ALASKA: Following Russia-US talks, Russian President Vladimir Putin, presented American Archbishop Alexei of Sitka and Alaska with an icon of St Herman of Alaska, an Orthodox patron of America. The Ukrainian Orthodox bishops in the U.S. called it a “betrayal of Christian witness” in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, is no stranger to tapping into the soft power of the Russian Orthodox Church to reinforce his political and military power. And the church does not appear to be shy about tapping into the hard power of the Russian state to reinforce its social, temporal and even (in their view) spiritual power.
The Russian Orthodox Church views itself as the center and defender of the Orthodox Christian world, which at one time was synonymous with Christendom itself. In its view, there is a natural and divine synergy between the temporal power of the state and the spiritual power of the church, where both play a role in God’s plan for time and eternity. In some ways, this position is similar to pre-Vatican II Catholic thought where religious freedom was seen as opening the door to heresy, a threat not only to orthodoxy but also to the eternal destiny of souls.
ALASKA: Vladimir Putin also laid flowers at the graves of Soviet soldiers at Fort Richardson National Cemetery on the territory of the US Elmendorf-Richardson military base.
During the Alaska meeting, Putin reportedly U.S. President Donald Trump to advocate for Russian to be recognized as an official language in Ukraine and to support protections for Russian Orthodox churches there. This request appeared to reference the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which, despite Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, has maintained its affiliation with the Moscow Patriarchate and remains part of the Russian Orthodox Church. (Read more here and here.)
While Putin’s religious agenda and itinerary in Alaska may seem unusual and has drawn criticism, he frequently meets with Orthodox leaders in Russia and on his trips abroad (see photos from the Kremlin below).
MOSCOW: Vladimir Putin met on April 22, 2025, in the Kremlin with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia. The meeting was also attended by Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk and Metropolitan Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Church. To the Patriarch, Putin said: “Let me wish you a happy Easter. This is our common bright holiday. As I have said, Russian-Serbian relations have always been special, even today, because we are bound by strong and deep spiritual roots.”
NORTH KOREA: Following his talks with Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin visited the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024. Archbishop of [North] Korea Theophanes (Kim) informed the President of Russia about the construction of the church.
CHINA: Vladimir Putin visited the Church of the Intercession in Harbin, China, on May 17, 2024. It is the only functioning Orthodox church in Harbin.
BRAZIL: On November 14, 2019, Vladimir Putin visited the rector of the Orthodox church in Brasilia, Father Francisco. Francisco de Assis da Cruz Feitosa was born in Brazil into a Catholic family, and converted to Orthodoxy in 1994 together with his wife. In 2014, he was ordained as a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church by Bishop Leonid of Argentina and South America. The Church of Our Lady the Odigitria was built in Brasilia a few years ago through the efforts of Father Francisco.
HUNGARY: Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban had a meeting on October 30, 2019, with the heads of Christian churches of the Middle East held with the assistance of Hungary. At the meeting Putin said, “Although we know, in general, what is happening there and what your needs are, it would be good if we heard your opinions about the situation and about what else we can do to help and support you. In fact, this is the essence of our meeting today, if I understand Mr Prime Minister’s intentions. Thank you. I would like to convey the best regards from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. I had the pleasure of talking to him earlier today. He knows about this meeting, and he has asked me to convey his greetings to you and to wish you all the very best.”
KREMLIN: On January 31, 2019, Vladimir Putin met with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and heads of the delegations of local Orthodox churches from different countries who arrived in Moscow to participate in the festivities. the State Kremlin Palace, where events are being held to mark the 10th anniversary of the Russian Orthodox Church Local Council and the enthronement of the Patriarch. Putin said, “Your Holiness, primates and representatives of local Orthodox churches, priests, ladies and gentlemen, I am glad to welcome all of you in the heart of Russia, in the Moscow Kremlin, with its holy shrines that mean a lot to every Orthodox believer. Today’s gathering is dedicated to a special date. At the end of January 2009, the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church met to elect a new primate – Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. I would like to warmly and sincerely congratulate His Holiness on the 10th anniversary of his enthronement.”