of “Kyiv” and President Putin’s invasion of it), made the Egyptian researcher re-read a dangerous analysis that she realized how important and dangerous it is now to the British journalist and pastor “Gil Frazier”, in an article already published on the “Ann Herald” website, comparing the similarities between today’s President “Vladimir Putin” and “Vladimir I”, the prince of Kyiv between 978 and 1510, called “the Great Vladimir”.

  Accordingly, we find that “Putin”, regardless of his personal religious convictions, may have wanted through the Ukraine crisis (to employ traditional orthodox Christian values ​​for political influence and to revive nationalist principles among the Russian citizens). But, on the other hand, perhaps it was nothing more than (using the religious dimension and linking it to the nationalist in President “Putin” was just a functional tool to achieve its goals against Ukraine), as “Putin” is keenly to show a religious or religious side when showing his image. He was very secretive about his upbringing and private life.

  It may have been (President Putin’s intelligence use of the weapon of religion and religiosity when he invaded Ukraine, and it was carefully employed and used during a short period to confirm his idea). His neck parted, and sometimes he deliberately showed it publicly at other times prior to his invasion of Ukraine, and rumors spread that the Egyptian researcher had analyzed in an academic way that she might have (intelligence motives for President “Putin’s” intelligence service), that this chain or necklace was a gift from his Christian mother and his religious Orthodox Christian family. On the day of his baptism in the church at his birth in the early fifties, as an analytical reference to the use of the religious dimension in his upbringing and linking it to the current situation that he intends behind the invasion of Ukraine, regarding (returning the glories of the old Soviet state in reviving the Orthodox Christian religious issue, and not accepting the principle of the separation of the Ukrainian Church from its extension  within Russia).

  The Middle East may have been present in President Putin’s use of the weapon of Christian religion and religiosity, and his permanent public wearing of that (the large chain or necklace around his neck of the Christian cross sign), which President “Putin” once indicated as a blessing he had obtained during  his visit to the tomb of Jesus Christ, (during a visit by President “Putin” to Israel while he was an officer in the Russian intelligence service in the 1990s).

  President Putin was also keenly to (permanently promoting his religiosity and wrapping his speech in Christian religious premises around which the majority of the population of the religious Orthodox Christian masses in Russia and the adjacent or adjacent borders surround him), by promoting “Putin” that this necklace is in the shape or form of a cross equipped with the blessing of Christ, as it was one of the few items that survived a fire that destroyed his entire family home, but despite the fire, the Lord saved it from his blessing. Hence, the Egyptian researcher understood, that (all those details, stories, and tales that President “Putin” is now promoting about the cross, the blessing of Christ, the issue that condemns him, his upbringing, baptism, and others, it seems that they appear to be selected and very carefully chosen in order to give him a legendary dimension, and to establish the image of “Putin”, as a faithful figure among his Russian people and religious Christian peoples around the world).

 Based on the idea that President “Putin” and his intelligence apparatus were keen to highlight the religious dimension to him, before his military invasion of Ukraine, the Egyptian researcher realized, by returning only to history, that there is (there is a great similarity between the current Russian President “Vladimir Putin” and the Christian Prince of Kyiv” Emperor Vladimir”, and their joint war to suppress and eliminate the separatists and their rebels). For example, you will find that “Emperor Vladimir” in Ukraine, after celebrating his victory over all those rebels against him “converted to Christianity and made it the religion of his Ukrainian people as well”.  Hence, given the importance of that founding moment in Russian history, we can imagine that Russian President “Putin” has read the history of the Christian Prince of Kyiv “Emperor Vladimir”, therefore, he aspires to restore the city of Kyiv, as the “mother city of Russian Orthodoxy”, a reminder of its “Great Gloria’s of Vladimir”.

  Perhaps this introduction and this new analysis globally is the best way to understand Admiral Schönbach’s statements, and to link them with all official statements issued by the German government to deny and reject what Admiral “Schönbach” said regarding “the sacred Christian joint between Russia, Germany and the West”. The first official move by the German Ministry of Defense came to reject these statements, and to stress that they “absolutely do not match the position of the German Defense Ministry”. Which prompted German Defense Minister “Christine Lambrecht” to request an urgent video meeting with the German Chief of Staff “Eberhard Zorn”, to determine how to address this issue and the major crisis related to Admiral Schönbach’s statements, given that they embarrass Germany’s position internationally.  Schonbach’s statements, on the other hand, also provoked strong resentment among the members of the government of the Social Democratic Chancellor himself “Olaf Scholz” and those close to him.

  But, the matter was different for the Egyptian researcher, who was present for a year to study at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University in Sweden, and her close proximity during that period, and until this moment, to a number of Arabs and Muslims from the category of asylum seekers, whether (for political or humanitarian reasons), including, of course, religious ones related to changing one’s belief or religion. The observation is that hundreds of Muslim and Arab asylum seekers, most of them “Iranians and Afghans”, requested asylum on humanitarian grounds, specifically religious, in view of changing their religion from Islam to Christianity, which poses a serious threat to their lives in their countries of origin. In Germany as well, asylum requests continued for religious reasons, and a number of Muslims and Arabs changed their religion in (Trinity Evangelical Church) on the outskirts of the capital, “Berlin”.

  On the personal, academic and analytical level, I was struck by an important analysis in this regard by the former German chancellor, “Angela Merkel”, in which she had stated that what Germany is witnessing now from the increase in asylum requests for religious reasons, is something that will “change our country in the coming years”. The most dangerous thing for me is Chancellor Angela Merkel’s assertion that:

 “Germany will grant protection to those who need it because of a change of religion, but those who have not been granted asylum will be forced to return home quickly”

    Among the most prominent Muslims who changed their religion to Christianity in Germany, was the Afghan refugee “Muhammad Ali Zenobi”, who became called “Martin”, where he appeared in a video clip during his conversion to Christianity and his conversion to Christianity at the hands and supervision of the German priest “Martens Gottfried”, who was sprinkling him with holy water, by asking him: “Are you going away from Satan and his evil deeds?, will you abandon Islam?”, the Afghan refugee “Muhammad Ali Zenobi” has replied him of… Yes.

  When the German priest “Martens Gottfried” was asked about his conviction in the issue of converting some people to Christianity and entering Christianity in order to seek asylum for religious reasons in Germany, the surprise for the Egyptian researcher personally, were the assertions of “Reverend Gottfried”, certainly:

  “He knows very well that some have changed their religion in order to improve their chances of staying in Germany, but he does not consider this important since the majority, according to his opinion, convert to Christianity with conviction, given that only 10% of those who converted to Christianity did not return to the church after baptism”

  Here, it is mentioned that conversion from Islam to Christianity in countries, such as: (Afghanistan or Iran), may be punished with imprisonment or death, and therefore it is unlikely that Germany will deport Iranian and Afghan refugees to their countries after their conversion to Christianity. Also (most of the names of candidates for baptism in the church are not mentioned, that is, to enter the Christian religion in the churches of Europe and Germany in general, for fear of the repercussions of this matter on their families in their countries of origin).

 Complaints have increased in a large number of European churches and their priests, as well as in Christian Scandinavian countries, such as: (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway), that their churches are complaining because of the dwindling and small number of believers, that is, those who come to the church and continue to pray and worship, and here  The Egyptian researcher read a statement by German priest “Martens Gottfried”, in which he has seen that:

  “His group of converts to Christianity from Islam has doubled from 150 refugees to more than 600 believers converting to Christianity, in just two years, thanks to the new refugees, especially those Muslims who converted from Islam to Christianity”

  Perhaps the most serious and serious matter for the Egyptian researcher is (most of these Muslim and Arab asylum applicants deliberately travel for religious humanitarian reasons in order to convert to Christianity in Germany to where the German priest “Martens Gottfried” resides), so some of these asylum applicants came from distant cities in Germany, such as: (Rostock, near the Baltic Sea), because “Reverend Martens Gottfried” has become known for helping everyone, especially Muslims converts to Christianity, in the success and passage of asylum applications for humanitarian religious reasons, and this became a common issue in the “German refugees society”, especially these new refugees.

 The paradox or analysis and interpretation, which may have made me stop as an academic at the statements of the German Admiral “Schönbach” regarding his linking to the element of Russian-German rapprochement and the countries of the West, given the religion of the Russian and German majority, which is Christianity, and then (analyzing the extent of its seriousness to him, whether for personal reasons related to him or for the interests of its affects on his German state, especially with Germany witnessing an unprecedented influx of asylum seekers for religious reasons related to changing the Islamic faith to Christianity), with all expectations predicting that the number of asylum applicants and immigrants to Germany will double, at large rates approaching 800,000 refugees or immigrants to Germany, which is four times more than the past years, which the German state has absorbed.

   As for my academic analysis of German Admiral Schönbach’s statements regarding the use of (the element of religion in politics, and the management of the political conflict between China and the world through a new pressure paper, related to the element of the Christian religion, as it is the religion of the majority in the Russian state), and what is new to me is the vision of “Schönbach” for how to use the element of the Christian religion in this new confrontation with communist China. In my opinion, and according to my vision of reality as I mentioned in the introduction to the analysis, there is actually support for this new theory or proposition, regarding “politicizing religion for political reasons”, given that the city of Moscow, the capital of Russia, is considered (the capital of the Eastern Orthodox Christian religion in the world). It includes “the seat of the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church”, as Moscow was called so, due to the large number of its churches, so that it was called “the city of the forty churches”. Christianity is also dominant in the Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

   The Ukrainian Church’s announcement of its separation from the Russian Church dealt a “serious blow to the ambitions of President “Putin” and the Russian Church on several levels, as Orthodox Ukrainians represent 30% of all Christians affiliated with the Moscow Patriarch”. The separation of the Ukrainian Church from the Russian one is meaning (the loss of millions of followers, and the loss of millions of dollars of church property).  In this context, some consider that one of the factors that paved the way for the current Russian invasion was (the separation of the Ukrainian Church from the Russian Church in September 2018, as it had been a part of it since 1686).

  When announcing the separation in 2018 between the Ukrainian Church from the Russian one, he described the former Ukrainian President “Petro Poroshenko”, as: “It constitutes a victory for the faithful people of Ukraine over the demons of Moscow”. While President “Putin” blamed Ukrainian politicians for “interfering in church affairs, and for his right to protect his country’s right to protect freedom of worship”.

  The declaration of the independence of the Ukrainian Church from the Russian one led to (the creation of a wider split at the level of the Orthodox churches in Russia and on its borders), especially with the announcement of the Russian Church’s separation from the Orthodox family, in protest against the role of the clergyman “Bartholomew I”, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, in (issuance of the decree recognizing the new Ukrainian Church in the face of the Russian).

 The Egyptian researcher here tried to make a strange and new link at the time, between “Schönbach’s statements”, and the dangerous statements of the internationally known historical Russian cosmonaut “Krasnov”, who is known for his atheism, and his hostility to everything that is religious in the country.  Krasnov” to the famous saying attributed mainly to the Russian historical cosmonaut “Gagarin”, when he said, after successfully carrying out his mission in space, by asking him: “I went into space and did not see God there”, and that particular phrase was one of the most prominent founding propaganda sayings of communism  Soviet “atheist”. Therefore, “Krasnov” never expected, that he would be brought to trial in Russia for “overthrowing the government and the state in Russia”, as a result of his discussions on the Internet, during which he described the Bible as “a collection of Jewish stories and legends that are nothing but sheer nonsense”, from his point of view.

   In March of 2016, the house of the Russian cosmonaut “Krasnov” was stormed by elements of the Russian police, before he was subjected by a federal judge to a (mental disclosure request of his mental and psychological integrity and the extent of his balance to ensure his eligibility for trial on charges of “insulting the feelings of believers”, and it was considered the strangest accusation, perhaps in the history of all of Russia since the Soviet era), and “Krasnov” or others did not expect the seriousness of the government of Russian President “Putin” in its application, until he officially announced that accusations against him in mid-2013.

  What is analytically remarkable for the Egyptian researcher in this context, is “analysis of the extent of the seriousness and danger and even the indication of the timing”, in which the Russian President “Vladimir Putin” approved a controversial law criminalizing insulting the feelings of the religious in the country, and stipulates (a prison sentence of up to a year,  If the “insulting” act is issued outside the places of worship, and it may reach three years if it is issued inside one of these places).

   In view of the German Admiral Schönbach’s attention about the Christian majority in Russia, and the Egyptian researcher’s reference to a number of academic researches on this matter, it is noted that there are no official statistics about religion or the numbers of adherents to religion in Russia, and estimates are based on a number of reasonable surveys, according to statistics (the American Research Center) in 2010, it is estimated that more than 74% of the population of Russia are Christians.  Whereas, the “CIA World Facebook” issued in 2010 indicates that 72% of Russians are almost Christians, and the same percentages were estimated by a number of think tanks and international statistics, such as: (Arena Foundation, Levada Center Statistics), and others. About 95% of the registered Orthodox dioceses belong to the (Russian Orthodox Church), while there are a smaller number of churches with other ecclesiastical denominations. For example: (Protestant churches, or special churches for the Christian Jew sect, or for Jews who converted to Christianity). There are a number of other Eastern Christian churches, such as: (The Church of the Old Believers, the Belarusian Church, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Assyrian Church of the East, the Armenian Apostolic Church), and others.

   By following the scene in China as an expert in Chinese political affairs, I found that there are vague fears in the Political Bureau of the ruling Communist Party in China about those Western and German calls in support of the establishment of a (large Christian alliance that includes Russia as a large Christian country with Germany and the West in a confrontation with the atheist Communist China). Specifically, these statements were made primarily by the German Navy Commander, Admiral “Kay Achim Schönbach”, but because of them he was forced to resign, because of his statements that embarrassed Germany and angered Ukraine itself in the face of German policies that support Russia by virtue of sharing the Christian religion or belief together.

   To clarify the previous point directly, and through my understanding of the situation and the pattern of Chinese thinking, and mainly fearing of (the entry of the “religion” element as a guide to conflicts and the mobilization of countries, regimes and peoples in confronting them), which of course is not favored by China, such as the case of the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, in the same framework. The senior leaders in the Political Bureau of the ruling Communist Party in China were afraid, because of what they considered that “Germany and the West might use the common weapon of the Christian religion with Russia to confront Chinese influence alone by playing on the chord and sensitivity of the issue of religion and not politics”, especially with what the German naval commander saw Admiral “Kay Achim Schönbach”, in his explicit and new call to China, emphasized: “We need a Christian Russia against an atheist communist China”

  There were faint whispers within the Communist Party of China and its senior leaders, because of what they considered to be a “Western and German school of thought capable of developing over time by introducing the element of religion into politics, and deliberately mixing them up”, which is why faint consultations took place from China’s leaders, in order to draw the Russia’s attention to the German and Western game that Washington is leading in their confrontation, which came in the form of reassuring phrases that:

 “This religious game, by mixing the elements of religion and politics, Putin knows perfectly well, and he knows all its dimensions”

  Based on this comprehensive new analysis, and our understanding of the nature of Chinese fears of politicizing religion and its use in the political and military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and making (religion as a major global confrontation between Christian countries in the face of the atheist communist policies of China, according to the perception of Germany and the West with it). Therefore, from the beginning, China refused to take any clear position regarding the attempts of the United States of America and the European Union to push it to oppose or agree to the positions of Russia and President “Putin” regarding the Russian recognition of the separatists in eastern Ukraine, specifically in the (Donetsk and Lugansk regions), in anticipation of the  China for any scenarios that involve religion in any political struggle in its face.

Dr.Nadia Helmy
Dr.Nadia Helmy
Associate Professor of Political Science, Faculty of Politics and Economics / Beni Suef University- Egypt. An Expert in Chinese Politics, Sino-Israeli relationships, and Asian affairs- Visiting Senior Researcher at the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES)/ Lund University, Sweden- Director of the South and East Asia Studies Unit