Last week, the Russian government ministers tendered their resignation to President Vladimir Putin. It seems this was a calculated ploy ahead of major changes to the Russian Constitution. According to some critics, these changes will inure to the benefit of increased executive power for Putin. A careful reading of some of the provisions, however, indicate the opposite. The cabinet ministers, for example, will be chosen by the Duma (the lower House of Parliament) and not merely approved, as they at present.
I would rather withhold further comment until more information comes through. For the time being however, it looks to be a mixed bag. Personally, I hope that if Putin is to accrue more power, this would be to stabilize Russia further and (hopefully) begin the transition towards the restoration of the monarchy. I’ve often thought that Putin was like Francisco Franco in this sense: an autocratic steward, a placeholder. Seriously, I can’t imagine he would want to augment the powers of the presidency and leave it to the vagaries of elections. After all, any successor with such supposedly broad powers can undo everything he had done. At least with a restored dynasty, you would know that stability would accrue from monarch to monarch, each one being mindful of precedent.
Time will tell. Personally, I like some of its provisions right off the bat, especially the one that outlaws political figures from having dual citizenship. (You can read a basic summary for yourself right here: https://www.unz.com/akarlin/major-political-changes-in-russia/)
In the meantime, I came across a news item last month. It’s about the relative strength of the Russian economy. Long story short: they are trying to adhere to Biblical principles against indebtedness. We in the West should be so lucky.
https://russian-faith.com/russia-now-has-more-assets-debt-despite-sanctions-n2447
Here’s a short 6-minute video which encapsulates much of Putin’s ideology:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IWWAIS-tE4
The new president of Greece, Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou, will probably further the downfall with her policies. Perhaps Greece’s further punishment for turning away from Him
Exactly.
Fr Andrew Philips has been predicting the restoration
of the Christian Empire, with a Tsar at its head, for some time.
Brendan, I think you will recognize this man:
https://orthodoxlife.org/sermons-and-homilies/john-baptist-sermon-theodore/
I do indeed. Thank you for the link which I have passed on.
I am pleased he is doing so well. If you see Angelos
(sorry – Monk Theodore) please pass on my regards.
He is a very devout and committed Christian.
Certainly; I hope to make another visit there when it is feasible. I was shocked to discover a Scottish monk at this redoubt of Russian Orthodoxy; but, then again, most of the monks there seemed to be non-Russians.
“I was shocked to discover a Scottish monk
at this redoubt of Russian Orthodoxy”.
Scots (and Russo-Scots) have long been notable in Russian society.
Mikhail Lermontov bears the same name as Thomas Learmont
(the famous poet and seer known as Thomas the Rhymer).
Another was Field Marshal Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly,
deviser of the strategy which eventually destroyed La Grande Armée.
His ancestors came from Towie Barclay Castle in Aberdeenshire.
There’s plenty more . See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Russians
I pray for it daily.
Yes, this is my new main evangelical pitch to my non-Orthodox friends: “the Christian Empire will be restored, with the Tsar at its head”.
They are signing up, left and right! Not enough room in the local church anymore, hardly…
This is The Saker’s take on things:
http://thesaker.is/could-this-finally-be-the-end-for-the-atlantic-integrationst/
The Saker’s take appears to have been took…
Your link isn’t working. This may work instead:
http://thesaker.is/could-this-finally-be-the-end-for-the-atlantic-integrationists/
The word “integrationists” in the URL was misspelled as “integrationst”
Thank you!
The Saker has an update, too: http://thesaker.is/the-new-russian-government-a-much-needed-evolution-but-not-a-revolution/
George,
The video is not Putin’s ideology. It is from the ideology of the Economist and the Brits.
If you want something closer to what Putin and the Russian leaders are thinking:
https://www.memri.org/reports/contemporary-russian-thinkers-series-%E2%80%93-russian-anti-liberal-philosopher-alexander-dugin
https://www.memri.org/reports/understanding-russian-political-ideology-and-vision-call-eurasia-lisbon-vladivostok
Uh, anyone that thinks Dugin represents mainstream thinking in Russia or the Putin administration is not operating in that thing we call reality.
While Dugin’s Eurasianist views are certainly interesting, his alleged involvement in occultism/perennialism has always been a concern.
This is Dimitry Orlov’s:
https://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2020/01/life-after-putin.html
I see three things here that are remarkable:
** it begins to address conflicts that arise in the minds of many when politicians hold dual cirizenship, and so to the loyalty of those that enter government,
** democratic processes are a little more influential on state government, and power is shared more broadly,
** and if the State Council formally becomes part of government, it allows for an additional organ for formal policy advisement and the retention of successful elder statesmen such as Putin and Lavrov.
It is stunning what Russian society has accomplished since the Soviet dissolution, western discomfiture notwithstanding.
E M Cimmins