DoomsdaysCW<p>From 2014... How <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/USEvangelicals" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>USEvangelicals</span></a> Fueled the Rise of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Russia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Russia</span></a>’s ‘<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProFamily" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ProFamily</span></a>’ Right</p><p>An alliance is born between <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AntiGay" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AntiGay</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AntiAbortion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AntiAbortion</span></a> American groups and the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RussianOrthodoxChurch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RussianOrthodoxChurch</span></a> </p><p>by Adam Federman, January 7, 2014</p><p>Long excerpt [pay attention to the names named!] :</p><p>"This rising <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Russian" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Russian</span></a> social <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/conservative" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>conservative</span></a> movement frequently invokes the argument that <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProGay" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ProGay</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WomensRights" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WomensRights</span></a> groups are puppets of the West, which is seeking to undermine Russian autonomy and interfere in the country’s internal affairs. At an annual meeting of journalists and academics presided over by Vladimir <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Putin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Putin</span></a> in Valdai in September, the Russian president said that European countries had strayed from their roots by legalizing <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GayMarriage" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>GayMarriage</span></a>. He urged Russians to embrace the conservative values of the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OrthodoxChurch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>OrthodoxChurch</span></a> and other traditional religions and issued a warning to those who might want to challenge those values. 'Russia’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity are unconditional—these are red lines no one is allowed to cross,' he declared.</p><p>"Several <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LGBT" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>LGBT</span></a> rights groups have been targeted under another new law, which requires any nongovernmental organization that receives funding from other countries for political activities to register as a '<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ForeignAgent" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ForeignAgent</span></a>.' Failure to do so can lead to investigations, legal action or crippling fines. The implication is that these groups are not only agents of the West but also out of touch with everyday Russians.</p><p>"The irony is that it is the new conservative vanguard—anti-gay, anti-abortion and pro–'<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TraditionalFamily" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TraditionalFamily</span></a>'—that has most successfully cultivated the West’s financial and institutional support. Scott Lively, an extreme anti-gay campaigner, all but took credit for the new law, calling it 'one of the proudest achievements of my career,' while <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BrianBrown" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BrianBrown</span></a>, president of the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NationalOrganizationForMarriage" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NationalOrganizationForMarriage</span></a>, visited Moscow with much fanfare just before the new law was passed. But the language of Russia’s anti-gay and anti-abortion movement seems to borrow most heavily from mainstream evangelicals and conservative politicians in the United States and Europe. Referring to the anti-abortion bill passed in 2011, Lyubov Erofeeva, executive director of the Russian Association for Population and Development, a women’s advocacy group, said: 'It was 100 percent clear that everything was copied from the experience of American <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/fundamentalists" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fundamentalists</span></a> and conservative circles of several European countries where <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/abortion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>abortion</span></a> is forbidden or restricted severely.'</p><p>"The church’s close ties with American evangelicals reflect a shift in policy. For much of the post-Soviet period, the Russian Orthodox Church held evangelical denominations at arm’s length, fearing that they would compete for influence within Russia. But as the church has consolidated its power, it has come to view the evangelical community as a partner. 'The <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ROC" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ROC</span></a> realizes that the evangelical denominations are not their opponents but rather their allies in the relations between the church and the secular population,' says Olga Kazmina, a professor of ethnology at Moscow State University. </p><p>" 'It’s a re-envisioned paradigm,' says Father <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LeonidKishkovsky" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>LeonidKishkovsky</span></a>, head of the Orthodox Church in America’s Department of External Affairs. In many ways, it makes sense, he adds: both religious groups share an ideological commitment and have grown disillusioned with the way mainline churches have dealt with issues like gay marriage and abortion. 'But what I’m quite nervous about is the ideological core which actually motivates both sides,' Kishkovsky says. 'Where is the motivating force? Is it in faith? Or is it in political ideology?' </p><p>"The Russian Orthodox Church’s chief emissary to the US evangelical community is <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HilarionAlfeyev" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>HilarionAlfeyev</span></a>, a high-ranking bishop and chairman of the powerful Department of External Church Relations (the position previously held by <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PatriarchKirill" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PatriarchKirill</span></a>). In February 2011, the 47-year-old Alfeyev traveled to Washington, where he met with prominent evangelical and 'pro-family' leaders; and then to Dallas, where he addressed thousands of members of the Highland Park Presbyterian Church and emphasized the importance of 'creat[ing] new alliances,' especially around issues of marriage, abortion and the family. Alfeyev also visited the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DallasTheologicalSeminary" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DallasTheologicalSeminary</span></a> and had an hour-long meeting with <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GeorgeWBush" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>GeorgeWBush</span></a>. </p><p>"The trip to Dallas grew out of an increasingly close friendship between church leaders and a small circle of American and European Christian businessmen in Moscow. Alfeyev’s visit was organized by <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JerryFullinwider" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>JerryFullinwider</span></a>, an <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OilExecutive" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>OilExecutive</span></a> and elder of the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HighlandParkChurch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>HighlandParkChurch</span></a> who, until recently, had business interests in Russia. Fullinwider, a member of the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/KochBrothers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>KochBrothers</span></a>’ circle of major donors—those who have given more than $1 million to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Koch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Koch</span></a>-related causes—met Alfeyev through his friend Bob Foresman, head of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Barclays" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Barclays</span></a> Capital in Russia. This select group of businessmen has unusual access to Alfeyev. In an interview for this article, Fullinwider described having dinner at Alfeyev’s private residence on a recent trip to Moscow. 'He’s a real busy guy,' says Fullinwider. 'He’s very, very hard to get in touch with unless you have a special number and you know the main guy who handles him, who’s a good friend of mine.' </p><p>"Alfeyev’s first trip to the United States paved the way for others, and in October 2012 he delivered a lecture at Villanova University, where he received an honorary degree and paid a visit to the Milwaukee-based <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LyndeAndHarryBradleyFoundation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>LyndeAndHarryBradleyFoundation</span></a>. One of the largest donor organizations of its kind in the United States, the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BradleyFoundation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BradleyFoundation</span></a>, with more than $600 million in assets, is known for its contributions to US conservative groups like the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HeritageFoundation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>HeritageFoundation</span></a> and the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HeartlandInstitute" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>HeartlandInstitute</span></a>. But its charity isn’t limited to home: over the last four years, the foundation has given $750,000 to the St. Gregory the Theologian Charity Foundation in Moscow, a new educational and cultural initiative founded in 2009 by Alfeyev, Russian <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/billionaire" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>billionaire</span></a> and pharmaceutical magnate <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/VadimYakunin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>VadimYakunin</span></a>, and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LeonidSevastianov" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>LeonidSevastianov</span></a>, a 35-year-old international business consultant and head of Stratinvest.ru, a consulting and public relations firm. In 2009, through Alfeyev’s charity, the Bradley Foundation donated $150,000 to support the 'Day of the Family,' a recently created Russian holiday honoring faith and fidelity. The annual event has been championed by <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SvetlanaMedvedeva" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SvetlanaMedvedeva</span></a>, wife of Prime Minister <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DmitriMedvedev" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DmitriMedvedev</span></a>, a staunch <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AntiAbortion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AntiAbortion</span></a> advocate.</p><p>“We want to promote the idea of the unity between the West and Russia on the basis of common Christian roots,” Sevastianov told Inside the Vatican magazine in 2009. “We believe in this alliance among traditional Christian countries…and we believe that, with a united voice, we can be a strong force against the radical secular world which has become dominant in our societies.” </p><p><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/how-us-evangelicals-fueled-rise-russias-pro-family-right/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">thenation.com/article/archive/</span><span class="invisible">how-us-evangelicals-fueled-rise-russias-pro-family-right/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TradFamily" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TradFamily</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TradWives" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TradWives</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TrumpIsARussianAsset" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TrumpIsARussianAsset</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AntiWoke" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AntiWoke</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ChristoFacists" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ChristoFacists</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ChristoFascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ChristoFascism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/evangelicals" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>evangelicals</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RabidRight" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RabidRight</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MAGADeathCult" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MAGADeathCult</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BigOil" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BigOil</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateColonialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CorporateColonialism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Billionaires" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Billionaires</span></a></p>